This is the News in Brief from the United Nations.

Ukraine: Russian forces face new torture and arbitrary detention allegations

Civilians caught up in Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine have been executed, tortured and held incommunicado, with no accountability in sight, the UN human rights office (OHCHR) said on Tuesday.

From February 2022 to May 2023, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine documented 864 cases of arbitrary detention of civilians by Russia, “many of which also amounted to enforced disappearances”, and 75 cases of arbitrary detention by Ukrainian security forces, the Mission’s head Matilda Bogner told reporters.

Here she is with details on the detention of civilians by the Russian Federation:

“Civilians were often detained during so-called ‘filtration’ in occupied territory for their perceived support of Ukraine, their status as former Ukrainian servicepersons, or their perceived political opinion or affiliation. Many civilian detainees were held incommunicado, in unofficial places of detention, often in deplorable conditions. Often, no information was disclosed to their families for prolonged periods of time.”

Ms. Bogner said that Russian armed forces and law enforcement engaged in “widespread torture” and ill-treatment of civilian detainees, 77 of whom were found to have been summarily executed.

She also expressed concern about potential impunity for perpetrators of international crimes committed in occupied regions of Ukraine through a new Russian draft law. 

Sudan displacement higher than projected, humanitarian access thwarted

Humanitarian needs are soaring among people displaced by the fighting in Sudan, with refugee numbers on track to surpass projections and aid access still extremely difficult.

That’s the message from the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), which reported on Tuesday that over 2.5 million people have been displaced by the conflict since 15 April.

More than 560,000 people have reached neighbouring countries – with Egypt receiving the highest number, followed by Chad, South Sudan, Ethiopia and the Central African Republic. 

UNHCR’s Assistant High Commissioner for Operations, Raouf Mazou expressed particular concern about the worsening situation in West Darfur, where the conflict has impeded humanitarian access. Some 170,000 people have already crossed into Chad, which borders the province, and many, including women and children, were now arriving with injuries. 

The rainy season has thwarted aid workers from reaching those crossing the border and transporting them to refugee camps.

Afghanistan: rise in suicide attacks against civilians since Taliban takeover

In Afghanistan, attacks on civilians using improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, are on the increase, the UN human rights office (OHCHR) warned on Tuesday.

According to a new report by the Human Rights Service of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), three quarters of the 3,774 civilian casualties documented in the country between 15 August 2021 and 30 May this year were caused by indiscriminate IEDs in populated areas, including places of worship, schools and markets.

Suicide attacks, including by the self-styled “Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant – Khorasan Province” terror group, had significantly increased since the Taliban takeover and have been the leading cause of IED-related civilian harm. 

The UN Mission also documented IED attacks on Shia Muslim places of worship and against the predominantly Shia Muslim Hazara community in schools, crowded streets and public transport.

OHCHR called on Afghanistan’s de facto authorities to uphold their obligation to protect the right to life by carrying out independent investigations into the attacks and implement protection measures.

Dominika Tomaszewska-Mortimer, UN News.