UN HRC61 side event: Russia’s war on civilians in Ukraine

The side event “Russia’s War on Civilians in Ukraine” takes place on March 13, 2026, from 12:00 to 13:00 in Room IX on the margins of the 61st Session of the UN Human Rights Council.

Since the start of Russia’s war against Ukraine, civilians have been subjected to Russia’s campaign of widespread and systematic abuses. While tactics vary by context and Russia’s degree of control over territory, they are consistently directed at suppressing resistance, erasing Ukrainian identity, and exerting power over civilian life–conduct that may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity under international law.

In occupied territories, this pattern is most visible through violations committed against individuals and communities, including arbitrary detention, torture, sexual violence, enforced disappearances, sham trials, and other inhumane acts. In other conflict-affected territories of Ukraine, it is reflected in recurrent attacks on civilian infrastructure that civilians depend on for survival and basic services, including health care and energy, producing foreseeable immediate and cascading harm and disrupting access to essential care.

Against this backdrop, the side event will explore how these distinct tactics translate into sustained harm for civilians and what is needed to strengthen protection and accountability. 

The side event aims to:

• Highlight documented patterns of persecution of civilians in temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine; 
• Examine the use of fabricated criminal charges and mock judicial proceedings against civilians; 
• Assess the human rights and humanitarian consequences of attacks on critical civilian infrastructure; 
• Discuss pathways for accountability, documentation, and protection of victims and the engagement in the reparation process; 
• Experts will provide recommendations to Member States and UN mechanisms to strengthen monitoring and response.

Speakers: 

• Oleksandra Matviichuk, Chairwoman, Center for Civil Liberties (online)
• Borys Petrunok, Researcher and Analyst at the Documentation Department, ZMINA
• Uliana Poltavets, International Advocacy and Ukraine Program Coordinator, Physicians for Human Rights
• Lyubov Smachylo, Head of the analytical department, Media Initiative for Human Rights
• Tom Syring, Chairman of Human Rights Research League 

Moderator: Saman Zia-Zarifi, Executive Director, Physicians for Human Rights