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I would like to thank ASG Simonovic for his briefing. OHCHR and OSCE presence on the ground remain essential. Such missions register and report facts on the ground, identify existing gaps in Government policies and, in the case of OHCHR report, offer important recommendations for the Ukrainian Government which are important to follow up on as the country’s leadership is undertaking comprehensive constitutional and administrative reforms necessary for the country to recover after years of corruption and neglect.

Importantly, such missions register the countless and continuous human rights violations caused by Russia-supported armed separatists who, under false pretexts of self-determination and violations of minority rights, have dealt a blow to the rule of law and human rights in the region as they persist in their efforts to erode Ukraine’s sovereignty and destroy its territorial integrity.

As the latest OHCHR report points out, law and order in rebel held areas has collapsed. Rule of law has been substituted by rule of the gun. Details provided by the report reveal the true nature the militant separatists and their imported leaders, whom their main sponsor Russia has time and again sought to present as mere "peaceful protesters".

Trademark activities of those so-called "peaceful protesters", as the report points out, include intimidations, abductions, illegal detentions, torture, and ill-treatment; as well as deliberate targeting of critical public utilities, illegal occupation and seizing of public and private properties; bank robberies and attacks on coal mines. To date, 104 buildings remain seized by these illegal armed groups. Such illegally occupied public buildings are often used to detain and torture civil activists, journalists, and political opponents.

Armed separatists have seized warehouses, factories, using their premises as training camps or military repair shops. Such actions as well as their threats and intimidations led to a shut-down of many factories, causing unemployment in the region to soar.

The separatists abducted over 800 people (392 girls and young women), the whereabouts of 375 remain unknown. Just this week, three Red Cross employers were reported kidnapped and are kept in detention by the armed militants. None of these actions- all clear and criminal violations of human rights law- have ever been condemned by Russia, which has instead repeatedly sought Council condemnation of Ukraine for its legitimate efforts to restore law and order in the east of the country.

In the past two weeks new reports came in that more journalists have gone missing in the east of Ukraine. Journalists from Serbian weekly Pecat and 112 Ukraina TV channel, as well as freelance journalist Sergey Boyko went missing in eastern Ukraine. Journalists attempting to report on MH17 crash, including representatives of Dagens Nyheter, BBC, The Daily Beast, Nieuwsuur, Time and Russia Today, were detained and harassed by armed gangs.

As of 15 July, 13381 people have moved from Crimea and a new wave of IDPs is expected, in addition to the already large numbers of IDPs. Harassment and discrimination against ethnic Ukrainians, Crimean Tatars, representatives of religious and other minorities continue. Restrictions on movement and right to peaceful assembly continue. Crimean Tatar leaders Mustafa Dzhemiliev and Refat Chubarov have been barred from entering their homeland by the Russian occupying authorities.

Written records of execution orders authorized and signed personally by the ‘commander-in-chief’ of the illegal Donetsk People's Republic, Igor Girking, aka Strelkov, and also of hearings of self-proclaimed military tribunals convicting people to death have been found in Slovyansk. An illegal militant group, representing no one but themselves and headed by foreign passport holders, whose sole authority on the ground stems from the guns they carry, grants itself the authority to assign and execute extrajudiciary death sentences on an illegally occupied territory. The mass graves discovered recently in areas liberated by the Ukrainian forces are a tragic testimony to the degree of lawlessness that marks the insurgent actions.

These armed insurgents are increasingly better armed and use heavy weaponry, including mortars, anti-craft guns, tanks, and armored vehicles. They continue to shoot down helicopters and planes, including at high altitudes, including the downing this week of a Ukrainian military plane and transport helicopter.

Sources on the ground indicate the tendency of the last days that whenever Ukrainian troops deploy sufficient power to pose a threat to the militants, and are in a position to launch strikes against their positions, the illegal armed groups re-deploy to a nearby town, exposing civilian populations to combat risk and forcing them to flee, as they install their armed vehicles, artillery and Grad rocket launchers in residential areas.

Government's efforts to establish ceasefire or humanitarian corridors have been repeatedly violated by the insurgents. While Russia continues to criticise Ukrainian authorities for endangering civilian population, we are yet to hear a single condemnation by Russia of the reckless acts by the insurgents, including around the crash site of the Malaysian liner.

Instead of closing its borders to the illegal movement of mercenaries and weapons, Russia continues to play war games at Ukraine's eastern borders. Once again large numbers of combat ready troops and armaments are amassed on Ukraine’s borders. Defence Minister Shoigu's latest statements on the combat readiness of Russian "peace- keepers" are highly alarming, and once again raise serious questions about Russia’s true intentions in the region.

No less alarming is the ongoing escalation of Cold War style rhetoric against Europe and the West, now extended into food imports which will undoubtedly affect Russian population itself. Such actions are the exact opposite to confidence building and de-escalation that is badly needed and for which the international community has called repeatedly. While we are all seriously concerned about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the east of Ukraine and the civilian suffering, we have to be very clear: the key to ending this suffering is in the hands of Russia and its continued support to illegal separatist groups.