On Tuesday, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay urged Kiev and pro-Russia protesters to end violent confrontations and defuse tensions in the east of Ukraine.
“I urge all sides to make a much greater effort to find a peaceful resolution to the current crisis, especially in the various towns in eastern and southern Ukraine,” she said.
The UN official has called on Ukrainian officials to avoid using excessive force against protesters.
Kiev-led operations should comply with international standards and “scrupulously protect the human rights of all, including the Russian-speaking population,” Pillay said.
She also urged those in favor of joining Russia to lay down their arms, vacate occupied buildings and free those randomly detained.
The High Commissioner’s spokesman, Rupert Colville, has called for an investigation into clashes in the cities of Donetsk and Odessa, as well as a building fire that left several dozens of pro-Russia activists dead on Friday.
The Ukrainian crisis began last November when the country’s then president Viktor Yanukovych refrained from signing an Association Agreement with the European Union in favor of closer ties with Russia.
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights is due to publish its next report on the human rights situation in Ukraine on May 15.
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