Russian rights activists urge moratorium on Ukrainian information wars

As Ukraine is facing a new and harsher stage in its standoff, all conflicting parties must concentrate on protecting ordinary citizens and stop information wars that prevent open dialogue, reads a fresh report from the Moscow Human Rights Bureau.

The document was published on Wednesday by the head of the NGO, a member of the Presidential Human Rights Council, Aleksandr Brod. According to the Russian activist, the Ukrainian crisis was entering a new stage, characterized by an increase in violence and growing alienation of the eastern and southeastern regions of the country.

“It is extremely important for all sides to actualize the human rights dimension. Political ambitions must not overshadow the sufferings of ordinary people who find themselves between the millstones of the standoff,” the activists claimed.

The Russian NGO also urged all participants in the Ukrainian conflict to agree on an information behavior code and “declare a moratorium on information wars that stand in the way of establishing a valid dialogue.”

The report also states that it is necessary to resume the Geneva talks on Ukraine and make them permanent, create a reliable negotiations space between Kiev and the southeastern regions and attract civil society to the work of settling the conflict.

The Moscow Human Right Bureau is a leading Russian NGO specializing in legal aid to victims of rights abuse and on daily monitoring of HR violations and various manifestations of xenophobia.

Earlier this week, Russia’s Lower House addressed world parliaments and inter-parliamentary groups and blamed the coup-appointed authorities in Kiev for the ongoing escalation of the conflict, and suggested a new international contact group on the basis of PACE. This would help stop the armed standoff in Ukraine and prevent the looming humanitarian disaster in the country.

Earlier in May, the Russian Foreign Ministry published a “White Book” report on numerous human rights violations by the Kiev authorities and their supporters, focusing on facts which the international community and key international human rights bodies have not shown proper and impartial attention to.