Martial law no “carte blanche” for rights limitations - ambassador

At the times of war, certain limitations imposed on fundamental human rights are a necessity provided that they are justified, temporary, and duly explained to the general public.

That’s according to the EU Ambassador to Ukraine, Katarína Mathernová, who spoke in an exclusive comment to Ukrinform ahead of the publication of the EU Enlargement Report 2024 where the European Commission will lay down an assessment including of the situation of fundamental human rights in Ukraine.

“In general, there is understanding that under martial law, there necessarily are certain limitations, including curfew and others,” the ambassador said.

At the same time, the EU expectation is that the limitations are duly “explained to the public, temporary, justified, and minimal to a certain extent”, the diplomat explained, adding that martial law cannot be seen as a “carte blanche”.

“But I don't think there is necessarily a big concern about this in the upcoming report,” Katarína Mathernová said.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, has passed the law approving a presidential decree to extend martial law in Ukraine for another 90 days from November 10.

On February 24, 2022, after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, martial law was introduced in the country and general mobilization was announced, initially until March 26.

Subsequently, the period of martial law and general mobilization was extended 12 times.