On November 15, at about 11pm Kyiv time, the United Nations General Assembly’s Third Committee (which focuses on human rights) plans to vote on the draft resolution on the “Situation of human rights in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol (Ukraine)” initiated by Ukraine.

The Ukrainian delegation currently promoting the resolution in New York includes the Commissioner of the President of Ukraine for the Affairs of Crimean Tatars Mustafa Dzhemilev, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Sergiy Kyslytsya and First Deputy Minister of Information Policy of Ukraine Emine Dzheppar.

The draft resolution aims to defend the constitutional rights of Ukrainian citizens in the temporarily occupied territory of the peninsula. It condemns the mass violations of human rights in occupied Crimea and calls for Russia, the occupying power, to uphold all of its obligations under applicable international law.

The draft resolution also notes the need to immediately release all Ukrainian citizens illegally detained by Russia and immediately revoke the decision to ban the Crimean Tatar Mejlis.

The document urges Russia to allow international human rights mechanisms, in particular the UN Mission monitoring the human rights situation in Ukraine, unhindered access to Crimea in order to monitor the human rights situation. The draft resolution also appeals to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to prepare a dedicated thematic report on the situation in the occupied peninsula.

As of today, the draft resolution is co-sponsored by 41 UN members. The draft resolution can be found here.