The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine welcomes the publication of the Office’s of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights report on the human rights situation in the temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine, which summarizes the systemic gross violations of human rights committed by Russia on the territory of the temporarily occupied peninsula since February 2014.
Blatant crimes by Russian occupation authorities’ in Crimea against the residents of the occupied peninsula, including Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars, documented by the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine over course of ten years, once again confirm Russia's disregard for its international legal obligations in violation of the UN Charter, international human rights law, and international humanitarian law.
The report contains numerous cases of enforced disappearance of pro-Ukrainian activists, members of Crimean Tatar organizations, and journalists in Crimea, as well as torture and ill-treatment of individuals accused by the occupation administration of extremism, belonging to groups banned in the Russian Federation, sabotage, or “anti-Russian” activities. Moreover, there are cases of systematic suppression of manifestation of Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar identity and culture, restrictions on freedom of religion and freedom of thoughts by the Russian authorities.
An important element in the document is the reference to the International Court of Justice’s judgement of January 31, 2024, which found Russia's violation of the Court’s Order for Interim Measures of April 19, 2017, due to the ongoing ban on the activities of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People and the introduction of the Russian education system in Crimea, effectively preventing access to education services in the Ukrainian language. Russia is recognized as a violator of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
Despite calls from the international community and provisions of numerous UN General Assembly resolutions, as well as regular appeals from the OHCHR, Russia continues to refuse physical access to experts of the UN Monitoring Mission to the territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, and therefore international observers can only monitor the situation in Crimea remotely.
We urge the UN Secretary-General and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to continue to make every effort to facilitate the effective implementation of all resolutions adopted by the UN General Assembly on the human rights situation in Crimea, temporarily occupied by Russia.
The international community must continue exerting systemic pressure on the aggressor state to halt its violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, as well as to de-occupy the Ukrainian peninsula.