Intervention by Permanent Representative of Ukraine Ambassador Yurii Klymenko
15 September 2020
M-me President,
This statement is delivered on behalf of 41 countries.
We would like to specifically refer to the interim report of the UN Secretary General A/HRC/44/21 “Situation of human rights in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine”, submitted before the Council pursuant to the UNGA resolution 74/168. This document confirms the continued deterioration of human rights situation in the illegally annexed territories of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine, and continued attempts by the Russian Federation to undermine Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, with further intentions to forcibly integrate the mentioned territories into Russia, thus violating international law.
A large number of violations and other issues of deep concern are reflected in the report, including: arbitrary arrests, torture and other ill-treatment, grossly inadequate conditions of detention in overcrowded cells, lack of proper medical care, individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory to the territory of the occupying power, forced conscriptions, unlawful interference with a person's privacy; violations of the rights to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, to opinion and expression, and of the rights to peaceful assembly and association; and the criminalization of freedom of expression on social media.
We strongly support the appeals of the Secretary General to the Government of the Russian Federation to uphold its obligations under international human rights law in Crimea and to respect obligations that apply to it pursuant to international humanitarian law. We call upon the Russian Federation to lift restrictions imposed on the Crimean Tatar community with regard to its representative institutions, including the ban on the Mejlis. We recall that it is for more than three years, that the occupying power has been ignoring the respective ICJ's order of April 19, 2017.
The proper and unimpeded access of international human rights monitoring missions and human rights non-governmental organizations to Crimea, pursuant to the General Assembly resolutions 71/205, 72/190, 73/263 and 74/168, must be immediately provided by the occupying power.
We reiterate our staunch support for the territorial integrity, political independence, unity, and sovereignty of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.
Thank you.
The list of countries (as of 12:00, Sep.14): Albania, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Denmark, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland