Joint Statement on Behalf of 40 UN Member States Condemning Russia’s Human Rights Violations in Crimea

On 4 October, First Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine Emine Dzheppar delivered a Joint Statement on the Human Rights Situation in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea on behalf of 40 UN member states during the 48th session of the UN Human Rights Council.

The key points of the Joint Statement, signed among others by Ukraine, the United States, Canada, Great Britain, France, Germany, and Australia, are as follows:

• Condemnation of the Russian Federation’s gross human rights violations in the temporarily occupied Crimea.
• Support for the Crimea Platform.
• Call on the Russian Federation to comply with its obligations, in accordance with the rules of international law, and condemnation of any attempts by the Russian Federation to legitimise the annexation of Crimea.
• Condemnation of the holding of elections to the State Duma of the Russian Federation from 17 to 19 September on the sovereign territory of Ukraine without the consent of the Ukrainian side and non-recognition of the results of these elections.
• Strong condemnation of the politically motivated searches and detentions of Crimean Tatars, in particular, Eldar Odamanov, Asan and Aziz Akhmetovs, Shevket Useinov, and first deputy Сhairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People Nariman Dzhelyalov.
• Need for Russia, as the occupying power, to comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law and in the field of human rights, to restore human rights of all residents of Crimea, to immediately and fully implement the order of the International Court of Justice of 19 April 2017 on the resumption of the activities of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people and an end to oppression Crimean Tatars.
• Support for the territorial integrity, political independence, and sovereignty of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders and determination to work together to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms of all residents of Crimea.

The statement was signed by: Ukraine, Albania, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Georgia, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the United States of America.

Natalia Tolub