EU Speaking Points – United Nations Security Council Arria-formula Meeting: Human Rights in Crimea
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The illegal annexation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol by Russian Federation started six years ago. Today, as always, we stand in full solidarity with Ukraine, supporting its sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders.
The illegal annexation remains a direct challenge to international security, with grave implications for the international legal order that protects the territorial integrity, unity and sovereignty of all States. This issue is hence not only a serious bilateral or European concern, but a global one. The increasing Russian militarization of Crimea and Sevastopol over this period has had a negative impact to the security situation in the whole Black Sea region.
In line with the UN General Assembly resolutions 68/262 and 74/168, the EU reconfirms its condemnation of this violation of international law. We continue to implement its consistent non-recognition policy of the illegal annexation, including through restrictive measures, together with our partners. We call on all states to consider similar non-recognition measures in line with the UN General Assembly Resolution 68/262.
The EU calls on Russia to comply with its international commitments. The violations related to the illegal annexation must be prevented and those responsible must be held accountable.
We call on Russia to stop its violations of human rights in Crimea, in line with the relevant UN report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights of September 2019. We welcome the approach of Ukraine to seek justice using the international legal system: the European Court of Human Rights, arbitration courts and the International Court of Justice.
The EU is concerned about the deterioration of the human rights situation in the illegally annexed Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol as well as in certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions currently not under the control of the Ukrainian government. We continue to urge the Russian Federation to ensure unimpeded access of international human rights monitoring missions and human rights non-governmental organizations to Crimea. Residents of the peninsula face systematic restrictions of human rights and fundamental freedoms, such as freedom of expression, religion or belief and association and the right to peaceful assembly. We are also concerned by the harmful effects of the relocations of Russian citizens to Crimea and recall in this respect that the occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.
The rights of the Crimean Tatars have been particularly targeted through the shutting down of Crimean Tatar media outlets, and the banning of the activities of the Mejlis, their self-governing body, and the persecution of its leaders and members of their community. The EU expects Russia to reverse these decisions and to end the pressure on the Crimean Tatars.
Journalists, human rights defenders and defence lawyers should be able to work independently and without undue interference and intimidation. All pending cases of human rights violations and abuses, such as enforced disappearances, torture and killings, violence, politically motivated prosecutions, discrimination and harassment should be thoroughly investigated.
The EU welcomes the release of 35 detained Ukrainians including Oleh Sentsov, Edem Bekirov and captured Ukrainian sailors. It was a testimony to the work and determination of those, including civil society, human rights defenders, and legal experts, who have worked tirelessly for this outcome. The EU, however, deplores that Russia released the 24 captured Ukrainian sailors only on 7 September 2019, thus implementing the ruling of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea with an undue delay. We keep calling for the immediate release of all those Ukrainian citizens who have been illegally detained by Russia and sentenced in breach of international law.
At the end, I would like to emphasize that the EU strongly supports the resolution on the situation of human rights in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol, Ukraine, presented every year since UNGA71 by Ukraine in the framework of the Third Committee and I would like to call on all UN Member States to take a clear stance in line with international law and support this resolution in the future. It is, in the overall context, a very important, human-rights focused and fact-based resolution.