The UN General Assembly on December 19 has supported the resolution “Situation of human rights in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine” (A/C.3/72/L.42) proposed by the Ukrainian delegation.
According to the vote results, 71 countries supported the Ukrainian resolution, 25 voted against, 77 country delegates abstained.
The resolution, in particular, calls on Russia to fully and immediately comply with the order of the International Court of Justice of April 19, 2017 on provisional measures in the case concerning Application of the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism and of the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination (Ukraine v. Russian Federation).
Also, Russia Federation should take all measures necessary to bring an immediate end to all violations and abuses against residents of Crimea, in particular, reported discriminatory measures and practices, arbitrary detentions, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and to revoke all discriminatory legislation; to respect the laws in force in Ukraine and to repeal laws imposed in Crimea by the Russian Federation that allow for forced evictions and the confiscation of private property in Crimea, in violation of applicable international law.
According to the resolution, the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly also condemns the illegal establishment of laws, jurisdiction and administration in the occupied Crimea and demands that Russia complies with obligations under international law with respect to the laws that operated in the Crimea prior to the occupation.
The document also urges the Russian Federation to revoke immediately the decision declaring the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People an extremist organization and banning its activities, repeal the decision banning leaders of the Mejlis from entering Crimea and refrain from maintaining or imposing limitations on the ability of the Crimean Tatar community to conserve its representative institutions; as well as to ensure the accessibility of education in Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar languages.
In addition, the resolution stresses the need for the immediate release of Ukrainian citizens who were unlawfully detained and judged without regard for elementary standards of justice, as well as those transferred or deported across internationally recognized borders from Crimea to the Russian Federation;
The Third Committee of the UN General Assembly, in its resolution, urges the Russian Federation to ensure proper and unimpeded access of international human rights monitoring missions and human rights non-governmental organizations to Crimea, including all places where persons may be deprived of their liberty, recognizing that the international presence in Crimea is of paramount importance in preventing further deterioration of the situation.
The resolution also calls on Russia to revoke the decisions that banned cultural and religious institutions, NGOs, human rights organizations, media outlets, and to restore enjoyment of the rights of individuals belonging to ethnic communities in Crimea, in particular, Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars, including to engage in cultural gatherings.
