Prystaiko at UN: Occupied Donbas and Crimea become a territory of fear and terror
He said this at a UN General Assembly meeting on the situation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine held in New York on Thursday, February 20, an Ukrinform correspondent reported.
“The occupied areas have become a territory of fear and terror, and the occupying authorities are resorting to systematic and large-scale violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms," Prystaiko said.
The dire humanitarian situation in the conflict-affected areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions continues to deteriorate, with more than 3.4 million people expected to require humanitarian assistance in 2020.
The economy in the occupied Donbas has been destroyed and the environment is under direct risk, as some coal mines in Donbas have been abandoned and flooded. Such irresponsible behaviour could lead to the contamination of underground water reservoirs, causing water-related disease and possible agriculture loss across the region. Still, Russian Federation occupation authorities are not allowing experts to assess potential environmental threats or identify ways to address them.
According to the minister, the situation in Crimea is very alarming. Violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms by the occupying Power continue unabated in Crimea. Numerous General Assembly resolutions condemn abuses and discrimination against the residents of Crimea, including Crimean Tatars, as well as Ukrainians and other ethnic and religious groups.
The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine has been denied access to Crimea. The occupation of Crimea has led to yet another form of discrimination and violation of human rights, which can be seen in the plight of the Muslims, Crimean Tatars and the Orthodox Church of Ukraine in the occupied territories.
Even through the Kremlin remains blind and deaf to the appeals and decisions of the international community, he expressed his conviction that international unity and solidarity, and the promotion of human rights, are the only way to stop Moscow’s aggression against Ukraine.
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