Dzheppar: Russia violating UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in occupied Crimea

03.12.2020 14:15

Ukrinform

Russia is violating the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in occupied Crimea and, as an occupying power, is failing to fulfill its obligations to protect civilians amid the pandemic.

First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Emine Dzheppar made a corresponding statement during the 13th session of the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

The session focused on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the rights of indigenous peoples.

"Emine Dzheppar informed about ongoing flagrant and systematic violations of human rights, in particular of Crimean Tatars’ rights, in the territory of the temporarily occupied Crimea and pointed to Russia's failure to fulfill its obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilians amid the pandemic," the Ministry’s press service informs.

Dzheppar also touched upon the violation of religious rights, failure to provide Crimean residents with adequate access to medical care, creating additional pandemic risks through the announcement of yet another illegal conscription into the Russian army and the ongoing campaign to resettle Russian citizens to the occupied Ukrainian peninsula.

The First Deputy Foreign Minister called on the Expert Mechanism to respond appropriately to Russia's violations of international law in the occupied Crimea, in particular to the violation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Emine Dzheppar also reaffirmed the readiness of the Ukrainian side to cooperate with the Expert Mechanism in order to further protect the rights of indigenous peoples.

The Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, established by the United Nations' Human Rights Council in 2007, is a subsidiary body that provides the Council with expertise and advice on the rights of the indigenous peoples as set out in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Expert Mechanism's research and recommendations are intended to provide a better understanding of the provisions of the Declaration and to offer concrete actions that states, indigenous peoples, civil society, international organizations and national human rights institutions can further implement.