Crimea Platform may appear in new UN GA resolution

That’s according to Deputy Head of the Office of the President Andrii Sybiha who spoke with Ukrinform after visiting the UN headquarters on October 27-28.

On October 28, the Ukrainian delegation submitted to the UN General Assembly draft resolutions on human rights in Crimea and the militarization of the peninsula and parts of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.

According to Sybiha, he held talks with the organization’s officials, including Deputy Secretary General for Political Affairs and Peacebuilding Rosemary DiCarlo and Assistant Secretary General for Human Rights Ilze Brands Kehris.

During these meetings, he discussed, among other things, resolutions on Crimea.

"First of all, this is an updated – I will say more – strengthened resolution on the human rights situation in the occupied Crimea," he said. "This enhanced resolution contains provisions on the Crimea Platform."

Thus, Sybiha stressed, if the resolution, set to be put to a vote in December, is adopted, for the first time an official UN document will contain a link to the Crimea Platform.

In addition, the resolution will provide additional provisions related to the Crimean Tatars as an indigenous people of Ukraine, Sybiha added.

"It will also condemn the census by Russian authorities, the involvement of young people in military exercises in the occupied territories," he said.

According to the Ukrainian official, he also raised the issue of the release of Ukrainian citizens illegally held by Russia, whose list was previously submitted to the UN secretary general. The parties also discussed the recent arrests in Crimea, including that of Deputy Chairman of the Crimean Tatar People's Mejlis, Nariman Dzhelyal, whom the occupation authorities detained shortly after he participated in the Crimea Platform summit in Kyiv.

In addition, the Deputy Head of the Presidential Office noted that the parties discussed the possibility of the UN secretary general visiting Ukraine.

As reported, on December 16, 2020, the UN General Assembly adopted an updated resolution "The situation of human rights in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine."

The document was backed by 64 UN members, opposed by 23 countries led by the Russian Federation, while 86 delegates abstained.

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