UN report: Russia must stop human rights violations in Crimea

The report will be represented at the 74th UN session on September 23. It is based on the information collected by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in line with General Assembly resolutions.

The report reflects key aspects of the violation of civil and political rights of Crimean residents. In particular, it is about violations of the freedom of thought, conscience, belief, and religion, as well as the freedom of peaceful assembly.

In the conclusions and recommendations of the UN report, the Secretary-General urges the Russian Federation to stop violations and ensure access of the UN human rights monitoring missions to the temporarily occupied peninsula.

"I also urge the Government of the Russian Federation to ensure the proper and unimpeded access of international human rights monitoring missions and human rights non-governmental organizations to Crimea, pursuant to General Assembly resolutions 71/205, 72/190 and 73/263, as well as to ensure unimpeded freedom of movement between Crimea and other parts of Ukraine," he says in the report.

The Secretary-General calls on the Government of the Russian Federation to uphold its obligations under international human rights law in Crimea and to respect obligations that apply to it pursuant to international humanitarian law.

"It is equally essential to ensure effective investigation of all allegations of ill-treatment, torture and enforced disappearance in Crimea, as well as ensure that the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, association, thought, conscience and religion can be exercised by any individual or group in Crimea, without discrimination on any grounds," he emphasizes.

The authorities of the Russian Federation are called on to respect the right to peaceful assembly and to lift restrictions imposed on the Crimean Tatar community, including the ban on the Mejlis, in order to preserve its representative institutions.

For its part, the Government of Ukraine is urged to respect its human rights obligations in relation to Crimean residents. Specific recommendations include, but are not limited to, facilitating freedom of movement between Crimea and other parts of Ukraine and ending policies restricting access by foreign journalists, human rights defenders, international human rights monitoring missions, human rights non-governmental organizations and other civil society actors to Crimea.

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