For people in Crimea, story of untold suffering began eight years ago: UK statement to UN

Thank you Mr President.

The United Kingdom reiterates its support for this resolution and welcomes the significant number of sponsoring States.

This year we watched in horror as Putin launched his illegal and unprovoked war, inflicting untold suffering on the innocent Ukrainian people. But we are well aware that for the people of Crimea, this story began eight years ago, in 2014.

Since then, they have endured a brutal and systematic campaign of human rights violations and abuses by the Russian authorities: arbitrary arrests and detentions, torture and unjustifiable restrictions on fundamental freedoms of movement, expression and religion or conviction. Many of these measures have disproportionately targeted ethnic and religious minorities, particularly Crimean Tatars.

Since the Russian invasion last February, the human rights situation in Crimea has only deteriorated further. This resolution underlines that Crimea has become both a base from which to launch attacks against the rest of Ukraine and a model for further human rights violations by Russia on Ukrainian territory. We condemn the conscription and mobilization of Ukrainian civilians in Crimea into the Russian armed forces, as well as the forced imposition of Russian legislation further limiting freedom of expression, including the freedom to speak out against the brutal war in Russia.

And we regret that – despite repeated requests from this committee – Russia continues to deny access to international monitoring missions to Crimea and other parts of Ukraine under its temporary control.

Russia will undoubtedly accuse us of politicizing this Committee. But the UK strongly advocates the use of country-specific resolutions, which complement the work of the Human Rights Council and other forums by providing oversight of compliance with human rights obligations. .
Indeed, on November 4 of this year, this Committee adopted a resolution which noted with concern that Russia sought to justify its territorial aggression against Ukraine on the alleged basis of the elimination of neo-Nazism.

By failing to present even the weakest arguments against the language, Russia has tacitly acknowledged what we all know: it has no justification for its aggression against Ukraine.

The adoption of this resolution today will underscore the international community’s support for Ukraine in its fight against this aggression, and its determination to maintain pressure on Russia to end its systematic human rights violations. man in Ukraine.

Thanks.