Situation of human rights in the Autonomous Republic
of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine
A/RES/74/168
Reaffirming its serious concern at the decision of the so-called Supreme Court
of Crimea of 26 April 2016 and the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian
Federation of 29 September 2016 to declare the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People,
the self-governing body of the Crimean Tatars, to be an extremist organization and to
ban its activities,
Condemning the ongoing pressure exerted upon religious minority
communities, including through frequent police raids, undue registration
requirements that have affected legal status and property rights and threats against
and persecution of those belonging to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, the Protestant
Church, mosques and Muslim religious schools, Greek Catholics, Roman Catholics
and Jehovah’s Witnesses, and condemning also the baseless prosecution of dozens of
peaceful Muslims for allegedly belonging to Islamic organizations,
Condemning also the continuous widespread misuse of counter-terrorism and
anti-extremism laws to suppress dissent,
Strongly condemning in this regard mass detentions on terrorism grounds and
other forms of repression against human rights defenders, including against activists
of the Crimean Solidarity civic initiative, which documents abuses on the peninsula
and provides humanitarian assistance to the families of victims of politically
motivated prosecutions,
Recalling the order of the International Court of Justice of 19 April 2017 on
provisional measures in the case concerning the Application of the International
Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism and of the International
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Ukraine v.
Russian Federation), 10
Recalling also the prohibition under the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949
for the occupying Power to compel protected persons to serve in its armed or auxiliary
forces, including through pressure or propaganda that is aimed at securing v oluntary
enlistment, and condemning the ongoing recruitment campaign in Crimea and
criminal prosecutions of Crimean men for draft evasion,
Underlining the importance of the measures to develop transparent, accessible,
non-discriminatory and expeditious procedures and regulations governing access to
Crimea for human rights defenders, journalists, media workers and lawyers, as well
as the possibility to appeal, in accordance with national legislation and in conformity
with all applicable international law,
Condemning the blocking by the Russian Federation of Ukrainian websites and
television channels and the seizure of Ukrainian transmission frequencies in Crimea,
Welcoming the support provided by Ukraine to media outlets and civil society
organizations that have fled Crimea, which improves the ability of the media and civil
society to work independently and without interference,
Welcoming also the continued efforts of the Secretary-General, the United
Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe, the Council of Europe and other international and regional
organizations to support Ukraine in promoting, protecting and ensu ring human rights,
and expressing further concern over the lack of safe and unfettered access by
established regional and international human rights monitoring mechanisms and
human rights non-governmental organizations to Crimea,
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See Official Records of the General Assembly, Seventy-second Session, Supplement No. 4
(A/72/4), chap. V, sect. A.
19-22310