The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine welcomes the adoption on November 15, 2018 by the UN General Assembly Third Committee, at its 73st session, of an updated draft resolution "Situation of human rights in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine". It will further contribute to continuing international pressure on the Russian Federation in response to its illegal occupation and attempted annexation of Crimea.

The international community strictly adheres to the policy of non-recognition of the attempted annexation of Crimea and condemns all attempts by the Russian Federation to legitimize it, including by way of conducting illegal election campaigns in the territory of the peninsula.

In a strong signal to the Kremlin, the resolution includes a reference to the UNGA Resolution of 14 December 1974 on the Definition of Aggression as well as the demand to return the illegally seized Crimea.

The draft resolution is based on the previous UNGA resolutions on human rights situation in Crimea as well as the latest thematic report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Russia has not implemented any of the provisions of these resolutions, and the human rights situation on the peninsula continues to deteriorate.

The draft resolution pays special attention to Ukrainian citizens illegally detained by the Russian Federation on political grounds. The international community is deeply concerned about further deterioration of the human rights situation in the occupied Crimea, the facts of torture, including in the case of Oleg Sentsov, arbitrary detentions and arrests of Volodymyr Balukh, Emir-Usein Kuku and many others, illegal transfer of Ukrainian detainees from the occupied Crimea to Russia, as well as the use of involuntary placement in psychiatric institutions as a form of harassment and punishment of political opponents and activists.

The draft resolution draws particular attention to the problem of violation of the right to freedom of opinion and expression as well as the right to peaceful assembly, including the ongoing blocking of Ukrainian websites and television channels as well as seizure of Ukrainian transmission frequencies in Crimea.

We demand that the Russian Federation immediately stop its gross violations of human rights and ensure unimpeded access of international human rights mechanisms, including the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, to the occupied peninsula.

Ukraine is grateful to those states who have supported the draft resolution in the Third Committee and calls on all the UN Member States to support the resolution at the plenary session of the United Nations General Assembly.