December 10 — Human Rights Day

Today, the world marks Human Rights Day — the anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. This fundamental document enshrined the basic freedoms and rights of every human being and established global standards for the protection of rights and dignity. However, even decades after its adoption, many states continue to ignore these principles — especially in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

After the occupation of Crimea in 2014, the Russian authorities turned the peninsula into a zone where human rights are virtually ignored. Arrests, searches, detentions, interrogations, and enforced disappearances have become an integral part of everyday life for many pro-Ukrainian activists and Crimean Tatars.

The indigenous Crimean Tatar people have been particularly hard hit. According to the Crimean Tatar Resource Center, over the years of occupation, the number of political prisoners and those prosecuted in criminal cases has reached 486,  272 of whom are representatives of the Crimean Tatar people.

Between 2017 and 2025, at least 10,727 human rights violations were recorded in occupied Crimea, 7,167 of which were against the Crimean Tatar people.

The Russian administration is “successfully” exporting the same repressive practices to the newly occupied territories of Ukraine — in  Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. Intimidation, arrests, and violent abductions are also rampant there.

The Crimean Tatar Resource Center continues to document crimes, inform the international community, and emphasize that human rights are not just a declaration, but an obligation that must be upheld even under occupation or during deToccupation.

Behind every number is a person’s fate, a family, and hope for justice. Spread the truth, support those who are oppressed, and do not forget that Crimea is Ukraine.