Speech by the Head of the board of the Crimean Tatar Resource Center, the head of the department of legal and foreign affairs of Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people Eskender Bariiev at the side event “Threats to the sustainable development of Indigenous Peoples in the conditions of interstate conflicts on the example of the Russia-occupied Crimea.
Merhaba saigili arkadaşlar!
Good afternoon, dear ladies and gentlemen!
I would like to express my gratitude to the member states that supported the resolutions "The situation with human rights in Crimea" and The Russian militarization of Crimea, the Black and Azov seas" adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2020.
Russia is trying to present the attempted annexation of Crimea as an expression of the will of some Crimean people, which does not exist in nature.
False propaganda is being conducted that no blood was shed during the occupation of Crimea by Russia.
During the occupation of Crimea by Russia, officers of the Ukrainian armed forces were shot at point-blank, activists who demonstrated their civic position were kidnapped and brutally killed.
The occupation of Crimea and the waters of the Azov and Black Seas, their militarization ia a proof of the growing threat from Russia not only in relation to Ukraine, but the countries of Europe and the Black Sea region.
Only in the first quarter of 2021 alone, Russia conducted 11 military exercises on the territory of the peninsula with the participation of more than 3,800 military personnel and more than 600 units of military and special equipment.
And since March 2021, Russia has been escalating the conflict by deploying troops to Crimea and to the borders of Ukraine. The concentration of Russian forces near the borders of Ukraine is at a record in recent years.
As a result of the policy of genocide, the Crimean Tatar people became a minority in their homeland.
Active replacement of the Crimean population is underway. Through constant persecution, the indigenous people are intimidated and purposefully squeezed out of Crimea, as a population disloyal to Russia. More than 500 thousand Russians were brought from Russia to Crimea, and about 30 thousand Crimean Tatars were forced to flee the peninsula.
In Crimea, they are forced to obtain Russian passports, and people who refuse to take these documents are deprived of their property rights or are deported from Crimea.
In accordance with the analysis of human rights violations in Crimea over 2020, the following trends can be distinguished:
– conducting searches due to refusal to snitch;
– detention of activists who come to support political prisoners at the so-called court sessions, including on ethnic grounds;
– the persecution of entire families, as well as the wives and mothers of political prisoners;
– strengthening of Russian legislation and its application in the persecution of indigenous people and Ukrainian citizens;
– the imposition of long terms for political prisoners of Crimea;
– massive cases of non-provision of proper medical care and deterioration of the health of political prisoners in Crimea in pre-trial detention centers and prisons, as well as cases of moral pressure and physical violence against detained activists and political prisoners.
In 2020, a record number of arrests, detentions, violations of civil liberties and human rights was registered over the past four years.
At the same time, there are clear trends of ongoing persecution for religious, ethnic and political reasons. The violation of the rights to freedom of speech, freedom of religion and conscience, and freedom of peaceful assembly continues.
At the moment, in accordance with the classification of the Crimean Tatar Resource Center there are :
230 political prisoners and persecuted in the so-called criminal cases over the occupation period of Crimea, 158 of them are the representatives of the Crimean Tatar people;
59 were sentenced and serve terms in colonies on the territory of Russia, 36 of them are Crimean Tatars
60 are in detention , 44 of them are Crimean Tatars;
30 have restrictions or on probation, 19 of them are Crimean Tatars;
32 are persecuted, 26 of them are Crimean Tatars;
55 were killed during the occupation of Crimea, 25 of them were Crimean Tatars. 21 were abducted over the occupation period of Crimea, 15 of them are the representatives of the Crimean Tatar people.
The actions of the Russian Federation are criminal, politically motivated, and grossly violate international law.
In January 2021, Russian security forces massively stopped cars in the direction of the Kerch bridge. The documents were taken from the representatives of the indigenous people and 120 people were held in the cold for more than 8 hours. This is not the first time that the occupiers keep people based on ethnicity. This is a direct violation of Articles 2 and 7 of the Declaration.
In accordance with the targets of Sustainable Development Goal 16, I propose the following recommendations:
1. To stop the application of all forms of violence against the Crimean Tatar people, Karaites and Krymchaks;
2. To end the deprivation of adequate parental care for children through systemic arrests;
3. To ensure the implementation of the IV Geneva Convention on the territory of the occupied Crimea, to ensure the rule of law and equal access to justice;
4. To seize the illegal financial flows and militarization of the peninsula, find and return the abducted activists;
5. To provide people with legal (Ukrainian) identity documents, including birth certificates;
6. To ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms in accordance with international agreements;
7. To strengthen international cooperation within the framework of the Crimean Platform for the De-occupation of Crimea, in order to build up capacity at all levels in the prevention of violence and repression.
The families and around 200 children of political prisoners and need your support and reaction which gives hope for their release and return of their parents. We are confident that only with active joint opposition to gross violations of human rights in Crimea, we will be able to protect not only the indigenous people of Crimea – the Crimean Tatars and Ukraine, but also Europe and the whole world.
Thank you very much for your attention!230 political prisoners and persecuted in the so-called criminal cases over the occupation period of Crimea, 158 of them are the representatives of the Crimean Tatar people;
59 were sentenced and serve terms in colonies on the territory of Russia, 36 of them are Crimean Tatars
60 are in detention , 44 of them are Crimean Tatars;
30 have restrictions or on probation, 19 of them are Crimean Tatars;
32 are persecuted, 26 of them are Crimean Tatars;
55 were killed during the occupation of Crimea, 25 of them were Crimean Tatars. 21 were abducted over the occupation period of Crimea, 15 of them are the representatives of the Crimean Tatar people.
The actions of the Russian Federation are criminal, politically motivated, and grossly violate international law.
In January 2021, Russian security forces massively stopped cars in the direction of the Kerch bridge. The documents were taken from the representatives of the indigenous people and 120 people were held in the cold for more than 8 hours. This is not the first time that the occupiers keep people based on ethnicity. This is a direct violation of Articles 2 and 7 of the Declaration.
In accordance with the targets of Sustainable Development Goal 16, I propose the following recommendations:
1. To stop the application of all forms of violence against the Crimean Tatar people, Karaites and Krymchaks;
2. To end the deprivation of adequate parental care for children through systemic arrests;
3. To ensure the implementation of the IV Geneva Convention on the territory of the occupied Crimea, to ensure the rule of law and equal access to justice;
4. To seize the illegal financial flows and militarization of the peninsula, find and return the abducted activists;
5. To Provide people with legal (Ukrainian) identity documents, including birth certificates;
6. To ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms in accordance with international agreements;
7. To strengthen international cooperation within the framework of the Crimean Platform for the De-occupation of Crimea, in order to build up capacity at all levels in the prevention of violence and repression.
The families and around 200 children of political prisoners and need your support and reaction which gives hope for their release and return of their parents. We are confident that only with active joint opposition to gross violations of human rights in Crimea, we will be able to protect not only the indigenous people of Crimea – the Crimean Tatars and Ukraine, but also Europe and the whole world.
Thank you very much for your attention!