CTRC sends a report to the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism

The Crimean Tatar Resource Center sent a report to the UN Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism on the topic  “Racism, Discrimination and Armed Conflict in the Context of the Occupation of Crimea”.

This information will be taken into account in the report at the General Assembly’s 80th session.

The authors of the report described how, since the beginning of the occupation of Crimea by the rf, Crimean Tatars have become the object of mass repressions accompanied by the systematic use of hate speech.

“The occupation authorities create an image of ‘extremists’ and ”terrorists” by associating the Crimean Tatar identity with a security threat. Such statements are used to justify persecution – searches, detentions, torture,” – says the report .

According to the CTRC, since 2014, 248 of the 418 people prosecuted in Crimea were representatives of the Crimean Tatar people. Out of  61 murdered people  – 29 were Crimean Tatars. Out of 29 abducted – 18 were also the representatives of the indigenous people.

The report notes that Crimean Tatars are currently subjected to a policy of systemic persecution, xenophobia and racial intolerance.

“In 2024, Russia recognized the Crimean Tatar Resource Center as an ‘undesirable organization,” – notes the CTRC .

It also focuses on the militarization of education, forced Russification and rewriting of history: “The historiography of Crimea and the Crimean Tatar people is rewritten and falsified.

 The 10th grade history textbook contained biased statements about the history of the Crimean Tatar people with xenophobic manifestations. Under public pressure, the occupation authorities withdrew the textbook from schools, but in 2020 this textbook was again used in the educational process”.

The authors of the report pay special attention to the illegal ban on the activities of the Mejlis, the representative body of the Crimean Tatar people, in occupied Crimea. And experts also note the importance of fixing the legal status of the representative body.

“Delaying the decision on fixing the legal status of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people creates a situation of uncertainty, because in fact on many issues consultations with the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people are held, but now it is purely political will, these consultations are not held in accordance with the fixed procedure and have no legal force, including in terms of taking into account the position of the representative body when making the final decision,” – stated in the report.

The experts emphasize that the Ukrainian state should eliminate legal gaps in the protection of the rights of indigenous peoples and the implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, while the international community should increase pressure on the Russian Federation to stop repressions and restore the rights of the indigenous people of Ukraine.

Authors of the report:

Eskender Bariiev, Chairman of the Board of the Crimean Tatar Resource Center, member of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people

Liudmyla Korotkykh, lawyer of the Crimean Tatar Resource Center

Zarema Bariieva, Manager of the Crimean Tatar Resource Center