36th session of the Human Rights Council

General debate on agenda item 9

Intervention by the delegation of Ukraine

(Geneva, September 26, 2017)

 

Mr President,

Ukraine is committed to establishing efficient national system of preventing and combatting discrimination, including by adopting a comprehensive and consistent legislation, as well as awareness raising programmes for the citizens.

The temporary occupation of Crimea by the Russian Federation deprived Crimean ethnic minorities and indigenous peoples of the right to be protected under Ukrainian law. We would like to remind the ICJ’s order of April 19, 2017, which indicates the provisional measures in respect of CERD and encompasses specific requirements for the Russian Federation on human rights situation in the occupied Crimea with regard to Crimean Tatar and Ukrainian communities.

The Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination in its recent concluding observations recommends Russia, in particular, to grant the OHCHR full access to Crimea to monitor the human rights situation. The Committee urges Russia to repeal any administrative or legislative measures that have the purpose or effect of discriminating against any ethnic group or indigenous peoples on grounds prohibited under the Convention.

We call on the international community to urge Russia to abide by its obligations under CERD highlighted by the ICJ decision and Committee's recommendations.

 

Thank you.