45th session of the UN Human Rights Council

General debate

Agenda item 4 

Intervention by the Permanent Representative of Ukraine, H.E. Ambassador Yurii Klymenko

(24 September 2020)

Mme President,

Ukraine expresses serious concern regarding the human rights situations in Venezuela, Myanmar, South Sudan, Syria, Nicaragua, Belarus and the Russian Federation.

Ukraine closely follows developments in Belarus and encourages the official Minsk to engage constructively with the UN human rights mechanisms, as demanded by Council’s resolution 45/1.

Russia gravely violates human rights and fundamental freedoms of its citizens, restricting their civil, political and cultural space, persecuting independent journalists and bloggers, poisoning opposition leaders, interferes with the rights of ethnic, religious and other minorities etc. Moreover, having unleashed aggression against neighbouring sovereign states and illegally occupied their territories, Russia brings and cultivates there the worst features of its repressive domestic policies.

Crimea became a zone of illegality and lawlessness for all those who refuse to collaborate with the Russian occupation administration. Residents who voice dissent or try to exercise their fundamental rights are subject to harsh repression.

Just last week, a Russian court unlawfully sentenced seven Ukrainian citizens – ethnic Crimean Tatars: Marlen Asanov, Memet Belialov, Server Zekiriaiev, Timur Ibrahimov, Server Mustafaiev, Seyran Saliiev and Edem Smailov – on fabricated charges. Shocking terms of imprisonment – 13 to 18 years – clearly demonstrate how the occupying power uses its “anti-terror legislation” as a cover up for its systemic policy of religious discrimination and political reprisals against Crimean Tatars to intimidate and suppress any disloyal civil activity in the temporarily occupied peninsula.

And this is just one example of Russia's violations of norms of international law, including IHL and the human rights law, in the occupied territories of a sovereign State.

Bearing in mind Russian disruptive activities throughout the world and, in particular in our region, we are deeply concerned about Russia’s eventual steps aimed at undermining political sovereignty of Belarus and thus destabilizing the wider Europe.

Mme President,

We call upon all UN Member States to take part in the consideration of the item 65 “The situation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine” by the UN General Assembly in New York. Russia’s dangerous behaviour requires special attention of all UN bodies: the Human Rights Council, the General Assembly, and the Security Council as well.      

I thank you.