28th session of the UN Human Rights Council
Agenda item 4 General Debate
Statement by Permanent Representative of Ukraine
Ambassador Yurii Klymenko
March 17, 2015
Mr. President,
These days not only Ukraine but the whole international community recalls occurrences of last March when the neighboring state committed act of aggression against my country and occupied the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.
The occupant and aggressor state had to answer a wide range of questions, in particular before the Human Rights Committee yesterday and today.
These questions echo those ones we raise throughout this terrible year.
Will the Russian Federation stop oppression of Crimea’s population, particularly Crimean Tatars and ethnic Ukrainians?
Why so cynically and hastily the rule of the so-called "automatic citizenship" was applied by Russia to the residents of Crimea depriving them of their rights as Ukrainian citizens?
Would someone be brought to accountability for unlawful detention in Russia of Ukrainian citizens abducted in my country and forcibly taken across the border including Nadiya Savchenko, member of the Parliament of Ukraine who yesterday resumed her hunger strike protesting against continuing detention?
When Russia will finish its backing, arming and controlling militants’ groups in the southeast of Ukraine and start implementing Minsk agreements?
How long the Russian authorities will continue to exploit humanitarian situation in the Donbas to further deteriorate state of affairs therein?
But aggressor does not provide answers, habitually resorting to its favorite weapon in this undeclared war – propaganda.
We call upon the Russian Federation to stop information war waged against the whole world and even its own population, turning it into a state characterized by repression and hate speech, where nationalist euphoria and crime of aggression are glorified what was sadly proved by recent pseudo documentary about occupation of Crimea.
I thank you.