Intervention by the Delegation of Ukraine at the Clustered interactive dialogue with Special Rapporteur on the right to privacyand Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights

Mr. President,

We welcome this dialogue with both mandate holders; let me turn to Ms.Karima Bennoune.

We fully share her opinion that cultural rights cannot be set aside in contexts of crises, conflicts or austerity. This conclusion is topical for my country.

For over five years, a significant part of the territory of Ukraine – the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, where we have cultural heritage properties including one inscribed on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List – has been living under illegal occupation by the Russian Federation.    

While the human rights situation continues deteriorating in the peninsula, the culturaland natural heritage in Crimea is also being treated by the occupying authorities as spoils of the “conquest”, not as objects of timeless, historic significance. 

Illegal excavations, illicit construction activities, negligence regarding conservation and renovation of the invaluable cultural sites have become common place under the occupation.

We cannot but consider this situation as serious threat to the very existence of cultural values, which future generations should enjoy.

We commend the constructive interaction between the Special Rapporteur and UNESCO in advocating for enhanced consideration of cultural heritage and the need for its protection in humanitarian and security policies. 

In this regard, we appreciate the ten consecutive decisions of the UNESCO Executive Board “Follow-up of the situation in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea (Ukraine)” adopted throughout 2014-2018, envisaging introduction of an effective monitoring on the occupied peninsula.

The findings and conclusions of the Special Rapporteur and our today discussion on them prove the necessity of keeping the cultural rights on top of the UN agenda.

Thank you.

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