Mr. President,
We share the concern expressed by the EU in its statement on the human rights situation in Russia, where pressure and restrictions on civil society continue to grow, where rights of persons belonging to minorities and vulnerable groups are not protected, where dozens of my compatriots are illegally detained under trumped-up charges.
The independent human rights organizations assess the current climate to be the most oppressive in the history of modern Russia.
Continuous and rapid degradation of human security in Russia moves hand in hand with continuous and sharp increase of security threats emanating from the Russian regime towards the neighbouring countries like Ukraine or Georgia.
Five years of illegal occupation by Russia of Ukrainian territories – Crimea and parts of Donbas – have led to a serious deterioration of the human rights situation there, marked by abductions, enforced disappearances and torture, intimidation and persecution, silencing of dissenting voices.
The rights of the Crimean Tatar and Ukrainian communities continue to be trampled upon, while the ICJ Order of 19 April 2017 remains unimplemented. Disturbingly, the forced conscription of Crimean residents into the Russian Army continues unabated, while the number of those enlisted has significantly increased and criminal prosecution of Crimean residents for evading military drafts has intensified over the past year.
Inspired by its own impunity, on November 25, 2018, the Russian Federation resorted to an open and deliberate act of aggression in terms of 1974 UN General Assembly Resolution 3314 (XXIX) “Definition of Aggression” and captured 24 Ukrainian sailors in the Black Sea waters beyond the Ukrainian 12-mile zone, just off the shores of Crimea. Russia, which should treat them in full accordance with their status of Prisoners of War according to the Third Geneva Convention of 1949, has been completely ignoring the provisions of this document, thus grossly violating international humanitarian law.
There is a constant and increasing need for monitoring and follow-up activities by international institutions with regard to reports of torture of illegally detained Ukrainian citizens in Russia, as well as serious violations of their rights to a fair trial. The pressure on Russia has to build up to make it release the Ukrainian citizens held as PoWs and hostages and to provide unimpeded access to the occupied territories for the international human rights monitoring mechanisms. We encourage the OHCHR to fully implement the provisions of the UNGA resolutions regarding the human rights situation in Crimea.
It is critical to make sure that the situations of glaring human rights violations in Russia and Russia-occupied territories do not escape the constant attention of the international community. We firmly believe that the issue of the Russian Federation should be put on the HRC agenda item 4.
I thank you