46th session of the UN Human Rights Council 

Interactive Dialogue withthe Special Rapporteur on Cultural Rights

Intervention by Delegation of Ukraine

March 3, 2021

Madame President,

We share the assertion that cultural rights are core to the human experience, and essential for implementing other universal human rights and achieving the SDGs, both during and after the pandemic. However, certain states sacrifice cultural rights on the altar of their manipulative geopolitical interests. Increasingly, such conduct amounts to violations of international treaty and customary law and disregards the rulings of international courts.

As of 2014, Ukraine had 4,095 state-protected sites of national and local significance in its Autonomous Republic of Crimea. Together with Sevastopol, there are 5,342 sites of local and national significance.

Since the beginning of the temporary occupation of Ukraine's Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol in 2014, Russia has been implementing a policy of systemic encroachment on cultural rights of Ukrainians, Crimean Tatars and other communities opposing Russia’s occupation policy. By destroying their national self-consciousness and the objects and traditions, Russia is conducting an intentional policy of gradual cultural erasure in the peninsula.

The destructive re-construction of the Khan's Palace in Bakhchysarai aims to completely destroy this pearl of Crimean Tatar architecture and symbol of history of the indigenous people of Crimea. The World Heritage property “Ancient City of Tauric Chersonese and its Chora” also suffers irreparable losses.

The appropriation of Ukraine’s cultural property in Crimea and the unsanctioned transfer of collections belonging to the State Museum Fund of Ukraine from the peninsula further illustrate Russia’s breaches of its obligations as an occupying power under international law.

Since 2015, the number of permits issued by the occupying power to conduct archaeological excavations in Crimea has skyrocketed. The main reason for that was the start of the “large infrastructure construction projects”, including “Kerch Bridge”, the Tavryda highway, gas pipeline Krasnodar–Crimea. Only for the construction of the Tavryda highway the estimated 90 archeological sites in Crimea were destroyed.

The demographic changes through artificial resettlement of ethnic Russians to Crimea, non-implementation of the ICJ decision of 2017, systematic violations of linguistic rights, discriminatory day-to-day attitude towards ethnic minorities, restrictions on the development of cultures other than Russian – all this aims at the legitimization of the attempted annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation.

These actions of Russia abort the successive flow of history and encroach on an essential human right to retain the connection with one’s culture. And, thus, - with one’s identity.

We call on the Special Rapporteur to unambiguously address these wanton violations of cultural rights by the Russian occupation administration in Crimea.

I thank you.