UN General Assembly Committee Adopted a Resolution on Human Rights in Crimea

The Third Committee of the UN General Assembly adopted an updated draft resolution entitled “Situation of human rights in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol, Ukraine”. This is reported by Ukrainska Pravda. The Third Committee of the UN General Assembly adopted the resolution proposed by Ukraine on the violation of human rights in Crimea, Russian news agencies report. The document was supported by 67 countries, 87 more abstained from voting. 26 countries were against, including Russia, Belarus, China, India, Serbia, Syria and South Africa. The resolution condemns, in particular, the “Russian illegal establishment of laws, jurisdiction and administration” in the Crimea. The document also states the need for the immediate release of Ukrainian citizens who have been illegally detained and convicted, according to Interfax. During a speech at the committee, Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine Sergiy Kyslytsya accused the Russian authorities of allowing “torture, sexual violence, illegal arrests, harassment of journalists and other violations of the rights of the inhabitants of Crimea”. “The situation on the Ukrainian territory in the Crimea and Sevastopol continues to deteriorate”, the diplomat states. Russia’s deputy UN ambassador Gennady Kuzmin said “no one in Russia is going to be at war with the brotherly people of Ukraine”. According to him the resolution’s authors were persistently trying to present the situation in Crimea as a military conflict. It should be recalled that in March 2014, the territory of Crimea passed under the control of Russia. At the same time, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution in which it urged not to recognize the peninsula as part of the Russian Federation. EU countries and the United States consider this territory occupied. Source: Kommersant