Russia implements not a single OSCE recommendation on Crimea – human rights activist

Russia totally ignores the OSCE recommendations on human rights in Crimea.

Crimean Human Rights Group analyst Oleksandr Sedov said this in a commentary to the Human Rights Information Centre.

“Russia does not recognize the fact that Crimea is the occupied territory of Ukraine. This is the main reason for their disregard of the OSCE recommendations on the international humanitarian law. They consider normal everything they do in relation to the people living on the peninsula. It looks like as follows: ‘Crimea is our territory, and everything that is happening here is the internal affairs of Russia, and it is nobody’s business.’ Therefore, Russia will continue to ignore recommendations, in which Crimea is regarded as the occupied territory,” Oleksandr Sedov said.

Oleksandr Sedov attended the latest OSCE expert consultations “Information days and Day of dialogue on human rights in Ukraine.” OSCE representatives reflected the facts of human rights violations since the occupation of the peninsula and published their recommendations to Russian and Ukrainian authorities and the de facto authorities in Crimea to improve the human rights situation.

Sedov also reminded of the Crimean Human Rights Group’s report on how Russia does not comply with the OSCE recommendations on human rights in Crimea.

This review reflects the new facts of human rights violations on the territory of Crimea. The main ones are the following: illegal movement of citizens of Ukraine from Crimea to Russia, continuation of the policy of compulsory citizenship and place of residence, restrictions on the freedom of peaceful assembly and association.

As reported, November 8, Ukraine submitted draft resolution on the human rights situation in Crimea and Sevastopol to the Third Committee of the 71st session of the UN General Assembly.

The document proposes to condemn “human rights abuses, discriminatory measures and practices against residents of the temporarily occupied Crimea, including the Crimean Tatars, as well as Ukrainians and persons belonging to other ethnic and religious groups, on part of the Russian de facto authorities.”

The preamble refers to the condemnation of “the temporary occupation by the Russian Federation of a part of the territory of Ukraine – the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol” and confirms “non-recognition of the annexation”.