Columns

Russia’s сolonial narrative in Central Asia

Russia’s сolonial narrative in Central Asia

Reconciliation never ends: on the challenges of decolonization in South Africa

Reconciliation never ends: on the challenges of decolonization in South Africa

Russia needs soldiers. The Global South has desperate people. The rest is exploitation.

Russia needs soldiers. The Global South has desperate people. The rest is exploitation.

From Nairobi to the Donbas: Nearly 300 deceived Kenyans trapped on Russian front lines

From Nairobi to the Donbas: Nearly 300 deceived Kenyans trapped on Russian front lines

From Venezuela to Ukraine, behind every repressed person stands a woman who becomes their voice

From Venezuela to Ukraine, behind every repressed person stands a woman who becomes their voice

Drone arms race intensifies in Asia-Pacific while international law falls by the wayside

Drone arms race intensifies in Asia-Pacific while international law falls by the wayside

All columns

We cannot allow war to become humanity’s everyday reality again
25 November 2025

We cannot allow war to become humanity’s everyday reality again

The President of Ukraine emphasized that Ukraine will continue to work with partners, seek compromises, and explain how dangerous it is to pretend that aggression can be simply overlooked and moved past

Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is a classic neo-colonial war for the enslavement of an entire people
18 November 2025

Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is a classic neo-colonial war for the enslavement of an entire people

Serhiy Kyslytsya stated that Russia's war against Ukraine is a neo-colonial war, and also emphasized that for the Kremlin, Ukrainians are a resource for restoring an imagined empire

Ukraine invites nations across Africa, South America, and Asia to join a global justice alliance
17 November 2025

Ukraine invites nations across Africa, South America, and Asia to join a global justice alliance

At the Crimea Global forum in Kyiv, Iryna Mudra appealed to states of the Global South to join the Special Tribunal on the Crime of Aggression, arguing that justice for Crimea and Ukraine is inseparable from the safety and sovereignty of countries worldwide.

“Sharper than physical pain – the feeling of helplessness”: speech of the imprisoned journalist
04 November 2025

“Sharper than physical pain – the feeling of helplessness”: speech of the imprisoned journalist

Iryna Danylovych, a Crimean civic journalist and activist who has been held in Russian custody since 2022, has been named a laureate of the "Story of Injustice" human rights prize, which honors victims of political persecution. On November 3, 2025, in Prague, Tetyana Pechonchyk, head of the Human Rights Centre ZMINA, accepted the award on behalf of Iryna Danylovych and delivered her speech. ZMINA published the text of that speech

Feminist diplomacy: How France promotes women’s and girls’ rights in global politics
22 October 2025

Feminist diplomacy: How France promotes women’s and girls’ rights in global politics

How can we unite, act and resist together in order to defend gender equality and the rights of women and girls? This will be the guiding question of the 4th Ministerial Conference on Feminist Foreign Policy, which France will host on 22 and 23 October 2025

Crimea liberation is question of survival for Crimean Tatars
25 September 2025

Crimea liberation is question of survival for Crimean Tatars

His speech, delivered through translation by Crimean Tatar diaspora patriarch Mübeyin Batu Altan

Force cannot define international borders
25 September 2025

Force cannot define international borders

Taoiseach reaffirmed Ireland’s steadfast support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, stressing that justice must underpin any lasting peace. Concluding, he pledged that Ireland and the EU will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes

Words of support from a free land: A letter to a peer in occupation from a ninth-grader in the Chernihiv region
30 August 2025

Words of support from a free land: A letter to a peer in occupation from a ninth-grader in the Chernihiv region

ZMINA publishes a letter from a competition participant, Yaroslav Horovyi, a student in the 9th grade at Nizhyn Gymnasium No. 9 in the Chernihiv region

Remember Munich and Yalta – ensure history does not repeat
12 August 2025

Remember Munich and Yalta – ensure history does not repeat

EU Ambassador to Ukraine Kataryna Maternová has issued a direct appeal to democratic leaders, arguing that any peace agreement negotiated without Ukraine's participation would reward the aggressor and repeat historical mistakes

While missiles hit Kyiv, the OSCE throws itself a birthday party
04 August 2025

While missiles hit Kyiv, the OSCE throws itself a birthday party

Today, one OSCE member state – Russia, assisted by another member, Belarus – has systematically violated every single Helsinki principle

Freezing the conflict means intensifying repressions against Ukrainians in the occupied territories
30 May 2025

Freezing the conflict means intensifying repressions against Ukrainians in the occupied territories

ZMINA published a speech by Olha Skrypnyk, Head of the Crimean Human Rights Group, explaining the consequences of ignoring humanitarian challenges in the negotiation process

“I hear your anger, your dreams, and your hope”: a letter to a peer under occupation from a 10th grader from the Kherson region
28 April 2025

“I hear your anger, your dreams, and your hope”: a letter to a peer under occupation from a 10th grader from the Kherson region

ZMINA publishes this letter from a competition participant, a 10th-grade student of Kherson Physical and Technical Lyceum, who took third place

No one should ever be allowed to violate the rights of Indigenous peoples
25 April 2025

No one should ever be allowed to violate the rights of Indigenous peoples

The meeting dedicated to the theme "Discussion of the Six Mandatory Areas of the Permanent Forum (economic and social development, culture, environment, education, health, and human rights) with reference to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous 1 Peoples and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

What does just peace mean for Ukraine and why does Crimea remain a fundamental issue?
25 April 2025

What does just peace mean for Ukraine and why does Crimea remain a fundamental issue?

What does a just peace mean for Ukraine, and why does Crimea remain a fundamental issue? In his video commentary for the Crimea Platform, the deputy head of the Mejlis of Crimean Tatar People, Nariman Dzhelyal, outlined the key principles, analyzed international positions, and emphasized the importance of maintaining a clear legal framework in resolving the conflict

“The number is not answering, but I can hear you”: A letter to a peer in occupation from a 10th grade student
26 February 2025

“The number is not answering, but I can hear you”: A letter to a peer in occupation from a 10th grade student

ZMINA publishes a letter from a competition participant, 10th-grade student of Lozova Lyceum No. 1 in the Kharkiv region Sofia Bazai, who took third place

Justice cannot be subject to political pressure
07 February 2025

Justice cannot be subject to political pressure

ZMINA publishes a statement of ICC President Judge Tomoko Akane following the issuance of US Executive Order seeking to impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court

Putin tries to exterminate us as a nation, as Hitler tried to exterminate the Jewish people during World War II
31 January 2025

Putin tries to exterminate us as a nation, as Hitler tried to exterminate the Jewish people during World War II

Roman Shvartsman was born in Bershad, to the north of Odesa in Ukraine, in 1936. As a child, he was deported to the Bershad ghetto in the summer of 1941 because of his Jewish faith. Today, Shvartsman is chairman of the Ukrainian Association of Jews – Former Prisoners of Ghetto and Nazi Concentration Camps, among other positions

Why African countries believe Russian propaganda and how to prevent it
31 January 2025

Why African countries believe Russian propaganda and how to prevent it

It is astonishing that we are compelled to such lengths to elucidate the position of the victim, as if it required justification – a nation under daily bombardment. Victims should not bear the burden of explaining their position. It is incumbent upon us to exert every effort to secure justice. This is not a matter of ideology, but of fundamental humanity, Raymond Acquah said.

“You promised to stay alive”: a letter to a peer in occupation
17 January 2025

“You promised to stay alive”: a letter to a peer in occupation

ZMINA has published a letter by a 9th-grade, Karina Hryzlyuk, a student from the Municipal Institution "Lyceum of Natural Sciences" of the Kropyvnytskyi City Council, which won second place in the competition

Why it is important to compile a blacklist of officials involved in human rights violations in Crimea
15 January 2025

Why it is important to compile a blacklist of officials involved in human rights violations in Crimea

Through politically motivated persecutions, arbitrary imprisonment in trumped-up criminal cases, illegal house searches and trials in the occupied Crimea, deportations of political prisoners and ignoring their situation in detention, Russia systematically violates its obligations under international humanitarian law and international human rights law