The human rights situation in Crimea has “significantly deteriorated” since its occupation by the Russian Federation in early 2014 and “grave” violations affecting the right to life, liberty and security have not been effectively investigated, according to a new UN report.
The report, the work of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, found that, following the occupation of Crimea and the city of Sevastapol – formerly part of Ukraine – in early 2014, the subsequent imposition of Russian Federation citizenship resulted in “regressive effects on the enjoyment of human rights, particularly for those who refused to automatically adopt Russian Federation citizenship, were ineligible to obtain it, or were required to forfeit their Ukrainian citizenship in order to remain employed”.
“Persons holding a residency permit and no Russian Federation citizenship do not enjoy equality before the law and are deprived of important rights,” the report said. “They cannot own agricultural land, vote and be elected, register a religious community, apply to hold a public meeting, hold positions in the public administration and re-register their private vehicle on the peninsula.”
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said in a statement that the “citizenship issue has had a major impact on the lives of many residents of Crimea”.
“As the report states, imposing citizenship on the inhabitants of an occupied territory can be equated to compelling them to swear allegiance to a power they may consider as hostile, which is forbidden under the Fourth Geneva Convention,” he said.
The report found that, following the take-over, the Russian judicial system which was imposed on Crimea has “often failed to uphold fair trial rights and due process guarantees” and that “grave” human rights violations, including arbitrary arrests and detentions, enforced disappearances, ill treatment and torture, and at least one extra-judicial execution were documented. It said that many, but not all, of the reported instances of torture and ill-treatment occurred in 2014 when the occupation was in its early stages.
It said that while human rights abuses and violations have affected Crimeans of diverse ethinc backgrounds, Crimean Tatars were “particularly targeted, especially those with links to the Mejlis”, described as a representative institution of Crimean Tatars which was declared to be an extremist organization and banned in April, 2016.
Among recommendations in the report are that the Russian Government uphold human rights for all in Crimea and that the international community raise rights violations and abuses through international forums. It also urged the Ukrainian Government to use all legal and diplomatic means to guarantee human rights in Crimea.
