Press release, 12 April 2016
The Seimas, with 90 votes in favour, none against and two abstentions, adopted a Resolution on the Human Rights, in Particular of the Crimean Tatars, in Crimea occupied by the Russian Federation (Draft No XIIP-4260).
In the document, the Seimas recalls that two years ago the Russian Federation, by using military force, occupied and annexed the Crimea, a part of Ukraine’s territory. The document goes on to stress that respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms is a key value of the European Union and a basic guiding principle in its relations with other countries.
Conscious of the traumatic and tragic historical background of Crimean Tatars, the Seimas points out that the application of the laws of the Russian Federation in Crimea in violation of the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 68/262 on the territorial integrity of Ukraine and the actions of the de facto Crimean authorities cause a wide range of human rights violations; in particular, violations of the rights of ethnic minorities, namely, Crimean Tatars and ethnic Ukrainians. The Crimean residents who refused to accept the nationality of the Russian Federation following the annexation of the Crimea suffer from discrimination and encounter severe difficulties in all walks of political, social and economic life. On 17 March 2016, the Simferopol Court began the proceedings on the ban on the activities of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People on charges of extremism.
By the Resolution, the Seimas continues to pursue the policy of non-recognition of the annexation of Crimea and expresses its concern regarding the militarisation of the Crimean peninsula by the Russian Federation; stresses that an end to the occupation and restoration of Ukraine’s control over Crimea are among the key preconditions for renewal of cooperation with the Russian Federation; strongly condemns the serious and systematic violations of human rights in Crimea, and violations of the rights of Crimean Tatars and ethnic Ukrainians in particular; strongly condemns the actions of the Russian Federation and the de facto authorities of Crimea in disturbing and limiting the work of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People as the supreme executive and representative institution.
The Resolution calls on the authorities of the Russian Federation and the de facto authorities of Crimea to grant access to Crimea to international institutions and independent experts of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the United Nations, and the Council of Europe, as well as representatives of non-governmental organisations so they could come and obtain relevant information on the human rights situation on the ground. The Resolution invites the European Union institutions and the EU Member States to take steps to influence the decisions of the Russian Federation on the matter.
The Resolution calls on the EU institutions in general and the European External Action Service in particular to take all the necessary steps to enable the EU representatives to observe the court proceedings on the prohibition of the activities of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People and to obtain all the related information.
The Seimas welcomes the Session of the Executive Committee of the World Congress of Crimean Tatars held at the Lithuanian Parliament (Seimas) in Vilnius on 11–13 April 2016, focused on the complicated situation of Crimean Tatars and serious violations of their rights; calls on the EU institutions, international organisations and respective parliamentary assemblies, governments and parliaments, the whole international community and its political leaders to pay adequate attention to the human rights situation in Crimea; and calls on the international community to continue engagement in an active policy of non-recognition of annexation of Crimea and sustained efforts to ensure the territorial integrity of Ukraine.
Saulė Eglė Trembo, Press Office, Information and Communication Department, Office of the Seimas, tel. +370 5 239 6203, e-mail: egle.trembo@lrs.lt