Ukraine strongly disagree with appeals in OHCHR report to legitimize documents issued by self-proclaimed 'authorities' in Crimea and Donbas

The Foreign Ministry of Ukraine has criticized an appeal contained in the 13th report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to legitimize the documents issued by the illegal occupant self-proclaimed "authorities" of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and of certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine.

"We strongly disagree with the appeals contained in the report to legitimize the documents issued by the illegal occupant self-proclaimed "authorities" of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and of certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine, as well as to any kind of cooperation between them and the Government of Ukraine," the ministry said in comments to the OHCHR report for the period of November 15, 2015 to February 15, 2016 published on March 3.

The Foreign Ministry of Ukraine said that Ukrainian diplomats share the conclusion of the authors of the report on the relevance of the Minsk agreements and the importance of their implementation in order to stop large-scale human rights violations.

"However, we believe that the Mission should be more precise and objective in determining the real reasons, the level of responsibility for such violations and the exact role of the Russian Federation, the ongoing military aggression of which is clearly the root cause of this shameful phenomenon," the ministry said.

"The 13th OHCHR Report once again proved the mass atrocity crimes committed against our citizens by the Russian occupation authorities in Crimea as well as the Russian military and their proxies in Donbas. Once again we are compelled to note the continued criminal practice of murder of civilians, kidnapping, torture, sexual violence, forced labor, extortion of money and other human rights violations the Ukrainian citizens suffer every day," the ministry said.

"The situation in the occupied Crimea remains extremely dire - according to the Mission’s information, ethnic Ukrainian and Crimean Tatars face systematic harassment and persecution. Abduction, searches, illegal detention, beatings, restrictions on freedom of expression and association as well as violation of the other fundamental human rights became a routine on the peninsula," the ministry said in its comments.

"Ukraine’s position remains invariable – no human rights violation, regardless of by whom or where they were committed, must not remain unpunished. In this regard, we appreciate the attention of the Mission to the reports on alleged abuses and violations perpetrated by the Ukrainian armed or security forces and we are considering the recommendations provided. Each report on potential violation has been carefully investigated by the law enforcement officers of Ukraine," the ministry noted.

Ukraine has always considered the work of the Mission an important component in countering Russian aggression and an effective tool for the fixation of human rights violations caused by the occupation authorities in Crimea as well as the crimes of the Russian army and illegal armed groups in certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

"We expect the international community to step up pressure on the Russian Federation in order to force it to comply with its international obligations, stop the aggression in Ukraine and in other parts of the world," the ministry said.

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