President of Ukraine calls on the world to force Russia to release all Ukrainian hostages and prisoners of war
20.02.2019 21:36 | Press office of President
At the United Nations General Assembly Debate on agenda item 67 “The situation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine”, President Petro Poroshenko drew attention to the human rights situation in the Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia: “People, our citizens, continue to suffer from Russian aggression on a daily basis”.
“I am convinced that even though the Kremlin remains blind and deaf the international pressure and inevitable responsibility for grave violations of human rights is the only way to stop Moscow abuses in this sphere. I call upon all your countries to strengthen efforts in demanding respect for human rights by the Russian Federation, along with unconditional release and return of all Ukrainian hostages and prisoners of war,” the Head of State emphasized.
“Murder, torture, harassment, sexual violence, arbitrary detentions and arrests, enforced disappearances and persecution of journalists, human rights defenders, social media workers and bloggers have become a daily reality for the residents of the occupied territories,” Petro Poroshenko noted.
“People live in fear of being labeled as extremists, terrorists or Ukrainian spies and risk being thrown behind bars or abducted without a trace. The occupation administrations have introduced disgusting practice of extracting under torture false confessions in politically motivated prosecutions. The free exercise of religion is also under threat there,” the President said.
“Recently the occupation authorities demanded to clear the church building in Simferopol that belonged to the Ukrainian Orthodox worshipers for many years,” he added.
According to the President, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission, invited by the Government of Ukraine, continue reporting the growing number of human rights violations and abuses in the temporarily occupied territories.
“Effective implementation of its mandate is hindered by the Russia’s continued denial of access for UN monitors to the occupied Crimea and parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions,” the President noted.
The Head of State recalled that in April 2017, the International Court of Justice adopted a provisional measures order in the case of Ukraine vs. Russian Federation. “In its decision, the ICJ urged Russia to refrain from maintaining or imposing limitations on the ability of the Crimean Tatar community to conserve its representative institutions, including the Mejlis, and to ensure the right for Ukrainian citizens to study Ukrainian language,” he said.
“Like so many other decisions within this Organization, including those adopted by this August Assembly, the Court’s binding Order remains unimplemented by the Russian Federation,” the President noted.
According to the President, the issues related to the Russian unlawful behavior against Ukraine and its people are now considered by the International Criminal Court, International Court of Justice, European Court of Human Rights and in the framework of the arbitration proceedings under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
“In this light, I highly appreciate a remarkable manifestation of support and solidarity with Ukraine throughout the world. We also need to double down seeking the release of over 70 Ukrainian hostages held in Russia and in Crimea, and the exchange of detainees envisages by the Minsk arrangements,” Petro Poroshenko stressed. He informed that only last year Ukraine had transmitted to Russia 13 proposals regarding a potential detainee’s swap. “Kremlin turned its back to all of them,” Petro Poroshenko stated.