A/RES/76/179 GA

United Nations A/RES/76/179 General Assembly Distr.: General 10 January 2022 21-19218 (E) 130122 *2119218* Seventy-sixth session Agenda item 74 (c) Promotion and protection of human rights: human rights situations and reports of special rapporteurs and representatives Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 16 December 2021 [on the report of the Third Committee (A/76/462/Add.3, para. 34)] 76/179. Situation of human rights in the temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine The General Assembly, Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, and recalling the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1 international human rights treaties and other relevant international instruments and declarations, Recalling the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination,2 the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment,3 the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights4 and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,5 Recalling also the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 19496 and Additional Protocol I thereto, of 1977,7 as applicable, as well as relevant customary international law, Confirming the primary responsibility of States to promote and protect human rights, Reaffirming the responsibility of States to respect international law, including the principle that all States shall refrain from the threat or use of force against the __________________ 1 Resolution 217 A (III). 2 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 660, No. 9464. 3 Ibid., vol. 1465, No. 24841. 4 See resolution 2200 A (XXI), annex. 5 Resolution 61/295, annex. 6 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 75, Nos. 970–973. 7 Ibid., vol. 1125, No. 17512. A/RES/76/179 Situation of human rights in the temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine 21-19218 2/12 territorial integrity or political independence of any State and from acting in any other manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations, recalling its resolution 2625 (XXV) of 24 October 1970, in which it approved the Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, and reaffirming the principles contained therein, Recalling its resolution 3314 (XXIX) of 14 December 1974, entitled “Definition of aggression”, Recalling also its resolution 68/262 of 27 March 2014 on the territorial integrity of Ukraine, in which it affirmed its commitment to the sovereignty, political independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders and called upon all States, international organizations and specialized agencies not to recognize any alteration to the status of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol and to refrain from any action or dealing that might be interpreted as recognizing any such altered status, Recalling further its resolutions 71/205 of 19 December 2016, 72/190 of 19 December 2017, 73/263 of 22 December 2018, 74/168 of 18 December 2019 and 75/192 of 16 December 2020 on the situation of human rights in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine, its resolutions 73/194 of 17 December 2018, 74/17 of 9 December 2019 and 75/29 of 7 December 2020 on the problem of the militarization of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine, as well as parts of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, and relevant decisions of international organizations, specialized agencies and bodies within the United Nations system, Gravely concerned that the provisions of those resolutions and relevant decisions of international organizations, specialized agencies and bodies within the United Nations system have not been implemented by the Russian Federation, Taking into account the consideration of its agenda item entitled “The situation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine”, Condemning the ongoing temporary occupation of part of the territory of Ukraine – the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol (hereinafter “Crimea”) – by the Russian Federation, and reaffirming the non-recognition of its annexation, Recalling that the General Assembly, in its resolution 3314 (XXIX), states that no territorial acquisition or special advantage resulting from aggression is or shall be recognized as lawful, Affirming that the seizure of Crimea by force is illegal and a violation of international law, and affirming also that those territories must be immediately returned, Supporting the commitment by Ukraine to adhering to international law in its efforts to put an end to the Russian occupation of Crimea, and welcoming the commitments by Ukraine to protecting the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all its citizens and its cooperation with human rights treaty bodies and international institutions, Recalling that organs and officials of the Russian Federation established in the temporarily occupied Crimea are illegitimate and should be referred to as “occupying authorities of the Russian Federation”, Concerned that applicable international human rights obligations and treaties, to which Ukraine is a party, are not respected by the occupying Power in Crimea, thus Situation of human rights in the temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine A/RES/76/179 3/12 21-19218 significantly decreasing the level of human rights in Crimea since its temporary occupation by the Russian Federation, Reaffirming the obligation of States to ensure that persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities may exercise fully and effectively all human rights and fundamental freedoms without any discrimination and in full equality before the law, Welcoming the reports of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the human rights situation in Ukraine, of the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe and of the human rights assessment mission of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and the High Commissioner on National Minorities of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, in which they stated that violations and abuses of human rights continued to take place in Crimea and pointed to the sharp deterioration of the overall human rights situation, Welcoming also the reports of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in the temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine, submitted pursuant to resolutions 71/2058 and 72/190,9 and the reports of the Secretary-General submitted pursuant to resolutions 73/263,10 74/16811 and 75/192,12 Expressing its concern about the fact of prosecution by the occupying authorities of the Russian Federation in Crimea for publication of the reports of the Secretary-General submitted pursuant to the resolutions of the General Assembly on the situation of human rights in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine, Reaffirming its grave concern that the human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine have continuously been denied access by the occupying Power to Crimea, despite their existing mandates, which cover the entire territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders, and emphasizing the indispensable value that the human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine should provide in monitoring the human rights situation in Crimea as a priority activity according to its mandate, Concerned about additional challenges for the enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms by residents of Crimea resulting from unnecessary and disproportionate restrictive measures taken by the occupying Power under the pretext of combating the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, as well as about the lack of ensuring and maintaining public health and hygiene, including measures on preventing the spread of COVID-19, in Crimea by the occupying Power in accordance with international humanitarian law, Expressing its grave concern about the inadequate conditions of detention in penitentiary institutions, including overcrowded cells and a lack of proper medical care, which exposes the detainees to the risk of the spread of diseases, including COVID-19, __________________ 8 See A/72/498. 9 See A/73/404. 10 A/74/276. 11 A/75/334 and A/HRC/44/21. 12 A/76/260 and A/HRC/47/58. A/RES/76/179 Situation of human rights in the temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine 21-19218 4/12 Recalling the prohibition under international humanitarian law for the occupying Power to compel the inhabitants of an occupied territory to swear allegiance to the occupying Power, Condemning the imposition and retroactive application of the legal system of the Russian Federation, and its negative impact on the human rights situation in Crimea, the imposition of automatic Russian citizenship on protected persons in Crimea, which is contrary to international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Conventions and customary international law, and the deportation, regressive effects on the enjoyment of human rights and effective restriction of land ownership of those who have rejected that citizenship, Gravely concerned by consistent reports that the Russian law enforcement system uses involuntary placement in a psychiatric institution as a form of harassment against and punishment of political opponents and activists, Deeply concerned about continued reports that the law enforcement system of the Russian Federation conducts searches and raids of private homes, businesses and meeting places in Crimea, which disproportionally affect Crimean Tatars, and recalling that the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights prohibits arbitrary or unlawful interference with a person’s privacy, family, home or correspondence, Gravely concerned that, since 2014, torture has reportedly been used by the Russian authorities to extract false confessions for politically motivated prosecutions, and expressing deep concern about the ongoing arbitrary detentions and arrests by the Russian Federation of Ukrainian citizens, including Emir-Usein Kuku, Halyna Dovhopola, Server Mustafayev, Vladyslav Yesypenko, Nariman Dzhelyal and many others, Deeply concerned about the serious continued restrictions on the right to freedom of movement of persons who have previously been arbitrarily detained and have served sentences on politically motivated criminal charges, and who are judicially subject to such long-term restrictions after release, Gravely concerned that the occupation continues to affect the enjoyment of social, cultural and economic rights by residents, including children, women, older persons, persons with disabilities and other persons belonging to groups in vulnerable and marginalized situations, Condemning the reported serious violations and abuses committed against residents of Crimea, in particular extrajudicial killings, abductions, enforced disappearances, politically motivated prosecutions, discrimination, harassment, intimidation, violence, including sexual violence, arbitrary detentions and arrests, torture and ill-treatment, in particular to extract confessions, and psychiatric internment, as well as deplorable treatment and conditions in detention, and their forcible transfer or deportation from Crimea to the Russian Federation, as well as reported abuses of other fundamental freedoms, including the freedoms of expression, religion or belief and association and the right to peaceful assembly, Condemning also the reported prosecutions and other reprisals against individuals who refused to provide the occupying authorities of the Russian Federation with testimony that might incriminate third parties, Deeply concerned about restrictions faced by Ukrainians, including the indigenous people of Crimea – the Crimean Tatars, in exercising their economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to work, as well as the ability to maintain their identity and culture and to education in the Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar languages, Situation of human rights in the temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine A/RES/76/179 5/12 21-19218 Condemning the reported destructions of cultural and natural heritage, illegal archaeological excavations, illicit transfer of cultural property and persecution of religious traditions, thereby purposefully erasing Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar cultural identities from the ethnocultural landscape of Crimea, Expressing concern about the militarization and assimilation of young people in Crimea by the Russian Federation, including combat training for Crimean children for military service in the Russian armed forces and the introduction of a “military- patriotic” education system, and its blocking of the access of residents of Crimea to Ukrainian education, Gravely concerned by the above-mentioned policies and practices of the Russian Federation, which cause a continuing threat and have caused a large number of Crimean residents to flee from Crimea, Recalling that individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory to the territory of the occupying Power, or to that of any other country, occupied or not, and the deportation or transfer by an occupying Power of parts of its own civilian population into the territory that it occupies, are prohibited under international humanitarian law, regardless of their motive, Deeply concerned by consistent reports that the Russian Federation promotes policies and conducts practices aimed at changing the demographic structure in Crimea, and recalling in this respect that the occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory that it occupies, Concerned about the conduct by the occupying Power of an all-Russian population census in Crimea, the legitimacy of which with regard to Crimea is not recognized, Reaffirming the right of return of all internally displaced persons and refugees affected by the temporary occupation of Crimea by the Russian Federation to their homes in Crimea, and therefore stressing the need to respect their property rights and to refrain from obtaining property in violation of applicable international law, Concerned about additional challenges for the enjoyment of human rights by residents of Crimea resulting from disruptive activities of the occupying Power, including the construction of infrastructure projects accompanied by the expropriation of land, demolition of houses and depletion of natural and agricultural resources, which have a negative impact on the physical character of Crimea and thus contribute to changing the economic and demographic structure of Crimea, Reaffirming its serious concern that, according to the decision of the so-called “Supreme Court of Crimea” of 26 April 2016 and the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of 29 September 2016, the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, the self-governing body of the indigenous people of Crimea – the Crimean Tatars, continues to be declared an extremist organization and the ban on its activities has still not been repealed, Condemning the ongoing pressure exerted upon religious minority communities, including through frequent police raids, demolition of and eviction from buildings dedicated to religion, undue registration requirements that have affected legal status and property rights and threats against and persecution of those belonging to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, the Protestant Church, mosques and Muslim religious schools, Greek Catholics, Roman Catholics and Jehovah’s Witnesses, and condemning also the baseless prosecution of dozens of peaceful Muslims for allegedly belonging to Islamic organizations, A/RES/76/179 Situation of human rights in the temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine 21-19218 6/12 Gravely concerned about the constant use of military courts, including those located in the territory of the Russian Federation, to try civilian residents of Crimea and the failure of the occupying Power to respect fair trial standards, Condemning the continuous widespread misuse of counter-terrorism and anti-extremism laws to suppress dissent, Strongly condemning in this regard the ongoing pressure and mass detentions on terrorism, extremism and espionage grounds and other forms of repression against journalists and other media workers, human rights defenders and civil rights activists, including activists of the Crimean Solidarity civic initiative, which documents abuses on the peninsula and provides humanitarian assistance to the families of victims of politically motivated prosecutions, Recalling the order of the International Court of Justice of 19 April 2017 on provisional measures in the case concerning the Application of the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism and of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Ukraine v. Russian Federation),13 Recalling also the prohibition under the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 for the occupying Power to compel protected persons to serve in its armed or auxiliary forces, including through pressure or propaganda that is aimed at securing voluntary enlistment, and condemning the ongoing recruitment campaign in Crimea and criminal prosecutions of Crimean men for draft evasion, Recalling further that the safety of journalists and other media workers and a free press, or other media, are essential to promote the rights to freedom of expression and freedom to seek, receive and impart information and the enjoyment of other human rights and fundamental freedoms, concerned about reports that journalists, media workers and citizen journalists continue to face unjustified interference with their reporting activities in Crimea, and expressing deep concern that journalists, media workers and citizen journalists have been arbitrarily arrested, detained, prosecuted, harassed and intimidated in Crimea as a direct result of their reporting activities, Underlining the importance of the measures to develop transparent, accessible, non-discriminatory and expeditious procedures and regulations governing access to Crimea for human rights defenders, journalists, media workers and lawyers, as well as the possibility to appeal, in accordance with national legislation and in conformity with all applicable international law, Condemning the blocking by the Russian Federation of Ukrainian websites and television channels and the seizure of Ukrainian transmission frequencies in Crimea, Welcoming the support provided by Ukraine to media outlets and civil society organizations that have fled Crimea, which improves the ability of the media and civil society to work independently and without interference, Concerned about the continuing impunity in reported cases of enforced disappearances perpetrated in Crimea, Gravely concerned by the recent documented cases in which the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation allegedly tortured or ill-treated Crimean residents following their arrests, including by using beatings, electric shocks and suffocation against victims, __________________ 13 See Official Records of the General Assembly, Seventy-second Session, Supplement No. 4 (A/72/4), chap. V, sect. A. Situation of human rights in the temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine A/RES/76/179 7/12 21-19218 Reiterating its concern regarding multiple exercises of Russian armed forces held in Crimea, which entail considerable long-term negative environmental consequences for the region, impacting civilians’ enjoyment of their human rights, Welcoming the continued efforts of the Secretary-General, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Council of Europe and other international and regional organizations to support Ukraine in promoting, protecting and ensuring human rights, and expressing concern over the lack of safe and unfettered access by established regional and international human rights monitoring mechanisms and human rights non-governmental organizations to Crimea, Acknowledging the importance of the release by the Russian Federation and Ukraine of detained persons on 29 December 2019 and 16 April 2020, and calling upon the Russian Federation to release all unlawfully detained Ukrainian citizens and to ensure their safe return to Ukraine, 1. Deplores the failure of the Russian Federation to comply with the repeated requests and demands of the General Assembly, as well as with the order of the International Court of Justice of 19 April 2017 on provisional measures in the case concerning the Application of the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism and of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Ukraine v. Russian Federation); 2. Strongly condemns the continuing and total disregard by the Russian Federation for its obligations under the Charter of the United Nations and international law regarding its legal responsibility for the occupied territory, including the responsibility to respect Ukrainian law and the rights of all civilians; 3. Condemns all attempts by the Russian Federation to legitimize or normalize its attempted annexation of Crimea, including the automatic imposition of Russian citizenship, illegal election campaigns and voting, population census, forcible change of the demographic structure of the population of Crimea and suppression of national identity; 4. Also condemns violations, abuses, measures and practices of discrimination against the residents of the temporarily occupied Crimea, including Crimean Tatars, as well as Ukrainians and persons belonging to other ethnic and religious groups, by the Russian occupation authorities; 5. Further condemns the unlawful imposition of laws, jurisdiction and administration in the occupied Crimea by the Russian Federation, and demands that the Russian Federation respect obligations under international law with regard to respecting the laws in force in Crimea prior to occupation; 6. Urges the Russian Federation: (a) To uphold all of its obligations under applicable international law as an occupying Power; (b) To fully and immediately comply with the order of the International Court of Justice of 19 April 2017; (c) To take all measures necessary to bring an immediate end to all violations and abuses against residents of Crimea, in particular reported discriminatory measures and practices, arbitrary detentions and arrests, enforced disappearances, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, sexual and gender-based violence, including to compel apprehended persons to self-incriminate or “cooperate” with law enforcement, ensure fair trial, revoke all discriminatory legislation and hold A/RES/76/179 Situation of human rights in the temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine 21-19218 8/12 accountable those responsible for those violations and abuses by ensuring the independent, impartial and effective investigation of all allegations; (d) To refrain from arresting or prosecuting Crimean residents for non-criminal acts committed or opinions expressed, including in social media comments or posts, before the occupation, and release all Crimean residents who have been arrested or imprisoned for such acts; (e) To respect the laws in force in Ukraine, repeal laws imposed in Crimea by the Russian Federation that allow for forced evictions and the confiscation of private property, including land in Crimea, in violation of applicable international law, and respect the property rights of all former owners affected by previous confiscations; (f) To immediately release and allow the return to Ukraine, without preconditions, of Ukrainian citizens who were unlawfully detained and judged without regard for the requirements of international law, as well as those transferred or deported across internationally recognized borders from Crimea to the Russian Federation; (g) To disclose the number and identity of individuals deported from Crimea to the Russian Federation to serve criminal sentences and take immediate action to allow the voluntary return of such individuals to Crimea; (h) To end the practice of placing detainees in solitary confinement cells as a method of intimidation; (i) To monitor and accommodate the medical needs of all Ukrainian citizens unlawfully detained for the exercise of their human rights and fundamental freedoms, including political prisoners, in Crimea and the Russian Federation and allow the monitoring of those detainees’ state of health and conditions of detention by independent international monitors and physicians from reputable international health organizations, including the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the International Committee of the Red Cross, and investigate effectively all deaths in detention; (j) To uphold the rights, in accordance with international law and until their release, of Ukrainian prisoners and detainees in Crimea and in the Russian Federation, including those on hunger strike, and encourages it to respect the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules)14 and the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules); 15 (k) To provide Ukrainian consular officials with information on Ukrainian citizens detained in the Russian Federation, ensure freedom of consular communication with, and consular access to, detained Ukrainian citizens, in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, 16 to which the Russian Federation is a party, and allow Ukrainian officials, including the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, to visit all Ukrainian citizens, including political prisoners in Crimea and the Russian Federation; (l) To address the issue of impunity and ensure that those found to be responsible for violations and abuses are held accountable before an independent judiciary; (m) To create and maintain a safe and enabling environment for journalists and media workers and citizen journalists, human rights defenders and defence lawyers __________________ 14 Resolution 70/175, annex. 15 Resolution 65/229, annex. 16 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 596, No. 8638. Situation of human rights in the temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine A/RES/76/179 9/12 21-19218 to perform their work independently and without undue interference in Crimea, including by refraining from travel bans, deportations, arbitrary arrests, detention and prosecution, and other restrictions on the enjoyment of their rights; (n) To respect freedom of opinion and expression, which includes the freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers, enable a safe environment for independent media pluralism and ensure a safe and enabling environment for civil society organizations; (o) To respect freedom of opinion, association and peaceful assembly and freedom of thought, conscience and religion or belief, without discrimination on any grounds, and ensure unimpeded access, without any undue restrictions, to places of worship as well as gatherings for prayer and other religious practices; (p) To restore enjoyment of the rights of all individuals, without any discrimination based on origin or religion or belief, revoke the decisions that banned cultural and religious institutions, non-governmental organizations, human rights organizations and media outlets and restore enjoyment of the rights of individuals belonging to ethnic communities in Crimea, in particular Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars, including that to engage in cultural gatherings; (q) To respect the right to be free from arbitrary or unlawful interference with a person’s privacy, family, home or correspondence; (r) To ensure that the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of association can be exercised by all Crimean residents in any form, including single-person pickets, without any restrictions other than those permissible under international law, including international human rights law, and without discrimination on any grounds, and end the practices of abusing requirements of prior authorization for peaceful assemblies and issuing warnings or threats to potential participants in those assemblies; (s) To refrain from criminalizing the rights to hold opinions without interference and to freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly and quash all penalties imposed on Crimean residents for expressing dissenting views, including regarding the status of Crimea; (t) To ensure the availability of education in the Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar languages; (u) To respect the rights of the indigenous peoples of Ukraine set out in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, revoke immediately the decision declaring the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People an extremist organization and banning its activities, repeal the decision banning leaders of the Mejlis from entering Crimea, repeal the sentences in absentia against Crimean Tatars and their leaders and immediately release those arbitrarily detained, including the leaders of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, and refrain from maintaining or imposing limitations on the ability of the Crimean Tatar community to conserve its representative institutions; (v) To end the practice of compelling Crimean residents to serve in the armed or auxiliary forces of the Russian Federation, including through pressure or propaganda, and in particular ensure that Crimean residents are not compelled to participate in military operations of the Russian Federation and cease using the education system for the propaganda of service in the armed or auxiliary forces of the Russian Federation among children; (w) To end also the practice of criminal prosecution of inhabitants of Crimea who resist conscription into the armed or auxiliary forces of the Russian Federation; A/RES/76/179 Situation of human rights in the temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine 21-19218 10/12 (x) To end the practices of deporting Ukrainian citizens from Crimea for not taking Russian citizenship, including on the basis of the application of Russian Federation migration and correctional legislation, and of discriminating against Crimean residents for not possessing identity documents issued by the Russian Federation and for the use of Ukrainian identity documents, stop transferring its own civilian population to Crimea and end the practice of encouraging such transfers; (y) To disclose to Ukraine full information on children who are Ukrainian citizens left without parental care in Crimea since the beginning of the occupation of the peninsula, including on those children who were subsequently adopted or transferred to foster families outside of Crimea, in order to ensure that Ukraine is able to provide protection and care to those children; (z) To cooperate fully and immediately with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, including its Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, which must have safe, secure and unhindered access to the entire territory of Ukraine, including the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, and the Council of Europe on the situation of human rights in Crimea; (aa) To create the conditions, as well as provide the means, to allow for the voluntary, safe, dignified and unhindered return to their homes of all internally displaced persons and refugees affected by the temporary occupation of Crimea by the Russian Federation; (bb) To provide, on a continuous basis, sufficiently detailed information on the spread of COVID-19 in Crimea and on measures that it undertakes to ensure and maintain public health and hygiene in Crimea, and to assist the population of these territories in coping with the pandemic; (cc) To uphold its responsibility, as the occupying Power, on ensuring adequate living conditions in Crimea, including by ensuring the fair distribution of freshwater resources for the civilian population; (dd) To ensure that safe drinking water is enjoyed by all residents of Crimea without discrimination and they are provided with access to sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible and affordable water for personal and domestic use; (ee) To stop the policy of forcibly changing the demographic composition of the population and take the necessary measures aimed at limiting the free migration of citizens of the Russian Federation to the occupied territory; (ff) To ensure compliance with its obligations under international law, including humanitarian law and the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, adopted at The Hague on 14 May 1954, 17 on the preservation of monuments of the cultural heritage of Ukraine in Crimea, in particular the monument “The ancient city of Chersonese and its Chora”, to prevent and stop reported illegal archaeological excavations on the territory of the Crimean peninsula and the illicit transfer of cultural property of Ukraine outside the occupied territory; 7. Also urges the Russian Federation to respect the right to freedom of religion or belief and guarantee its enjoyment by all residents of Crimea, and to lift discriminatory regulatory barriers prohibiting or limiting the activities of religious groups in Crimea, including, but not limited to, parishioners of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Muslim Crimean-Tatars and Jehovah’s Witnesses; __________________ 17 Ibid., vol. 249, No. 3511. Situation of human rights in the temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine A/RES/76/179 11/12 21-19218 8. Calls upon the Russian Federation to address the substantive concerns and all recommendations highlighted in the reports of the Secretary-General and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in the temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine, as well as previous relevant recommendations from reports on the situation of human rights in Ukraine by the Office of the High Commissioner based on the work of the United Nations human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine established to prevent further deterioration of human rights in Crimea; 9. Requests the Secretary-General to continue to seek ways and means, including through consultations with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and relevant regional organizations, to ensure safe and unfettered access to Crimea by established regional and international human rights monitoring mechanisms, in particular the human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine, to enable them to carry out their mandate; 10. Urges the Russian Federation to ensure the proper and unimpeded access of international human rights monitoring missions and human rights non-governmental organizations to Crimea, including all places where persons may be deprived of their liberty, recognizing that the international presence and monitoring of compliance with international human rights law and international humanitarian law in Crimea are of paramount importance in preventing further deterioration of the situation; 11. Supports the efforts of Ukraine to maintain economic, financial, political, social, informational, cultural and other ties with its citizens in Crimea in order to facilitate their access to democratic processes, economic opportunities and objective information; 12. Calls upon all international organizations and specialized agencies of the United Nations system, when referring to Crimea in their official documents, communications, publications, information and reports, including with regard to statistical data of the Russian Federation or provided by the Russian Federation, as well as those placed or used on official United Nations Internet resources and platforms, to refer to “the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine, temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation”, and to refer to bodies of the Russian Federation and their representatives in Crimea as “occupation authorities of the Russian Federation”, and encourages all States and other international organizations to do the same; 13. Calls upon the international community to continue to support the work of the United Nations to ensure respect for international human rights law and international humanitarian law in Crimea; 14. Calls upon Member States to support human rights defenders in Crimea and to continue advocacy for the respect of human rights, including by condemning, at bilateral and multilateral forums, human rights violations and abuses committed in Crimea; 15. Also calls upon Member States to engage constructively in concerted efforts, including within international frameworks and the International Crimea Platform, aimed at improving the human rights situation in the occupied peninsula, as well as to continue to use all diplomatic means to press and urge the Russian Federation to comply with its obligations under international human rights law and as an occupying Power under international humanitarian law and to grant unimpeded access to Crimea for established regional and international human rights monitoring mechanisms, in A/RES/76/179 Situation of human rights in the temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine 21-19218 12/12 particular the human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine; 16. Requests the Secretary-General to remain actively seized of the matter and to take all steps necessary, including within the Secretariat, to ensure the full and effective coordination of all United Nations bodies with regard to the implementation of the present resolution; 17. Also requests the Secretary-General to continue to provide his good offices and pursue his discussions relating to Crimea, involving all relevant stakeholders and including the concerns addressed in the present resolution; 18. Further requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its seventy-seventh session on the progress made in the implementation of all provisions of the present resolution, including options and recommendations to improve its implementation, and to submit for consideration an interim report to the Human Rights Council at its fiftieth session, to be followed by an interactive dialogue, in accordance with Council resolution 47/22 of 13 July 2021;18 19. Decides to continue its consideration of the matter at its seventy-seventh session under the item entitled “Promotion and protection of human rights”. 53rd plenary meeting 16 December 2021 __________________ 18 See Official Records of the General Assembly, Seventy-sixth Session, Supplement No. 53 (A/76/53), chap. VII, sect. A.

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