A/RES/77/229 GA
Situation of human rights in the temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine : resolution / adopted by the General Assembly
77
Session
82
Yes
14
No
80
Abstentions
| Draft symbol | A/C.3/77/L.35 |
|---|---|
| Adopted symbol | A/RES/77/229 |
| Category | SOCIAL CONDITIONS AND EQUITY |
| P5 Positions |
|
| UN Document | A/RES/77/229 ↗ |
Vote Recorded Vote — A/77/PV.54
-
Algeria
-
Angola
-
Antigua and Barbuda
-
Armenia
-
Bahrain
-
Bangladesh
-
Benin
-
Plurinational State of Bolivia
-
Botswana
-
Brazil
-
Brunei Darussalam
-
Burundi
-
Cambodia
-
Cameroon
-
Central African Republic
-
Colombia
-
Congo
-
Côte d'Ivoire
-
Djibouti
-
Egypt
-
El Salvador
-
Eswatini
-
Fiji
-
Gabon
-
Gambia
-
Ghana
-
Grenada
-
Guinea
-
Guinea-Bissau
-
Haiti
-
Honduras
-
India
-
Indonesia
-
Iraq
-
Jordan
-
Kenya
-
Kyrgyzstan
-
Lao People's Democratic Republic
-
Libya
-
Madagascar
-
Malaysia
-
Maldives
-
Mauritania
-
Mauritius
-
Mexico
-
Mongolia
-
Mozambique
-
Namibia
-
Nepal
-
Niger
-
Nigeria
-
Oman
-
Pakistan
-
Paraguay
-
Peru
-
Philippines
-
Rwanda
-
Saint Kitts and Nevis
-
Saint Lucia
-
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
-
Saudi Arabia
-
Senegal
-
Serbia
-
Sierra Leone
-
Singapore
-
Solomon Islands
-
South Africa
-
Sri Lanka
-
Tajikistan
-
Thailand
-
Togo
-
Tonga
-
Trinidad and Tobago
-
Tunisia
-
Uganda
-
United Arab Emirates
-
United Republic of Tanzania
-
Viet Nam
-
Yemen
-
Zambia
-
Albania
-
Andorra
-
Argentina
-
Australia
-
Austria
-
Bahamas
-
Barbados
-
Belgium
-
Belize
-
Bhutan
-
Bosnia and Herzegovina
-
Bulgaria
-
Cabo Verde
-
Canada
-
Chad
-
Chile
-
Costa Rica
-
Croatia
-
Cyprus
-
Czechia
-
Denmark
-
Dominican Republic
-
Ecuador
-
Estonia
-
Finland
-
France
-
Georgia
-
Germany
-
Greece
-
Guatemala
-
Guyana
-
Hungary
-
Iceland
-
Ireland
-
Israel
-
Italy
-
Jamaica
-
Japan
-
Kiribati
-
Kuwait
-
Latvia
-
Liberia
-
Liechtenstein
-
Lithuania
-
Luxembourg
-
Malawi
-
Malta
-
Marshall Islands
-
Micronesia (Federated States of)
-
Monaco
-
Montenegro
-
Myanmar
-
Netherlands
-
New Zealand
-
North Macedonia
-
Norway
-
Palau
-
Panama
-
Papua New Guinea
-
Poland
-
Portugal
-
Qatar
-
Republic of Korea
-
Moldova
-
Romania
-
Samoa
-
San Marino
-
Slovakia
-
Slovenia
-
Somalia
-
Spain
-
Suriname
-
Sweden
-
Switzerland
-
Timor-Leste
-
Tuvalu
-
Türkiye
-
Ukraine
-
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
-
United States of America
-
Uruguay
-
Vanuatu
Full text of resolution
United Nations
A/RES/77/229
General Assembly
Distr.: General
9 January 2023
22-28995 (E) 120123
*2228995*
Seventy-seventh session
Agenda item 68 (c)
Promotion and protection of human rights: human rights
situations and reports of special rapporteurs
and representatives
Resolution adopted by the General Assembly
on 15 December 2022
[on the report of the Third Committee (A/77/463/Add.3, para. 29)]
77/229. 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 1949 6 and Additional
Protocol I thereto, of 1977,7 as applicable, as well as relevant customary international
law,
Confirming the primary responsibility of States to respect, protect and fulfil
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/77/229
Situation of human rights in the temporarily occupied
Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of
Sevastopol, Ukraine
22-28995
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”, in which it states that no territorial acquisition or special advantage
resulting from aggression is or shall be recognized as lawful,
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 resolution ES-11/4 of 12 October 2022, entitled “Territorial
integrity of Ukraine: defending the principles of the Charter of the United Nations”,
Recalling 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, 75/192 of
16 December 2020 and 76/179 of 16 December 2021 on the situation of human rights
in the temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol,
Ukraine, its resolutions 73/194 of 17 December 2018, 74/17 of 9 December 2019,
75/29 of 7 December 2020 and 76/70 of 9 December 2021 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,
Recalling also its resolutions ES-11/1 of 2 March 2022 on the aggression against
Ukraine and ES-11/2 of 24 March 2022 on the humanitarian consequences of the
aggression against Ukraine, and Human Rights Council resolutions 49/1 of 4 March
2022 on the situation of human rights in Ukraine stemming from the Russian
aggression8 and S-34/1 of 12 May 2022 on the deteriorating human rights situation in
Ukraine stemming from the Russian aggression,9
Gravely concerned that the provisions of these resolutions and relevant
decisions of international organizations, specialized agencies and bodies within the
United Nations system have not been implemented by the Russian Federation,
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,
Condemning also the unprovoked aggression against Ukraine by the Russian
Federation in violation of Article 2 (4) of the Charter, and the use of Crimea for this
aim and to support the attempted illegal annexation of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia
regions,
__________________
8 See Official Records of the General Assembly, Seventy-seventh Session, Supplement No. 53
(A/77/53), chap. VI, sect. A.
9 Ibid., chap. VII.
Situation of human rights in the temporarily occupied
Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of
Sevastopol, Ukraine
A/RES/77/229
3/12
22-28995
Supporting the commitment by Ukraine to adhering to international law in its
efforts to put an end to the temporary Russian occupation of Crimea, and welcoming
the commitments by Ukraine to protecting the human rights and fundamental
freedoms of all persons 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 upheld by the occupying Power in Crimea, thus
significantly decreasing the ability of residents of Crimea to exercise their human
rights and fundamental freedoms 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 mission of experts under the
Moscow Mechanism 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 Ukrainian territory affected by aggression by the Russian Federation,
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 71/205 10 and 72/190, 11 and the reports of the
Secretary-General submitted pursuant to resolutions 73/263,12 74/168,13 75/19214 and
76/179,15 and the report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on
Ukraine pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 49/1,
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 by the Russian Federation of its automatic 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,
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, and expressing deep concern about the ongoing reports of
__________________
10 See A/72/498.
11 See A/73/404.
12 A/74/276.
13 A/75/334 and A/HRC/44/21.
14 A/76/260 and A/HRC/47/58.
15 A/77/220 and A/HRC/50/65.
A/RES/77/229
Situation of human rights in the temporarily occupied
Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of
Sevastopol, Ukraine
22-28995
4/12
arbitrary detentions, arrests and sentencing by the Russian Federation of Ukrainian
citizens, in particular for statements and actions in opposition to the aggression by
the Russian Federation against Ukraine, including Emir-Usein Kuku, Halyna
Dovhopola, Server Mustafayev, Vladyslav Yesypenko, Nariman Dzhelyal, Iryna
Danilovych, Bohdan Ziza, Enver Krosh, Vilen Temeryanov 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
served sentences on politically motivated criminal charges,
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 in vulnerable and marginalized
situations,
Condemning the reported serious violations of international humanitarian law
and violations and abuses of human rights committed against residents of Crimea, in
particular extrajudicial killings, abductions, enforced disappearances, politically
motivated prosecutions, discrimination, harassment, intimidation, violence, including
sexual and gender-based violence, arbitrary detentions and arrests, torture and ill-
treatment, in particular to extract confessions, subjecting detainees to special security
regimes and involuntary placement in psychiatric institutions, as well as deplorable
treatment and conditions in detention, and the forcible transfer or deportation of
protected persons 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,
Deeply concerned about restrictions faced by Ukrainians, including Indigenous
Peoples of Crimea, in particular 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,
Condemning the reported destructions of cultural and natural heritage, illegal
archaeological excavations and transfer of cultural property, discrimination against
persons belonging to religious minorities and repression of religious traditions,
thereby diminishing Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar culture in the ethnocultural
landscape of Crimea,
Expressing concern about the militarization and assimilation of young people in
Crimea by the Russian Federation, including combat training of Crimean children for
military service in the Russian armed forces as well as the introduction of “military-
patriotic” education system, and its blocking of the access of residents of Crimea to
Ukrainian education,
Condemning the incitement of hatred against Ukraine and Ukrainians as well as
the dissemination of disinformation justifying the aggression against Ukraine by the
Russian Federation, including through the education system,
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,
Situation of human rights in the temporarily occupied
Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of
Sevastopol, Ukraine
A/RES/77/229
5/12
22-28995
Deeply concerned by consistent reports that the Russian Federation promotes
policies and conducts practices aimed at changing the demographic, including ethnic,
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 negative effects on the full and effective enjoyment of
human rights by residents of Crimea resulting from disruptive activities of the
occupying Power, including the expropriation of land, demolition of houses and
depletion of natural and agricultural resources, which contribute to changing the
economic and demographic structure of Crimea,
Reaffirming the right of return of all internally displaced persons and refugees
affected by the temporary occupation by the Russian Federation to their homes in
Ukraine,
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, and that the persecution of the leaders of the Mejlis of the
Crimean Tatar People continues,
Condemning the ongoing pressure exerted upon persons belonging to religious
minorities and their 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, Protestant churches, Muslim
religious communities, Greek Catholics, Roman Catholics and Jehovah’s Witnesses,
and condemning also the baseless prosecution of dozens of peaceful Muslims for
allegedly belonging to extremist organizations,
Gravely concerned about the constant use of military courts, including those
located on 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, including through enforcing new Russian
legislation with the intent to dissuade the residents of Crimea from peaceful protests,
in accordance with their rights to freedom of expression and political opinion,
following and during the unprovoked aggression by the Russian Federation against
Ukraine,
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 against 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),16
__________________
16 See Official Records of the General Assembly, Seventy-second Session, Supplement No. 4
(A/72/4), chap. V, sect. A.
A/RES/77/229
Situation of human rights in the temporarily occupied
Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of
Sevastopol, Ukraine
22-28995
6/12
Recalling also the order of the International Court of Justice of 16 March 2022
on provisional measures in the case concerning Allegations of Genocide under the
Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Ukraine v.
Russian Federation),17
Recalling further 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 medical staff, and strongly condemning the ongoing forced
conscription and mobilization to the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in
Crimea against the backdrop of the unprovoked aggression against Ukraine,
Recalling that the safety of journalists, other media workers and a free press, or
other media, are essential for the realization of 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 as a direct result of their reporting activities, in
particular for covering developments in Crimea as well as unprovoked Russian
aggression against Ukraine,
Condemning the blocking by the Russian Federation of Ukrainian websites and
television channels and the seizure of Ukrainian transmission frequencies in Crimea,
as well as the use of mass media controlled by the occupying Power to incite hatred
against Ukrainians, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Crimean Tatars, Muslims,
Jehovah’s Witnesses and activists and to call for atrocities against Ukrainians,
Gravely concerned by the 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,
Reiterating its concern regarding multiple exercises of Russian armed forces
held in Crimea, using Crimea in the unprovoked aggression by the Russian Federation
against Ukraine, the conduct of which entails considerable long-term negative
environmental consequences in 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, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry
on Ukraine and other international and regional organizations to support Ukraine in
respecting, protecting and fulfilling 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,
Welcoming also the decision of the Secretary-General to add Ukraine as a
situation of concern in his annual report on children and armed conflict, with
immediate effect, whereby grave violations against children committed in Ukraine
will be monitored and reported to the Security Council,
Commending the efforts of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General
on Sexual Violence in Conflict on the prevention of and response to conflict-related
sexual violence in Ukraine,
__________________
17 Ibid., Seventy-seventh Session, Supplement No. 4 (A/77/4), chap. V.
Situation of human rights in the temporarily occupied
Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of
Sevastopol, Ukraine
A/RES/77/229
7/12
22-28995
Acknowledging the importance of the investigation conducted by the
Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, emphasizing the role
played by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in
contributing to an objective appraisal of the situation of human rights in Ukraine, and
in this regard welcoming the investigation by the International Criminal Court,
Strongly condemning the new unprecedented wave of arbitrary detentions in
Crimea, the forcible transfers to and from Crimea, the continuing impunity in reported
cases of enforced disappearances, as well as the so-called filtration procedures, in
particular in relation to displaced persons,
Gravely concerned that the temporary occupation of Crimea became a blueprint
for a grave human rights crisis in other territories of Ukraine under temporary military
control by the Russian Federation,
Affirming that the seizure of Crimea and other territories of Ukraine by force is
illegal and a violation of international law, and affirming also that control of all of
Ukraine’s territory must be immediately restored 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 orders 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), and of 16 March
2022 on provisional measures in the case concerning Allegations of Genocide under
the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Ukraine
v. Russian Federation);
2.
Strongly condemns the continuing and total disregard by the Russian
Federation for its obligations under international law, including the Charter of the
United Nations, regarding its legal responsibility for the occupied territory, including
the responsibility to respect Ukrainian law and the rights of all civilians;
3.
Deplores in the strongest terms the aggression by the Russian Federation
against Ukraine in violation of Article 2 (4) of the Charter, and the use of Crimea for
this aim and to support the attempted illegal annexation of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia
regions;
4.
Demands that the Russian Federation immediately cease its aggression
against Ukraine and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the
territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders;
5.
Condemns violations and abuses of human rights law and international
humanitarian law perpetrated by the Russian occupying authorities and entailing
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;
6.
Demands that the Russian Federation respect obligations under international
law with regard to respecting the laws in force in Crimea prior to occupation;
7.
Urges the Russian Federation:
(a)
To uphold all of its obligations under applicable international law;
(b)
To fully and immediately comply with the orders of the International Court
of Justice of 19 April 2017 and of 16 March 2022;
(c)
To take all measures necessary to bring an immediate end to all violations
and abuses of human rights law and violations of international humanitarian law
A/RES/77/229
Situation of human rights in the temporarily occupied
Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of
Sevastopol, Ukraine
22-28995
8/12
against residents of the temporarily occupied Crimea, in particular reported
discriminatory measures and practices, arbitrary detentions and arrests, violations and
abuses within the framework of the filtration procedures, 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
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,
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 unlawfully 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, 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)18 and the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and
Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules); 19
(k)
To address ongoing impunity and ensure that those found to be responsible
for violations and abuses of human rights law and violations of international
humanitarian law are held accountable before an independent judiciary;
(l)
To create and maintain a safe and enabling environment for journalists and
media workers and citizen journalists, human rights defenders and defence lawyers
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;
__________________
18 Resolution 70/175, annex.
19 Resolution 65/229, annex.
Situation of human rights in the temporarily occupied
Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of
Sevastopol, Ukraine
A/RES/77/229
9/12
22-28995
(m) To respect, protect and fulfil 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 and enabling environment for
independent media pluralism and ensure a safe and enabling environment for civil
society organizations;
(n) To respect freedom of opinion, association and peaceful assembly without
any restrictions other than those permissible under international law, and freedom of
thought, conscience and religion or belief, without discrimination on any grounds, 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, and to permit
unimpeded access, without any undue restrictions, to places of worship as well as
gatherings for prayer and other religious practices;
(o)
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 temporarily occupied Crimea, in particular ethnic
Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars, including the right to freely participate in the cultural
life of the community;
(p)
To respect, protect and fulfil the right to be free from arbitrary or unlawful
interference with a person’s privacy, family, home or correspondence;
(q)
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 to end the practices of abusing
requirements of prior authorization for peaceful assemblies and issuing warnings or
threats to potential participants in those assemblies;
(r)
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 temporarily occupied Crimea and the unprovoked
Russian aggression against Ukraine;
(s)
To ensure the availability of education in the Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar
languages, and stop the blocking of access to Ukrainian education;
(t)
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, including 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 Tatars to conserve
their representative institutions;
(u)
To stop the illegal drafting and mobilization of Crimean residents into the
Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, stop pressure aimed at compelling Crimean
residents to serve in the armed or auxiliary forces of the Russian Federation, as well
as using propaganda, also targeted at children and through the education system, and
ensure strict compliance with its international obligations as an occupying Power;
A/RES/77/229
Situation of human rights in the temporarily occupied
Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of
Sevastopol, Ukraine
22-28995
10/12
(v)
To end also the practice of criminal prosecution of inhabitants who resist
conscription and mobilization into the armed or auxiliary forces of the Russian
Federation;
(w) To end the practice of deporting Ukrainian citizens from Crimea for not
taking Russian citizenship, stop transferring its own civilian population to Crimea
and end the practice of encouraging such transfers;
(x)
To immediately and unconditionally reverse the decision to simplify the
procedure for obtaining Russian citizenship for Ukrainian orphans or children left
without parental care;
(y)
To provide to the relevant United Nations bodies and international
organizations full information on Ukraine’s children forcibly transferred or deported
to the Russian Federation, including on those children who were subsequently
adopted or transferred to foster families, in order to ensure that these children are
provided with protection and care in accordance with international law;
(z)
To cease forcible transfers or deportation of Ukraine’s children to the
Russian Federation and take all necessary steps with a view to their safe return and
family reunification in line with the best interests of the child and in accordance with
international law;
(aa) 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 and the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine,
which must have safe, secure and unhindered access to the entire territory of Ukraine,
including the temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of
Sevastopol, and the Council of Europe on the situation of human rights in Crimea;
(bb) 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;
(cc) To stop the policy of forcibly changing the demographic, including ethnic,
composition of the population and take the necessary measures aimed at limiting the
free migration of citizens of the Russian Federation to Crimea;
(dd) To ensure compliance with obligations under international law, including
humanitarian law and the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the
Event of Armed Conflict,20 regarding the preservation of monuments of the cultural
heritage of Ukraine in Crimea, in particular regarding the Khan Palace in
Bakhchysarai and 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
territory of Ukraine;
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;
__________________
20 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 249, No. 3511.
Situation of human rights in the temporarily occupied
Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of
Sevastopol, Ukraine
A/RES/77/229
11/12
22-28995
9.
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;
10. 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 “occupying authorities
of the Russian Federation”, and encourages all States and other international
organizations to do the same;
11.
Calls upon Member States to support human rights defenders in Crimea
and across Ukraine and to continue advocacy for the respect of human rights,
including by condemning the violations committed by the Russian Federation in the
temporarily occupied Crimea at bilateral and multilateral forums;
12. 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
particular the human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine and the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine;
13. Condemns all attempts by the Russian Federation to legitimize or
normalize its attempted illegal annexation of Crimea and other territories of Ukraine,
including the automatic imposition of citizenship of the Russian Federation, illegal
election campaigns and voting, population census, forcible change of the
demographic structure of the population and suppression of national identity;
14. Calls upon the international community to continue to support the work of
the United Nations to uphold international human rights law and international
humanitarian law in the temporarily occupied Crimea and other territories of Ukraine
under temporary military control by the Russian Federation;
15. 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 and other territories of Ukraine temporarily controlled by the
Russian Federation by established regional and international human rights monitoring
mechanisms, in particular the United Nations human rights monitoring mission in
Ukraine and the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, to
enable them to carry out their mandates;
16. Urges the Russian Federation to ensure the proper and unimpeded access
of international human rights monitoring missions and human rights non-governmental
organizations to the temporarily occupied Crimea and other territories of Ukraine
temporarily controlled by the Russian Federation, 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 are of paramount importance in preventing further deterioration of
the situation;
A/RES/77/229
Situation of human rights in the temporarily occupied
Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of
Sevastopol, Ukraine
22-28995
12/12
17. Decides to include the item entitled “The situation in the temporarily
occupied territories of Ukraine” in the agenda of the General Assembly until the
violations committed as a result of foreign occupation and control of parts of the
territory of Ukraine are duly dealt with and the territorial integrity of Ukraine within
its internationally recognized borders is fully restored;
18. 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;
19. Also requests the Secretary-General to continue to provide his good offices
and pursue his discussions relating to the matter, involving all relevant stakeholders
and including the concerns addressed in the present resolution;
20. Further requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly
at its seventy-eighth 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 fifty-third session, to be followed by an interactive
dialogue, in accordance with Council resolution 47/22 of 13 July 2021;21
21. Decides to continue its consideration of the matter at its seventy-eighth
session under the item entitled “Promotion and protection of human rights”.
54th plenary meeting
15 December 2022
__________________
21 See Official Records of the General Assembly, Seventy-sixth Session, Supplement No. 53
(A/76/53), chap. VII, sect. A.
▶ Cite this page
UN Project. “A/RES/77/229.” UN Project, https://un-project.org/votes/resolution/A-RES-77-229/. Accessed .