In Geneva, Lithuania Condemns Human Rights Violations by Russia in Occupied Territories of Ukraine
On 26 September 2017, the UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, Kate Gilmore, presented to the 36th session of the UN Human Rights Council the 19th report on the human rights situation in Ukraine’s Crimea and shared the High Commissioner’s oral update on Ukraine.
In the subsequent discussion, Lithuania condemned Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine, now in its fourth year, and the human rights violations committed by the Russian de facto authorities in the illegally annexed Crimea and parts of Donbass. Lithuania particularly emphasized systemic violations of the rights of Crimean Tatars. Lithuania noted that the ongoing human rights violations and illegal supply of weapons and military cadre from Russia into the conflict zone in Ukraine make even more distant the prospect of resolving the conflict on the basis of the Minsk agreements. Lithuania confirmed its unreserved support to Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity and called on Russia to grant the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine unimpeded access to the Russia-controlled territories of Ukraine and to respect international law.
