Crimean Tatars: UN, Turkey and Ukraine Called on to Prevent Persecution
The Committee on the Rights of the Crimean Tatar people has appealed to the UN, Turkey and Ukraine to prevent violations of the rights of the indigenous population of Crimea, a Ukrainian territory annexed by Russia, the BBC’s Ukrainian service reported on Sunday, 18 January 2015.
Below is a report published by Unian
According to the report, the committee has adopted an appeal at a conference held in Simferopol on Saturday, despite the attempts by pro-Russian activists to disrupt it.
The delegates appealed to the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, calling on him to “prevent the destruction of the Crimean Tatars.”
In particular, the statement notes cases of the abduction of Crimean Tatars and violations of their rights.
"As a result of the annexation of the Crimea, the indigenous population - the Crimean Tatars - have been subjected to terror and physical violence," the report reads.
In addition, Ban was asked to protect the Crimean Tatars from having to serve in the Russian army.
The delegates also asked the Ukrainian authorities to initiate an international conference on security in Crimea under the auspices of the OSCE in April.
In addition, they asked the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry to explore the possibility of the Crimean Tatar people gaining the international status of a third party in Russian-Ukrainian relations, with their national self-government bodies, the Kurultai and Majlis, gaining the right to appeal to the international courts.
In addition, the resolution of the conference says that any government in Crimea can exist only with the consent and a clearly expressed will of the Crimean Tatar people.
