Dzhemilev: Russia has caused billions of dollars’ worth of damage to Crimea’s ecology
Russia has caused significant damage to the ecology of annexed Crimea, as stated by the leader of the Crimean Tatar people, Mustafa Dzhemilev, at a briefing on the draft resolution of the UN Security Council on human rights in the Crimea.
"Russia has violated all agreements by its actions. The ecology of the Crimea has been damaged. Groundwater dropped, the territory will require billions of dollars to rehabilitate," said Dzhemilev.
The leader of the Crimean Tatar people also noted that Ukraine would do everything to secure the return of the Crimea.
"We have chosen the path of diplomacy because human lives are important for us. When drafting the resolution, we could resort to terminology that did not rely on insults to Russia. And the second way is to call things by their proper names. We have chosen it," he summed up.
On April 19, 2017, the UN International Court of Justice agreed to introduce interim measures in Ukraine’s lawsuit against Russia to protect the rights of Crimean residents. The court ruled that there are facts of irreparable harm to the rights of Ukrainians.
In annexed Crimea, the UN observers continue to record a wide range of violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. These are violations of the right to life, to personal integrity and to liberty, as well as violations of social and economic rights.
The President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, speaking at the general debate of the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly in New York on September 20, described the policy of repression employed by the Russian authorities in annexed Crimea, and he urged the international community to make the appropriate response to the Kremlin’s actions.