In framework of permanent cooperation with UN bodies and agencies our Association sent submission to the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples for its next report on the right of Indigenous Peoples to their traditional economies.
Our submission, prepared by Professor Borys Babin and PhD. Anna Prykhodko and published at UN web-sources now, reminded to the Expert Mechanism that Russia banned illegally Mejlis of Crimean Tatar People as the representative body, and some hundreds of individual applications of Crimean Tatar People were sent to the European Court of Human Rights, on aspects of the repressions, discrimination and illegal ban of Mejlis.
ARC’s submission stressed that Russian aggression created strong challenges for Crimean Tatars’ traditional economies in the Crimea, adjacent maritime waters and mainland territories of Ukraine.
Such challenges for the issue of Crimean Tatars’ indigenous economies, in environmental and water supply framework, were caused, inter alea, by destruction the dam of Kakhovka HPP on Dnipro River by Russian military units.
Also broad challenges in area of Crimean Tatar traditional economies, including fishery and recreation sector, appeared after the catastrophe that occurred on December, 2024 in the waters of the Black Sea south of the Kerch Strait with the Russian tankers “Volgoneft-212” and “Volgoneft-239”, which were transporting a total of more than 8 thousand tons of fuel oil.
ARC’s submission informed the Mechanism on Law of Indigenous Peoples of Ukraine, 2021 and on approval in 2022 by Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine the Procedure for Conducting Consultations of Executive Authorities with Representative Bodies of Indigenous Peoples of Ukraine and Procedure for Establishing the Legal Status of Representative Body of Indigenous People of Ukraine and Depriving It of Such Status.
ARC’s submission described issues of implementation of those acts by Ukraine and stressed that in December, 2024, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated on meeting with Ukrainian ethnic groups’ representatives, that issue of legalization of Mejlis of Crimean Tatar people will be solved soon.
Also, ARC’s submission added, since 2018 Ukrainian authorities adopted some strategic and program documents regarding processes of reintegration the Crimea after its de-occupation that included some aspects of indigenous rights’ realization, including their economic rights.
ARC’s submission proposed to the Expert Mechanism that next UN thematic reports on Indigenous rights to traditional economies, taking into account conditions on hostilities, interstate conflicts, aggressions, foreign occupation of indigenous lands, like Crimea, against Indigenous Peoples, must reflect the demands of Rome Statute, Geneva Convention and Additional Protocols, also as models of transitional justice, including issues of Indigenous right to sustainable development.
