In framework of permanent cooperation with UN bodies and agencies, our Association sent submission this year to the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, Professor Irene Khan for her report on “Freedom of Expression and Elections in the Digital Age,” which was presented to the Human Rights Council this June.
ARC’s submission, published at official UN web-sources now, stressed that during fake “elections” in occupied territories, Russian punishers, propaganda, and military forces use the hate speech as against the ethnic Ukrainians, so exactly against various minor communities in Ukraine.
ARC’s submission reminded about the wave of authoritarian repressions against human rights during Russia’s preparations for illegal “presidential elections” that were organized in Russia-occupied territory in March 2024, also as during illegal “municipal and regional elections”, organized by Russia in Crimea at August and September, 2024.
ARC’s submission added that during those “elections,” disinformation, misinformation, or hate speech was used against “internal enemies,” like Ukraine, Ukrainians, and Europeans, including calls for aggression and genocidal calls, as any “opposition” or democratic force was not allowed to participate in such “elections.”
Also the “dissidents,” or persons that disagreed in social media or in other digital spaces with such a model of “elections,” were punished, including repressions for “discreditation of the Russian army” and “supporting extremism,” the submission added.
Submission stressed that illegal “elections” in Russia-occupied Crimea, South and East of Ukraine were condemned by UN General Assembly Resolution 79/184 “Situation of human rights in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, including the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol,” adopted on 17 December 2024.
Our cooperation with UN bodies on issues described will be continued, especially taking into account the aggressor’s preparations for a scam of “digital reelections” of Sevastopol gauleiter Mikhail Razvozhayev this year.
