In framework of permanent collaboration with UN bodies and officials our Association sent in 2025 the submission to UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence, Professor Bernard Duhaime for preparation for his report to 80th UN General Assembly session.
ARC submission, published at the UN official web-sources now, stressed that before Russian broad-scale invasion Ukraine fully realized the potential and necessity of transitional justice for the resolution of the conflict and post-conflict settlement and reconciliation, reminding on relevant ministerial activities with our Association’s collaboration, on development the Ukrainian legislation on indigenous rights, on Ukrainian governmental strategic and program documents regarding processes of reintegration the Crimea after its de-occupation that included issues of transitional justice, and on relevant sessions of Strategic Forum “Future of Crimea”.
ARC submission stressed that Russian authoritarian “administrations”, military and punitive structures leveraged and weaponized economic and cultural rights in occupied part of Ukraine, including education, cultural life and social services, for militarization, hate speech and illegal “memorialization” of Russia’s military in Crimea.
ARC submission added that the relevant mechanisms of compensation and reparations must be established with participation of UN OHCHR strictures, including aspects of violations of economic, social and cultural rights, have arisen in situations of Russian armed aggression against Ukraine and Russian authoritarianism.
Some civil cases on issues of moral damage and refuting the conflict-related propaganda allegations, such as case 521/11949/24 against key Crimean collaborators, may be a good example of judicial processes, essential for transitional justice, ARC submission added.
Now the relevant Report A/80/175 of that UN Special Rapporteur to UN General Assembly is published and discussed by Assembly, it reflects the described demands of ARC and other progressive non-governmental structures. Report stressed that In Ukraine, multiple attacks on infrastructure by the Russian armed forces, targeting in particular the electricity and energy sectors, have compromised the economy and access to essential services, including water distribution, sewage and sanitation systems, heating and hot water, public health and education.
Report A/80/175 pointed, in its paragraph 44, that memorialization can also be weaponized in ways that perpetuate the harms that transitional justice seeks to address. For example, Report stressed, in the AR of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine, occupied by Russia, where Crimean Tatars suffered severe displacement, cultural destruction and other social and economic rights violations, the Russian occupying “authorities” are engaged in a campaign of “memorialization” to “legitimize” their military presence.
The Report adds that it is done through “educational programmes” focused on the history of Russia and on presenting Crimea as allegedly “historically Russian region”, belying the Crimean Tatars’ rich legacy as the peninsula’s indigenous people.
Report A/80/175 demands from the states to provide effective, comprehensive and transformative reparations for victims of gross violations of economic, social and cultural rights, and to ensure that reparations are tailored to the specific needs of victims and remain distinct from general welfare services provided by the state.
Also, Report demands from the states to ensure that transitional justice processes are inclusive and consider the needs and perspectives of victims, including persons or groups exposed to situations of vulnerability, including women. Our cooperation with UN structures on those issues will be continued.
