On 3 December 2018 the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko in his speech at the Forum “70 Years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Agenda for Ukraine” stressed: “Today’s meeting marks a milestone historical event which has formed the image of today’s world”.

On 10 December 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. At that time, having experienced the horror of the Second World War, humanity started building a new post-war world where the person’s life, dignity, and freedoms were perceived as the key values. Moreover, the international community should establish reliable mechanisms to protect these values. Everything possible must be done to create the world in which the people enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want. That is an important and key massage of the Declaration”, said the President.

The Head of the State drew attention to the fact that the delegation of the Soviet Union had abstained in the vote on Declaration. Committing such a crimes as Holodomor, a genocide of the Ukrainian people, deportation of Crimean Tatar people and other crimes against humanity, the empire was unable to accept the idea of value of individual”, stated Petro Poroshenko

“Only a few years ago it seemed that the implementation of the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was irreversible and the international legal mechanisms had been developed to protect them. And the United Nations Security Council would be able to prevent their violation”, noted the President.

“Unfortunately, it was definitely not the case. In XXI century, the RF as the permanent state member of the United Nations Security Council annexed Crimea and committed aggression by occupying the part of the territory of Ukraine. The rules of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are massively and consistently being violated in the Ukrainian territories under Russian occupation”, said Petro Poroshenko.

Petro Poroshenko focused on the situation in Crimea, annexed by Russia. “In short, the situation of human rights in the territory of Crimea is an arbitrariness, powerlessness and total militarization. However, there is one more crime. The whole people, Crimean Tatars, is now being gradually eliminated. The occupying authorities try to succeed where Stalin has failed. Targeting the leaders, declaring Mejlis as an “extremist organization” they try to wipe out the identity of the Indigenous people of Crimea by dissolving it in the Russian “melting pot”, stressed the President.

He reminded that in December last year the UN General Assembly adopted the resolution

“Situation of human rights in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol”. The draft resolution, initiated by Petro Poroshenko was supported by the 70 states of the world.

The President of Ukraine pointed out that Ukraine would continue to make every effort to return all detainees from the occupied Donbass and annexed Crimea, all political prisoners, illegally detained in the Russian prisons to Ukraine.

“On this occasion I reiterate my appeal to the human rights organizations, governments and international organizations to work together to achieve precisely that goal”, said Petro Poroshenko.