Today, Deputy Permanent Representative Olha Kuryshko participated in the international Forum 2000 Conference and delivered a speech during a panel discussion titled “Ten years in an open-air prison: human rights in the occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Ukraine”. Other participants in the discussion included Zdenka Caisová, Deputy Director of the Department of Human Rights and Transition Promotion Policy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, Viktoriia Nesterenko, Project Manager at the Human Rights Center ZMINA, and Leniie Umerova, recently released from Russian captivity.

The Deputy Permanent Representative emphasized that, during the occupation of Crimea, Russia has turned the peninsula into a military base and a prison for its residents, where systematic human rights violations and repressions have become a daily reality.

“It is important to remember that Russia’s war against Ukraine began with the occupation of Crimea in 2014. The first victims, both military and civilian, were here. We remember Ukrainian servicemen Serhii Kokurin and Stanislav Karachevskyi, who were killed by Russian soldiers. The first civilian victim was Crimean Tatar activist Reshat Ametov, who was kidnapped and murdered for protesting the occupation. At least 14 Crimean activists, including Ervin Ibragimov, have disappeared and their fates remain unknown. To date, 218 residents of Crimea have been illegally arrested by Russia, 132 of them being Crimean Tatars,” the Deputy Permanent Representative emphasized.

In addition, Olha Kuryshko spoke about reintegration policies for Crimea being developed by the Mission, particularly in the areas of cognitive de-occupation, the restoration of public administration, economic recovery, property rights, and the return of businesses.

During her speech, the Deputy Permanent Representative highlighted the importance of strengthening sanctions against individuals and organizations that support the occupation and violate the rights of Ukrainian citizens in temporarily occupied territories.

In conclusion, Olha Kuryshko called on conference participants to join the Crimea Platform Summit.