Verkhovna Rada calls on the world to recognize the genocide of Crimean Tatars

The Verkhovna Rada has supported a resolution on the international commemoration of the victims of the 1944 deportation of the Crimean Tatar people. The document also calls on the international community to increase pressure on Russia and support the de-occupation of Crimea.

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted Resolution No. 15227, which provides for an appeal to the governments and parliaments of other states to honor the memory of the victims of the genocide of the Crimean Tatar people.

The decision was voted for by 272 MPs. The document aims to expand international recognition of the deportation of Crimean Tatars in 1944 as an act of genocide. In addition, the resolution emphasizes the need to draw the world's attention to human rights violations in the occupied Crimea and other temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

The Ukrainian parliament also called on international partners to continue to adhere to the policy of non-recognition of the Russian occupation of the peninsula, condemn the persecution of Crimean Tatars, and support the restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity.

The document emphasizes the need to bring Russia to justice. This includes support for the work of the International Criminal Court, the establishment of a special tribunal for the crime of aggression and the strengthening of sanctions against Russia.

The authors of the resolution are convinced that its adoption will help strengthen international support for Ukraine, help protect the rights of the Crimean Tatar people and preserve their national and cultural identity under the occupation of Crimea.

So far, the deportation of Crimean Tatars has been officially recognized as genocide by Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, Canada, Poland, Estonia, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.

On March 26, 1993, the Verkhovna Rada of Crimea adopted a resolution establishing the Day of Remembrance of the Deportation Victims, recognizing the crime of the Soviet regime. In 1944, more than 238,000 people were deported from Crimea, and about 46% of them died due to the terrible conditions of resettlement.

Анна Бальчінос