MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the Crimean Tatars
10.5.2016 - (2016/2692(RSP))
pursuant to Rule 135 of the Rules of Procedure
Petras Auštrevičius, Beatriz Becerra Basterrechea, Dita Charanzová, Marielle de Sarnez, Gérard Deprez, Martina Dlabajová, Nathalie Griesbeck, Antanas Guoga, Marian Harkin, Ivan Jakovčić, Petr Ježek, Kaja Kallas, Ilhan Kyuchyuk, Valentinas Mazuronis, Louis Michel, Urmas Paet, Maite Pagazaurtundúa Ruiz, Jozo Radoš, Frédérique Ries, Robert Rochefort, Marietje Schaake, Jasenko Selimovic, Hannu Takkula, Pavel Telička, Johannes Cornelis van Baalen on behalf of the ALDE Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B8-0582/2016
The European Parliament,
-having regard to the Association Agreement and the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community and their Member States, on the one part, and Ukraine, on the other;
-having regard to its previous resolutions on the European Neighbourhood Policy, on the Eastern Partnership, in particular its resolution of 21 January 2016 on the Association Agreements and the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Areas with Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine and the resolution on the human rights situation in Crimea, in particular of the Crimean Tatars from 3 February 2016;
-having regard to the Reports of the Human Rights Assessment Mission on Crimea conducted by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR);
-having regard to the reports by the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM);
-having regard to the Human Rights Watch World Report 2016 published on 27th January 2016,
-having regard to the Minsk Protocol of 5 September 2014 and the Minsk Memorandum of 19 September 2014 on the implementation of a 12-point peace plan,
-having regard to the Council decision of 21 December 2015, continuing the sanctions imposed on the Russian Federation as a follow-up to the illegal annexation of Crimea,
-having regard to Rule 123(2) and (4) of its Rules of Procedure,
A.whereas the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation is illegal and in violation of international law and European agreements signed by both the Russian Federation and Ukraine, notably the UN Charter, the Helsinki Final Act and the Budapest Memorandum;
B.whereas the Russian authorities, for the time being, are to be held responsible for the protection of the people and citizens of Crimea, through the de-facto authorities present in the region;
C.whereas there are serious and credible reports of widespread abuses of human rights in Crimea, in particular allegations of intimidation and disappearances of Crimean Tatars and systematic legal problems over property rights and registration;
D.whereas Crimean Tatar leaders, in particular Mustafa Dzhemilev and Refat Chubarov, have been banned from entering into Crimea, sharing the same fate as numerous other displaced persons;
E. whereas the Russian occupational authorities on 26 April designated the Crimean Tatar Mejlis as an extremist entity and banned its activity in Crimea and in Russia, ruling in favour of a lawsuit filed by Crimean Prosecutor Natalia Poklonskaya;
F.whereas the Crimean Supreme Court Judge Natalia Terentyeva stated that "the entity called the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People is to be designated as an extremist organization and its activity be banned", and motivated the court decision with the need to "maintain stability, peace and order in the Russian Federation";
G.whereas the Mejlis functions as the main representative body for the Crimean Tatars and has had a full legal status since May 1999; whereas the Mejlis called for a boycott of the so called referendum which was organized after Russia`s military intervention; strongly supported territorial integrity of Ukraine and its sovereignty over Crimea and rejected the illegal annexation of the Crimea peninsula by Russia;
H.whereas the entire population of Crimean Tatars, an indigenous people of Crimea, was forcibly deported to other parts of the then USSR in 1944 with no right to return until 1989; whereas on 12 November 2015 the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted a resolution in which it recognised the deportation of the Crimean Tatars in 1944 as genocide and established 18 May as a Day of Remembrance;
1.reiterates its commitment to the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and the need to maintain full respect for the inviolability of borders in Europe; welcomes the Council’s decision of 21 December 2015 to extend economic sanctions against the Russian Federation following the non-fulfilment of the Minsk Agreements; condemns Russia's threats to deploy nuclear weapons in Crimea and expresses its great concern over on-going militarisation of occupied peninsula and the discriminatory action taken against the Crimean Tatars as well as against other citizens of Crimea;
2.reminds the Russian authorities that despite the illegality of the annexation of Crimea, Russia is, in a de-facto capacity as occupational authority, fully responsible for upholding the legal order in Crimea and protecting Crimean citizens from arbitrary judicial or administrative measures and rulings thus keeping up to its own commitments as a member of the Council of Europe;
3.deplores the illegitimate court ruling of 26 April banning the Mejlis and calls for the judgement to be revoked and annulled; underlines that Russia, as the occupational authority, is obliged under international law to protect all citizens of Crimea from any form of discrimination and to protect their human rights; calls on the Council to adopt restrictive measures against those Russian and Crimean officials responsible for banning of Mejlis and persecution of its members;
4.expresses deep concern at the efforts made to stigmatise the Crimean Tatars and deplores the acts to hinder the functioning of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, the highest executive-representative body of the Crimean Tatars, including by banning two of its leaders and some members from entering Crimea, seizing and closing Mejlis' headquarters and arresting some of its properties and by other acts of intimidation;
5.deplores the closing of the Crimea Tatar media outlet ATR as this closure deprives the Crimean Tatar community of a vital instrument to maintain its cultural and linguistic identity and calls for the European Commission to extend the needed financial assistance in order to secure functioning of this and other media in exile, in Ukraine; equally condemns decisions restricting education in the Crimean Tatar language and in Ukrainian by the local authorities;
6.supports the EU's decision to prohibit imports originating from Crimea unless accompanied by a certificate of origin from the Ukrainian authorities as well as restrictive measures towards Russia following the illegal annexation of Crimea, related to export of certain goods and technologies, investment, trade and services; underlines the EU's determination to continue with these sanctions until after Crimea's full reintegration into jurisdiction of Ukraine;
7.expresses strong concern over the many credible reports of cases of disappearances, torturing and systemic intimidation of local citizens opposed to the annexation and in opposition to the new de facto local authorities and urges the occupational power to properly investigate these cases; underlines that the Crimean Tatars, as an indigenous people of the peninsula, and their cultural heritage seem to be a prime target for repressions;
8.deplores the campaign by the Russian authorities for force the residents of Crimea to take Russian citizenship and to hand over their Ukrainian passports; underlines that this action is contrary to international humanitarian law, equally condemns the penalties imposed on those failing to disclose dual citizenship;
9.underlines that Crimean Tatars have encountered additional difficulties as many of them have only recently returned to Crimea from deportation after long periods away, in particular in Uzbekistan, and for this primary reason may face additional administrative and legal hurdles to prove their place of residence;
10.calls for unrestricted access to Crimea by international institutions and independent experts from the OSCE, the United Nations and the Council of Europe; points out that such visits so far have been either fully or partially restricted and as a result impeding monitoring of the human rights situation; underlines that it is the responsibility of the Russian Federation, as an occupational power in effective control over the Crimean peninsula, bound by international humanitarian law and international human rights law to grant unimpeded access to Crimea for such visits;
11.equally underlines the need for Ukraine to keep improving the protection of the rights and needs of displaced Ukrainian citizens, including their right to vote and to enjoy full legal and administrative protection in their country;
12.calls on the Russian Federation to release prisoners, citizens of Ukraine, in particular film director Oleh Sentsov, 39, sentenced to 20 years, and activist Oleksandr Kolchenko, 26, sentenced to 10 years, as well as Ahtem Chiygoz, the Deputy Chairman of the Mejlis, Mustafa Degermendzhi and Ali Asanov, who were arrested in Crimea for their peaceful protest against the occupation and are currently facing imprisonment from 8 to 15 years; condemns their subsequent transfer to Russia and the forcible attribution of Russian citizenship upon them;
13.underlines that those responsible for the illegal detention, imprisonment and sentencing of the above mentioned citizens of Ukraine may face international sanctions or legal proceedings for their actions, following an example of individual EU Member States, in particular Lithuania, which took a decision at a national level to blacklist a number of the Russian and Ukrainian officials for their role in cases of Nadiya Savchenko, Oleh Sentsov and Oleksandr Kolchenko;
14.calls on the Russian authorities to investigate all cases of torture of prisoners illegally apprehended in Crimea, who continue to be detained in Crimea or have been transferred to Russia;
15.expresses grave concern regarding the situation of LGBTI people in Crimea, which has substantially worsened following the Russian annexation; strongly regrets that all LGBTI organisations and facilities in Crimea had to cease their activities, due to the Russian federal law banning 'homosexual propaganda' as well as repression and threats from the de facto authorities and paramilitary groups; underlines that similar efforts must be made in Ukraine, not the least in light of the many forthcoming Pride events;
16.instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Member States, the President of Ukraine, the governments and parliaments of Ukraine and of the Russian Federation, the Parliamentary Assemblies of the Council of Europe and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.