Occupier authorities of Crimea significantly threaten freedom of opinion, conscience and religion, - statement of UNESCO

According to Ukrinform, the relevant decision was made as a result of monitoring the situation in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports.

As noted in the conclusions of the report of the director-general of UNESCO, data collected by Ukraine and international organizations indicate a further deterioration of the human rights situation in the temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol.

The conclusions also state that the occupier authorities' actions significantly threaten freedom of opinion, conscience and religion, the right to peaceful assembly and association, freedom of the media and access to information, linguistic and cultural rights.

"The most vulnerable groups suffering from human rights violations (including those within the competence of UNESCO) are Crimean Tatars and Ukrainians, who are subjected to significant pressure from the occupation authorities," the report says.

The document also points out that the occupation authorities have caused damage to cultural values belonging to Ukraine and located in the occupied territory, as well as to reduce the level of protection of natural heritage due to illegal decisions on changing the status of nature reserves.

According to the decision, it is expected that the director-general of UNESCO will present the next report on the situation in the temporarily occupied Crimea at the 212th session of the Executive Board based on the results of full-fledged comprehensive monitoring.

"The adoption of this decision once again confirms the strong position of the international community in support of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our state and is an important tool for countering Russia's aggressive policy and an element of consolidating international efforts to de - occupy Crimea," First Deputy Minister Emine Dzhaparova said.

As of January 2021, UNESCO has carried out several missions to Ukraine to monitor the situation in the temporarily occupied Crimea in the fields of science and information and started monitoring education. The next step should be monitoring in the field of culture and cultural heritage.