UNESKO alleges that situation in Crimea has deteriorated

UNESCO has published a new report of the Director-General of the organization on the situation in Russia-annexed Crimea in the fields of education, science, culture, dissemination of information and the functioning of the media. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, the document states the further deterioration of the situation on the peninsula in all the UNESCO competence areas. It was reported by Radio Liberty (Svoboda).

 “It indicates specific instances of gross violations of human rights and freedoms, especially of Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars, fundamental principles and norms of the Organization, in particular on issues of ensuring educational and cultural rights, obstruction of free dissemination of information and media activities, numerous cases of persecution and illegal arrests of journalists,” the report said.

The report highlights “the destructive actions of the Russian authorities in Crimea, which really endanger the universal cultural and historical value and authenticity of Ukrainian cultural heritage sites, in particular the object “the Ancient city Chersonese of Taurida and its choir" – that is on the UNESCO world heritage List and the Khan's Palace in Bakhchisarai from the previous World Heritage list."

The report reports on the introduction of the first stage of the UNESCO's direct monitoring of the situation in the occupied Crimea, in particular, the first two visits of UNESCO experts to Ukraine to collect information on the situation in the field of science and operation of the mass media on the peninsula.

The report was prepared pursuant to the decision of the 205th session of the UNESCO Executive Board “Monitoring the situation in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea (Ukraine)”. It will be considered at the 207th session of the Executive Board of UNESCO, which will be held on October 9-23, 2019 in Paris.

The actual power of the annexed Crimea does not agree with the information presented in the UNESCO reports. The Minister of Culture of annexed Crimea Arina Novoselskaya invited the UNESCO representatives to personally visit the peninsula and ‘objectively assess’ the condition of the culturally and historically significant sites.

After the annexation of Crimea, Russia took under its jurisdiction all major cultural and historical sites located on the peninsula.

Kyiv insists that the monuments belong to the Ukrainian people and requests they are taken under the protection of UNESCO.

The world heritage list of UNESCO includes the reserve ‘Chersonese of Tauride’ in annexed Crimea. The candidates' list includes the Khan's Palace in Bakhchisarai, the Genoese fortress in Sudak, the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory, Mangup-Kale, Eski-Kerme and Chufut-Kale.