On May 14, the members of the Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) Human Rights Committee met with the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People leadership – Head of the Mejlis Refat Chubarov and members of the Mejlis Riza Shevkiyev and Gayana Yüksel. The meeting was also attended by Mustafa Dzhemilev, national leader of the Crimean Tatars. The UWC was represented by the Chair of the UWC Human Rights Committee Borys Wrzesnewskyj and members of the Committee – Head of the UWC Representative Office I Ukraine Serhiy Kasyanchuk and UWC Political Adviser Tymish Martynenko.
During the meeting, the parties discussed cooperation between the UWC and Mejlis and coordination of efforts to protect human rights in the occupied Crimea, in particular, the rights of certain individuals, persecuted by the Russian occupation authorities, political prisoners, and the Crimean Tatar People.
The parties have also discussed cooperation in terms of Ukraine’s initiative to establish the Crimean Platform – an international negotiation format aimed at achieving de-occupation of the Crimean Peninsula by diplomatic and political means.
Today, the actions of Russian occupiers in Crimea are an example of the worst, most brutal violations of human rights in the European continent. This, first of all, applies to representatives of the Crimean Tatar and Ukrainian communities, who are persecuted on national and religious grounds and for their convictions. These violations can be ended only through joining forces and uniting the international community against the bully.