On 20 February 2014, Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) President Eugene Czolij met with the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Anne Brasseur, in Strasbourg, France, to discuss the current crisis in Ukraine.
Eugene Czolij congratulated Anne Brasseur on her recent election as President of PACE.
The UWC President acknowledged the PACE resolution on Ukraine of 30 January 2014 on the functioning of democratic institutions in Ukraine. He underscored, in particular, the importance of the reminder to the Russian Federation in this resolution that “the threat of economic or political sanctions in order to influence political decisions in another country is in contradiction to generally accepted diplomatic and democratic norms and is inadmissible,” and noted the importance of monitoring and reacting to Russia’s political, economic and military threats to Ukraine.
Highlighting the tragic events in Ukraine and the violent means being used by the governing authorities on their own people, the UWC President emphasized the need for the Council of Europe to call for targeted sanctions against the individuals responsible for these actions.
Eugene Czolij urged Anne Brasseur to immediately send a Council of Europe observer mission to Ukraine with the mandate of monitoring the situation on the ground among the protesters, particularly in hospitals and detention centres, and encourage doctors to travel to Ukraine to provide medical treatment to the numerous injured in the conflict.
The UWC President also encouraged the PACE President to accelerate the establishment, as proposed by Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland, of an expert group to investigate human rights violations in Ukraine.
“The Ukrainian World Congress urges the Council of Europe to intensify its efforts to ensure that the fundamental rights and freedoms of every Ukrainian citizen are respected,” stated UWC President Eugene Czolij.
