Credit: VOA
The UN General Assembly will consider a draft resolution on protection of human rights in the occupied Crimea, according to a tweet by Ukraine’s Mission in the UN.
“December 18, UNGA to consider a draft resolution seeking the protection of the human rights in the occupied Crimea”, the message reads. The resolution condemns mass detentions of human rights activists, urges the Russian government of Crimea to stop political persecutions and condemns the practice of forced military draft to Russia’s Armed Forces.
The initiative comes after the European Commission noted ‘catastrophic’ violation of human rights in Crimea and Donbas.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed legislation this week increasing fines and penalties against so-called “foreign agents” working in mass media — part of a broader spate of Russian laws that have targeted foreign media, NGOs, and other perceived enemies at home, VOA reports. The latest measure strengthens a controversial law signed earlier this month that expanded the foreign agent label beyond media outlets to individuals — making journalists, bloggers and online news consumers potential new targets.
The blacklist of foreign agents, seen above in a screenshot from the Russian Justice Ministry’s website, shows Voice of America (1), Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe (7) and Current Time (5) among others.
A resolution from the European Parliament this week highlights breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law by the Kremlin, including the Russian Foreign Agent Law and Its Recent Amendments.
Since 2015, over nineteen international organisations have been declared “undesirable,” including the International Republican Institute, National Endowment for Democracy (NED), Civil Society Institute and Civil Society Foundation, The Black Sea Trust for Regional Cooperation, and Open Russia Foundation, it noted.
