The Verkhovna Rada appealed to the world to recognize the genocide of the Crimean Tatar people and increase pressure on the Russian Federation

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has adopted an appeal to the international community on commemorating the victims of the Crimean Tatar genocide and the need to strengthen the response to human rights violations in occupied Crimea. The corresponding decision was supported by 272 people’s deputies.

This was reported by people’s deputy Tamila Tasheva.

The document was adopted on the eve of the 82nd anniversary of the deportation of the Crimean Tatars in 1944. In the appeal, the parliament calls on foreign governments and international organizations to officially recognize the deportation of the Crimean Tatar people as an act of genocide, to increase sanctions and diplomatic pressure on Russia, and to support the release of Ukrainian political prisoners and illegally detained civilians.

Tamila Tasheva emphasized that the current policy of the Russian Federation towards Crimea continues the practices of the Soviet totalitarian regime.

“Today, the Russian Federation continues this colonial policy, using the persecution of Crimean Tatars, the ban on the Mejlis, and systemic human rights violations to destroy our identity,” she noted.

The resolution also calls on the international community to support the activities of the International Criminal Court and the establishment of a special tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine.

The Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, Refat Chubarov, called the voting results a testament to the unity of the Ukrainian parliament and support for the struggle of the Crimean Tatar people for rights and justice.

So far, the parliaments of Latvia, Lithuania, Canada, Poland, Estonia, the Czech Republic, and the Netherlands have recognized the deportation of Crimean Tatars in 1944 as an act of genocide.