The UN General Assembly has adopted a resolution "Situation of human rights in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, including the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol", UNN reports.
The resolution was supported by 81 countries, with 14 countries voting against and 80 abstaining.
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According to Ukraine's Foreign Ministry, the document covers the human rights situation in all the territories of Ukraine temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation, which ensures enhanced monitoring by the UN and the international community of all crimes and gross violations committed by the Russian occupation authorities against local people in these territories.
The General Assembly has reaffirmed the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders and the non-recognition of any changes in the status of Ukrainian territories. In this regard, the UN General Assembly demands that the Russian Federation immediately cease its aggression against Ukraine and withdraw all its armed forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.
Importantly, this document became the first UN resolution in which the General Assembly called Russia's aggression against Ukraine the "war of aggression against Ukraine.
The adoption of the document demonstrates that the international community unequivocally condemns the crimes of the Russian occupiers, and that every act of violence and human rights violation will be properly assessed and punished.
The key provisions of the resolution include condemnation of Russia's continued disregard for international human rights law and international humanitarian law, illegal detention of Ukrainian civilians, use of torture and ill-treatment, and discrimination against residents of the temporarily occupied territories.
A substantial novelty of this year's document is the provision condemning torture and other forms of ill-treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war, including sexual violence, and calling on Russia to grant access to international humanitarian mandates, including the ICRC, to places of detention, ensure proper medical care and the full exchange of all prisoners of war.
The resolution also aims to protect and return deported children: The UNGA calls on the Russian Federation to stop deporting Ukrainian children and to provide comprehensive information to the relevant UN agencies and international organizations with a list of all deported Ukrainian children, including those whose status has been changed, adopted or placed in the care of foster parents, and to take all necessary measures to ensure the safe return of these children to their homeland.
The UN General Assembly recalls the decision of the UN Secretary-General to include the armed forces of the Russian Federation and affiliated armed groups in the temporarily occupied territories on the so-called "list of shame" in the annual report "Children and Armed Conflict" for the second year in a row for killing children and attacking schools and hospitals in Ukraine.
The resolution emphasizes that the Russian Federation, as the occupying power, is fully responsible for the catastrophic consequences of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant explosion for the economy, agriculture and ecology of the region, and condemns Russia's blocking of UN humanitarian access to the victims. It also emphasizes the inadmissibility of attacks against Ukrainian port infrastructure, port blockades and threats to civilian and commercial vessels that undermine global food security.
"We express our gratitude to the international community for supporting the territorial integrity and sovereignty of our country. The clear position of the UN General Assembly and its member states is an important step towards restoring respect for international law and bringing Russia to justice for all its crimes.
We call on all UN member states to continue to put pressure on the aggressor state to restore justice and sustainable peace in Ukraine and the world as a whole. A return to the rule of law and respect for fundamental freedoms will help strengthen European and global security and prevent the recurrence of such crimes in the future," the Foreign Ministry added.