PACE adopts resolution condemning Moscow's policy of Russification of the occupied territories of Ukraine
Kyiv • UNN
The PACE summer session adopted the Ukrainian resolution "Countering the erasure of cultural identity in times of war and peace", which condemns the systematic policy of the Russian Federation to Russify and destroy Ukrainian cultural heritage since 2014 in the occupied territories, recognizing it as a war crime and genocide against Ukrainian identity.
At the summer session of PACE, the resolution of Ukraine "Countering the erasure of cultural identity in times of war and peace" was supported. This was reported by a member of the Ukrainian delegation to PACE, Yevhenia Kravchuk, UNN reports.
Details
The MP emphasized that this document contains unprecedented provisions to support our culture and preserve Ukrainian identity. The resolution was supported by 103 votes in favor.
According to Kravchuk, the resolution condemns the systematic state policy of Russification implemented by the Russian Federation since 2014 in the occupied territories of Ukraine, including the denial of Ukrainian cultural identity, language, literature and history.
During the aggression, more than a thousand objects of cultural heritage of Ukraine were destroyed or damaged!
In addition, the document clearly states that the deliberate destruction of cultural heritage and the erasure of cultural identity in Ukraine constitute war crimes, crimes against humanity, and indicate a specific genocidal intent to destroy the Ukrainian national identity.
Kravchuk said that the resolution calls on states to..:
- Ratify the Council of Europe conventions on the protection of cultural heritage;
- Strengthen sanctions for arbitrary military destruction not justified by "urgent military necessity";
- Expand the scope of its legal regulation to include violations against cultural heritage, including cultural cleansing;
- Provide for full reparation on the basis of international law, in particular through restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction and guarantees of non-repetition;
- Strengthen the ability to combat illicit trafficking in cultural property, in particular by sanctioning all those who carry out or facilitate the illicit movement of or trade in artifacts, conduct or organize illicit excavations, or use artifacts for their own purposes (exhibitions, auctions, scientific publications), and ensure that authorities and related state institutions responsible for these actions are held accountable;
- Develop training for military, police, customs and justice officials to facilitate the prevention, investigation and prosecution of cultural heritage offenses;
- Raise awareness of how propaganda, imperial and neo-imperial practices, including the ideology of the "Russian world", can create the basis for violations of international law, including against cultural heritage;
- Raising awareness of the targeted indoctrination and militarization of Ukrainian children in the occupied territories by the Russian Federation.
In addition, the organization's member states will help Ukraine:
- collect, record, document and store evidence of crimes committed by the Russian Federation against tangible and intangible cultural heritage in Ukraine, including for the purpose of assessing damages and obtaining reparations;
- promote the digitization of cultural heritage and property;
- build institutional capacity to ensure the best use of funding, improve heritage management and implement reconstruction; and develop projects for cultural heritage, cultural vitality and cultural exchange by providing support and resources to artists, writers, musicians and other cultural professionals, and by funding initiatives, grants and residency programs.
This is an important foundation for Russia to be held accountable for its encroachment on our identity. We are already starting to work on implementation!
Recall
On Monday, June 24, the summer session of the PACEbegan in Strasbourg . According to the head of the Ukrainian delegation, MP Maria Mezentseva, the Parliamentary Assembly intends to adopt a number of resolutions in support of Ukraine.
