First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Emine Dzheppar invited UN member states to join the Crimea Platform.

This was reported by Ukrinform, citing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine press service.

Dzheppar took part in the Interactive dialogue with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on the findings of the OHCHR report on the situation of human rights in Ukraine. The event took place within the framework of the 48th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

In her speech, Dzheppar noted that Ukrainians living under the Russian occupation in Crimea and Donbas were deprived of their fundamental rights and freedoms.

“Illegal searches, arrests, detentions, enforced disappearances, torture in places of detention are taking place in the temporarily occupied Crimea. Nariman Dzhelyalov, first deputy chairman of the Mejlis of Crimean Tatar People, Aziz and Asan Akhmetovs remain behind the Russian bars along with hundreds of other political hostages,” the deputy minister noted.

The so-called elections to the State Duma of the Russian Federation held two weeks ago are illegitimate and their results are null and void as Crimea continues to be an integral part of the sovereign territory of Ukraine, Dzheppar stressed.

The deputy foreign minister spoke about the establishment of the Crimea Platform – an international consulting platform to consolidate efforts to de-occupy Crimea.

“I want to draw your attention to the fact that the Crimea Platform is open to the participation of other UN member states. We invite you to join this international platform to end gross human rights violations and restore respect for international law,” she said.