UN adopts updated resolution to safeguard human rights in Crimea

PanARMENIAN.Net - The UN General Assembly on December 18 adopted a draft resolution seeking protection of human rights in Crimea, according to Ukraine’s permanent mission to the international body in New York, RFE/RL reports.

Sixty-five countries voted in favor of the resolution, 23 against, and 83 abstained.

Among the countries that opposed the document’s adoption were Russia, Belarus, Armenia, China, Venezuela, Syria, and Iran.

This resolution, combined with an earlier UN resolution adopted on Russia militarizing the Crimean Peninsula, adds to Kyiv’s political and diplomatic toolbox for restoring Ukraine’s territorial integrity, Oleh Nikolenko, spokesman for Ukraine’s UN diplomatic mission, said on Facebook.

“Whatever they want in Moscow, the Crimean issue is not closed and will be kept on the international agenda,” Nikolenko said. “We have a clear understanding among partners that Russia’s illegal activity in and around Crimea concerns not only Ukraine’s interests but also their national security. Therefore, the pressure will remain.”