Resolution adopted by the General Assembly  on 19 December 2017          [on the report of the Third Committee (A/72/439/Add.3)]       72/190. Situation of human rights in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea  and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine        The General Assembly,    Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, and  recalling the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1 international human rights  treaties and other relevant international instruments and declarations,    Recalling the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 19492 and Additional Protocol I  thereto, of 1977,3 as applicable, as well as relevant customary international law,    Confirming the primary responsibility of States to promote and protect human  rights,    Reaffirming the responsibility of States to respect international law, including  the principle that all States shall refrain from the threat or use of force against the  territorial integrity or political independence of any State and from acting in any other  manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations, recalling its resolution  2625 (XXV) of 24 October 1970, in which it approved the Declaration on Principles  of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States in  accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, and reaffirming the principles  contained therein,    Recalling its resolution 68/262 of 27 March 2014 on the territorial integrity of  Ukraine, in which it affirmed its commitment to the sovereignty, political  independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally  recognized borders, resolution 71/205 of 19 December 2016 on the situation of human  rights in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol (Ukraine),  __________________    1  Resolution 217 A (III).     2  United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 75, Nos. 970–973.    3  Ibid., vol. 1125, No. 17512.   A/RES/72/190  Situation of human rights in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine   17-23187  2/5    and relevant decisions of international organizations, specialized agencies and bodies  within the United Nations system,    Condemning the ongoing temporary occupation of part of the territory of  Ukraine – the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol (hereinafter  “Crimea”) – by the Russian Federation, and reaffirming the non-recognition of its  annexation,    Supporting the commitment by Ukraine to adhere to international law in its  efforts to put an end to the Russian occupation of Crimea, and welcoming the  commitments by Ukraine to protect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of  all its citizens,    Reaffirming the obligation of States to ensure that persons belonging to national  or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities may exercise fully and effectively all  human rights and fundamental freedoms without any discrimination and in full  equality before the law,    Welcoming the reports of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner  for Human Rights on the human rights situation in Ukraine, of the Commissioner for  Human Rights of the Council of Europe, and of the human rights assessment mission  of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and the High  Commissioner on National Minorities of the Organization for Security and  Cooperation in Europe, in which they stated that violations and abuses of human  rights continued to take place in Crimea and pointed to the sharp deterioration of the  overall human rights situation,    Welcoming also the report of the Office of the United Nations High  Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in the temporarily  occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol (Ukraine),  submitted pursuant to resolution 71/2054    Reaffirming its grave concern that the human rights monitoring mission in  Ukraine continues to be denied access to Crimea, despite its existing mandate, which  covers the entire territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders,    Condemning the imposition and retroactive application of the legal system of  the Russian Federation, and its negative impact on the human rights situation in  Crimea, the imposition of automatic Russian Federation citizenship on protected  persons in Crimea, which is contrary to international humanitarian law, including the  Geneva Conventions and customary international law, and the regressive effects on  the enjoyment of human rights of those who have rejected that citizenship,    Condemning also the reported serious violations and abuses committed against  residents of Crimea, in particular extrajudicial killings, abductions, enforced  disappearances, politically motivated prosecutions, discrimination, harassment,  intimidation, violence, including sexual violence, arbitrary detentions, torture and ill- treatment, in particular to extract confessions, and psychiatric internment, and their  transfer or deportation from Crimea to the Russian Federation, as well as reported  abuses of other fundamental freedoms, including the freedoms of expression, religion  or belief and association and the right to peaceful assembly,    Reaffirming its serious concern at the decision of the so-called Supreme Court  of Crimea of 26 April 2016 and the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian  Federation of 29 September 2016 to declare the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People,  the self-governing body of the Crimean Tatars, to be an extremist organization and to  ban its activities,  __________________    4  See A/72/498.   Situation of human rights in the Autonomous Republic  of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine  A/RES/72/190   3/5  17-23187      Condemning the increasing pressure exerted upon religious minority  communities, including through frequent police raids, threats against and persecution  of those belonging to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate, the  Protestant Church, mosques and Muslim religious schools, Greek-Catholics, Roman  Catholics and Jehovah’s Witnesses, and condemning also the baseless prosecution of  dozens of peaceful Muslims for allegedly belonging to Islamic organizations,    Taking note of the order of the International Court of Justice of 19 April 2017  on provisional measures in the case concerning the Application of the International  Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism and of the International  Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Ukraine v.  Russian Federation),5    Recalling the prohibition under the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 for  the occupying Power to compel protected persons to serve in its armed or auxiliary  forces, including through pressure or propaganda that is aimed at securing voluntary  enlistment,     Underlining the importance of the measures to develop transparent, accessible,  non-discriminatory and expeditious procedures and regulations governing access to  Crimea for human rights defenders, journalists and lawyers, as well as the possibility  to appeal, in accordance with national legislation and in conformity with all  applicable international law,     Welcoming the support provided by Ukraine to media outlets and civil society  organizations that have fled Crimea, which improves the ability of the media and civil  society to work independently and without interference,    Welcoming also the continued efforts of the Secretary-General, the United  Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Organization for Security and  Cooperation in Europe, the Council of Europe and other international and regional  organizations to support Ukraine in promoting, protecting and ensuring human rights,  and expressing further concern over the lack of safe and unfettered access by  established regional and international human rights monitoring mechanisms and  human rights non-governmental organizations to Crimea,    1.  Condemns violations, abuses, measures and practices of discrimination  against the residents of the temporarily occupied Crimea, including Crimean Tatars,  as well as Ukrainians and persons belonging to other ethnic and religious groups, by  the Russian occupation authorities;    2.  Also condemns the unlawful imposition of laws, jurisdiction and  administration in the occupied Crimea by the Russian Federation, and demands that  the Russian Federation respect obligations under international law with regard to  respecting the laws in force in Crimea prior to occupation;    3.  Urges the Russian Federation:    (a)  To uphold all of its obligations under applicable international law as an  occupying Power;     (b)  To fully and immediately comply with the order of the International Court  of Justice of 19 April 2017 on provisional measures in the case concerning the  Application of the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of  Terrorism and of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of  Racial Discrimination (Ukraine v. Russian Federation);5  __________________  5 See Official Records of the General Assembly, Seventy-second Session, Supplement No. 4 (A/72/4), chap. V, sect. A.    A/RES/72/190  Situation of human rights in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine   17-23187  4/5      (c)  To take all measures necessary to bring an immediate end to all violations  and abuses against residents of Crimea, in particular reported discriminatory  measures and practices, arbitrary detentions, torture and other cruel, inhuman or  degrading treatment, and to revoke all discriminatory legislation;    (d)  To respect the laws in force in Ukraine and to repeal laws imposed in  Crimea by the Russian Federation that allow for forced evictions and the confiscation  of private property in Crimea, in violation of applicable international law;    (e)  To immediately release Ukrainian citizens who were unlawfully detained  and judged without regard for elementary standards of justice, as well as those  transferred or deported across internationally recognized borders from Crimea to the  Russian Federation;    (f)  To address the issue of impunity and ensure that those found to be  responsible for violations and abuses are held accountable before an independent  judiciary;    (g)  To create and maintain a safe and enabling environment for journalists,  human rights defenders and defence lawyers to perform their work independently and  without undue interference in Crimea;     (h)  To restore enjoyment of the rights of all individuals, without any  discrimination based on origin and on religion or belief, and to revoke the decisions  that banned cultural and religious institutions, non-governmental organizations,  human rights organizations and media outlets, and to restore enjoyment of the rights  of individuals belonging to ethnic communities in Crimea, in particular Ukrainians  and Crimean Tatars, including to engage in cultural gatherings;     (i)  To ensure the availability of education in the Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar  languages;    (j)  To revoke immediately the decision declaring the Mejlis of the Crimean  Tatar People an extremist organization and banning its activities, repeal the decision  banning leaders of the Mejlis from entering Crimea and refrain from maintaining or  imposing limitations on the ability of the Crimean Tatar community to conserve its  representative institutions;    (k)  To end the practice of compelling Crimean residents to serve in the armed  or auxiliary forces of the Russian Federation, including through pressure or  propaganda;    (l)  To cooperate fully and immediately with the Office of the United Nations  High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Organization for Security and  Cooperation in Europe and the Council of Europe on the situation of human rights in  Crimea;    4.  Requests the Secretary-General to seek ways and means, including through  consultations with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and  relevant regional organizations, to ensure safe and unfettered access to Crimea by  established regional and international human rights monitoring mechanisms, in  particular the human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine, to enable them to carry  out their mandate;    5.  Urges the Russian Federation to ensure the proper and unimpeded access  of  international  human  rights  monitoring  missions  and  human  rights  non-governmental organizations to Crimea, including all places where persons may  be deprived of their liberty, recognizing that the international presence in Crimea is  of paramount importance in preventing further deterioration of the situation;    Situation of human rights in the Autonomous Republic  of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine  A/RES/72/190   5/5  17-23187      6.  Supports the efforts of Ukraine to maintain economic, financial, political,  social, informational, cultural and other ties with its citizens in the occupied Crimea  in order to facilitate their access to democratic processes, economic opportunities and  objective information;    7.  Requests the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human  Rights to prepare, by the end of its seventy-second session, the second dedicated  thematic report on the situation of human rights in the temporarily occupied  Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine, and to update  the Human Rights Council on the issue at its thirty-seventh session, in accordance  with the existing mandate and within the existing resources of the human rights  monitoring mission in Ukraine, which is currently funded by voluntary contributions;    8.  Requests the Secretary-General to take all necessary steps to ensure the  full and effective coordination of all United Nations bodies with regard to the  implementation of the present resolution;    9.  Decides to continue its consideration of the matter at its seventy-third  session under the item entitled “Promotion and protection of human rights”.