The UK will never recognise Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea and deplores the worsening human rights situation: UK Statement at the UN Third Committee

Statement by Ambassador Archie Young, UK Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN at the UN Third Committee on Crimea.

"The United Kingdom strongly reiterates its support for this resolution and welcomes the significant number of co-sponsoring states.

Since 2014, people in Crimea have faced a systematic campaign of human rights abuses by Russian authorities. Freedom of religion, belief, and expression have been severely curtailed. Arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, and politically motivated prosecutions have become routine, targeting ethnic and religious minorities, including Crimean Tatars.

Now, more than 1,300 days since Russia's full-scale illegal invasion of Ukraine, these same brutal measures persist in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. 

The UN Commission of Inquiry in Ukraine has documented a deeply troubling pattern of torture, ill treatment and summary executions of civilians - with its most recent report concluding that deportations and transfers of civilians from areas occupied by Russian authorities constitute war crimes.

Our position is clear: we do not and will never recognise Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea. Borders must not be changed by force. We deplore the worsening human rights situation and condemn the militarisation of Crimea – including illegal mobilisation of residents, disproportionate targeting of Crimean Tatars, and the militarisation of children through paramilitary programmes. 

We will keep calling on Russia to grant access for international monitoring missions and ensure accountability for these abuses.

As UN Member States, we have all reaffirmed our faith in fundamental human rights, the dignity and worth of the human person, and in the principle of the inviolability of borders.

In this regard, the UK strongly defends the use of country-specific resolutions, which complement the work of the Human Rights Council and other fora in providing scrutiny of adherence to international law, including human rights obligations, and ensuring the principles of the UN Charter are upheld.

Voting yes for this resolution today will send a clear message: there will be no impunity for Russia's violations of human rights, sovereignty and territorial integrity. Russia must cease its attack, withdraw its forces, and allow full access to Crimea and all temporarily occupied territories."