Head of the Permanent Delegation of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to the PACE, Maria Mezentseva, wrote about it on Facebook.

"This Resolution is especially important for Ukraine because since the beginning of the occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol (Ukraine), 43 cases of enforced disappearances in Crimea have been documented. Of the 43 victims of enforced disappearance - 11 people (all men) remain missing. One person is in custody", - she said.

Mezentseva added that the Ukrainian delegation submitted six amendments, which were previously approved by the Committee by a majority of votes and supported by a majority in the hall.

1. The delegation called on the CoE member states to impose sanctions on public authorities, state-controlled groups and persons involved in enforced disappearances in the territory of the member states of the Council of Europe or which impede the effective investigation of such cases.

2. The list of resolutions referred to by the Assembly on the problem of enforced disappearances in Europe and their victims was supplemented in paragraph 1 with resolutions on Ukraine: "Missing persons during the conflict in Ukraine", Resolution 2132 (2016) "Political consequences of the Russian aggression in Ukraine", Resolution 2133 (2016) "Legal remedies for human rights violations on the Ukrainian territories outside the control of the Ukrainian authorities", Resolution 2198 (2018) "Humanitarian consequences of the war in Ukraine.

3. The paragraph was supplemented with an important phrase that the Assembly also expresses deep concern over the unclear fate and whereabouts of the victims of enforced disappearance in Russia and territories controlled by the Russian Federation, including the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The members of the Russian delegation were absolutely against this amendment, but the Assembly adopted it by a majority, as did the rapporteur and the Committee.

4. Following the UN Convention, the paragraph on the definition of the crime of enforced disappearance was supplemented. Ukraine and other democratic states are parties to this convention, while Russia refrains from ratifying it because of its crimes in occupied Crimea and Donbas.

5. The Ukrainian delegation added an appeal to the Member States to ensure that the period of prescription for enforced disappearances is long and proportionate to the extreme gravity of the crime and takes into account its long-term nature. Mezentseva specified that this is very important in the further punishment for crimes in occupied Crimea and ORDLO.

Source: facebook.com/sluganarodu.mezentseva.168

What is known

• The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry called on the international community not to ignore the fate of people abducted or missing in Russian-occupied Crimea and Donbas.

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