Non-governmental organisations on situation in Ukraine

The Civil Society Platform made up of over 60 non-governmental organisations from Europe and Central Asia expressed their disapproval of the Russian operations in Crimean.

“The unilateral military operations of Russia constitute a serious violation of its obligations laid down in the UN Charter as well as a breach of the OSCE Final Act in Helsinki. The synchronised international intervention would be justified only in the case of mass human rights violations in Ukraine”, reads the statement published by the organisations.

The members of the Civil Society Platform made a note that the Ukrainian government should not use violence in response to threats or provocations of the Russian Federation. At the same time the Ukrainian authorities should take actions to protect the rights of ethnic and language minorities and organise free and fair elections. Repeating the message conveyed by the UN Security Council the appeal signatories highlighted the need to refrain from actions and rhetoric that could lead to escalation of the conflict.

“The Civil Society Platform called the OSCE member states to, among other things, immediately dispatch a mission to Crimea and eastern parts of Ukraine to monitor security and the human rights situation in the country”, says Danuta Przywara, President of the HFHR. “The organisations also appeal to engage high-ranking representatives of the OSCE and its member states in mediation efforts to stop the conflict”, adds Ms Przywara.

The NGOs also voiced their desire to support further OSCE involvement in Ukraine.

The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights is one of the signatories to the appeal of 4 March 2014.

To view the statement, use this link.