Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization

Opening the roundtable, Mr. Refat Chubarov, Deputy Head of the Crimean Mejlis, stated that the intention of the meeting was to share “vision and approaches on this issue” and to prepare the ground for concrete action in Ukraine and abroad.

Head of the State Committee of Nationalities and Religions, Yuriy Reshetnikov, presented the position of the Ukrainian government before the floor was opened to brief introductions from leading members of the Crimean Tatar national movement. 

Among those who spoke on behalf of the thousands of Crimean Tatar activists were Ms. Dilyara Zinali of the League of Crimean Tatar Women who expressed her thanks to those present for their visit and expression of support.   Ms. Zinali had been a member of the national movement for over fifty years and despite the Berlin Wall had fallen over twenty years ago, the Crimean Tatars were still fighting to regain the rights lost under Communism - and for which she and others had campaigned at great personal cost.

Following informative introductions from participants, the conference engaged in constructive discussion and the sharing of experiences from UNPO Presidency members representing nations from around the world.  The conference concluded with a joint declaration supporting the restoration of rights to Crimean Tatars and setting out a detailed action plan.  The declaration calls upon the international community to recognize the 1944 deportation of Crimean Tatars as a crime against humanity whilst acknowledging the decades of peaceful protest and pressing Kiev to extend much overdue protections to Ukraine’s nationalities.

Representatives subsequently presented this declaration to Mr. Mustafa Dzhemilev, Chair of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People during a private meeting in which members of the UNPO Presidency paid tribute to Mr. Dzhemilev’s nonviolent campaigning for the rights of Crimean Tatars.  It was in the course of such campaigning that Mr. Dzhemilev was jailed three times by Soviet authorities and held a hunger strike that lasted for over 300 days.

Advancing a preexisting aim, the UNPO Presidency also made a public resolution to promote Mr. Dzhemilev as a nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011.  The resolution that was adopted proclaimed the intention to “raise awareness of the great suffering that the Crimean People have endured, and…further the aim of a nonviolent struggle to restore the rights of a disenfranchised people.”

The UNPO Presidency’s visit to Crimea concluded with a fact-finding mission that included meetings with Mr. Victor Plakida, Prime Minister, and Mr. Aziz Abdullayev, First Deputy Prime Minister, of the Council of Ministers of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, and visits to Crimean Tatar settlements and religious sites.  The report of the fact-finding mission will be published by the UNPO in the coming weeks.

Note: To download documents from the conference, click on the links below:  

Conference Program (English, PDF format)

Crimean Tatars Overview and Issues (English, PDF format)
Joint UNPO-Mejlis Resolution (English language, PDF format, 43kb)
Joint UNPO-Mejlis Resolution (Russian language, PDF format, 82kb)

UNPO Resolution supporting the nomination of Mr. Dzhemilev for the Nobel Peace Prize (PDF format, 45kb)

Speech of UNPO General Secretary (PDF format, 44kb)

UNPO Fact-finding Mission Report (To be released)

Mr. Refat Chubarov co-chairs the joint roundtable, 'Restoration of the Rights of Crimean Tatars'

 UNPO Presidency Members in discussion with Mr. Mustafa Dzhemilev, Chair of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People

UNPO Presidency Members visit the site of a proposed Crimean Tatar mosque at the centre of an ongoing land rights dispute during their fact-finding mission to Crimea

 

Crimean Tatar youth stage a celebration of Crimean music and dance