The present monitoring Review has been prepared by the Crimean Field Mission on Human Rights and is based on the materials collected by the Mission during its work in Crimea, as well as in Russia and Ukraine in April 2014.

The Crimean Field Mission (hereafter – “the CFM”) commenced its work on 5 March 2014.

The work of the Mission is connected with the escalation of the situation around the recognition or non-recognition of legitimacy of the present authorities by the regions of Ukraine. This conflict turned out to be the most acute in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, which, as a result, was occupied by the Russian Federation.

The aims of the Mission are as follows:

• mitigation of threats of all parties to the conflict;
• maintenance of proper legal guaranties in the region, strengthening and promotion of human rights standards and effective protection mechanisms through the monitoring of the situation and verification of incoming messages about different clashes;
• provision of information about the developments in Crimea;
• provision of all-encompassing assistance to the initiatives aimed at the protection of human rights of all participants of the conflict.

Emphasising that human rights remain to be a direct and legitimate concern of the international civil society while implementing the abovementioned aims, the Mission shall:

• monitor the general situation concerning compliance with the rules of International Humanitarian Law and fundamental human rights in Crimea, as well as the issues of protection of human rights defenders, journalists, lawyers, as well as public figures and ensuring their professional activities;
• pay special attention to the monitoring of ethnic and religious relations;
• monitor the activities of law enforcement agencies and state organs;
• call on all parts of the confrontation to abide by the rules of International Humanitarian Law and obligations in the field of the protection of human rights, as well as call on international organisations and their members and participants to control the observance of such obligations.

The Mission unconditionally refuses to resort to violence or discrimination in its activities and is guided by the principles of political neutrality and adherence to law.

The conclusions of the work have been made on the basis of the first-hand information (observation of the situation and developments in Crimea, interviewing the representatives of key target groups), mass media monitoring, analysis of the developments and legal basis, as well as on the basis of official statistic data.

The review is prepared monthly and includes the chapters on the situation with civil and political, socio-economic rights in Crimea, as well as deals with the issues of the status of vulnerable groups and manifestations of xenophobia in the peninsula.

Also, the Review features the ussues of the residents of Crimea who had to flee the peninsula and move to continental Ukraine (Internally displaced persons|IDPs).

A quarterly analytical report on the situation of human rights in Crimea will be prepared on the basis of monthly reviews.

The CFM shares its gratitude to everyone who assisted with the preparation of the present Review. The opinions, positions, and assessment contained in this Review do not necessarily represent the position of the United Nations Development Programme, other UN Agencies or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark.

Crimean Field Mission on Human Rights: Brief Review of the Situation in Crimea

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