(MENAFN- UkrinForm) On the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, said Ukraine is doing everything possible to ensure their opinions are heard and their rights are protected.
The ombudsman issued the statement via Telegram , Ukrinform reports.
According to Lubinets, this day is a reminder of the diversity and uniqueness of cultures that make up our society.
The Commissioner for Human Rights noted that the indigenous peoples of Ukraine are Crimean Tatars, Karaites, and Krymchaks, who had been historically formed in Crimea.
"Ukraine guarantees their right to protection from discrimination, assimilation, and deprivation of features of ethnicity and integrity as distinct peoples," he emphasized.
Read also: Deportation of Crimean Tatars should be recognized as genocide to prevent justification by Russia – national leader
However, Lubinets emphasized that the rights of indigenous peoples who remain in the temporarily occupied Crimea are systematically violated by Russian authorities. They face persecution, oppression, discrimination and violence.
According to his information, at least 217 Ukrainian citizens in Crimea are held as political prisoners, including 132 Crimean Tatars.
They are held in inadequate conditions in places of detention. Several deaths in Russian prisons have been reported.
The ombudsman also mentioned numerous representatives of indigenous peoples of Ukraine, who "are currently fighting in the ranks of Ukraine's Defense Forces for the right to live freely on their native land."
"Our duty is to do everything possible to ensure that the voices of indigenous peoples are heard and their rights are protected," Lubinets emphasized.
He also appealed to the international community to "help protect the rights of the indigenous peoples of Ukraine from illegal detention, cultural assimilation, and the destruction of their identity."
As reported, August 9 marks the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, established by the UN General Assembly in 1994. On this day, humanity pays tribute to the richness of the cultures of indigenous peoples and the special contribution they make to the family of peoples around the world.
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