Amid Kremlin opposition, the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee approved a resolution condemning human rights violations in Crimea with the support of 67 member countries of the UN, 26 in opposition and 82 abstentions.

The resolution condemned the illegal annexation of Crimea, the involvement in6 military operations and the illegal detainment of Ukrainians and activists, among other violations.  The text of the resolution further calls for the release of those illegally detained and for the end of discrimination against those who stand against the occupation.

Tajikistan alongside twenty-five other countries, including Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Iran, India, Bolivia, Burundi, Cambodia, Myanmar, Nicaragua, China, Cuba, North Korea, Syria, Sudan, Southern Sudan, Uganda, Venezuela and Zimbabwe, opposed the resolution 

Russia’s UN Ambassador has opposed the resolution and condemned the reference to the situation in Crimea as a “military conflict”, affirming both that Russia is not waging a war against Ukraine and that the choice to be a part of Russia was one made by the people of Crimea.

The draft resolution will be reviewed in December 2018.