The primary task of the Permanent Delegation of Ukraine to UNESCO in this most representative international organization of the United Nations System is to provide support of the international community for Ukraine's territorial integrity and national sovereignty. UNESCO, having taken into account the information provided by the Ukrainian side on the issue of violations of international law on the temporarily occupied Crimea, launched a process of monitoring of the situation in all areas of its competence “Follow-up of the situation in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea (Ukraine)”.
Since the beginning of the occupation until now, the UNESCO Executive Board has adopted eleven decisions “Follow-up of the situation in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea (Ukraine)”. These decisions ensured that the issue of the Crimean perspective remained in the focus of the Organization for more than six years.
Decisions of the UNESCO Executive Board “Follow-up of the situation in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea (Ukraine)” were adopted on its following sessions: 194th (April 2014), 195th (October 2015), 196th (April 2016), 197th (October 2016) 199th (April 2016), 200th (October 2016), 201st (April 2017) 202nd (October 2017), 204th (April 2018), 205th (October 2018), 207th (October 2019) and 210th (January 2021). The latest decision provides for the report of the Director-General on the implementation of previous decisions of the Executive Board at the 212th session of the UNESCO Executive Board in October 2021.
The Permanent Delegation of Ukraine to UNESCO regularly informs the Director-General and all the UNESCO Member States about the continuing deterioration of the situation on the peninsula, in particular regarding the human rights, safety of journalists, activities of the educational, scientific and cultural institutions, as well as preservation and protection of the national cultural, natural and scientific heritage.
At the initiative of the Permanent Delegation of Ukraine, the Director-General of UNESCO regularly holds Information meetings to provide updates on the situation in the fields of UNESCO’s competence with the participation of a broad representation of UNESCO Member States, representatives of international and non-governmental partner organizations. These meetings provide the participants with detailed information on human rights violations on the peninsula in the area of national minority rights, educational and cultural needs, preservation of cultural heritage, the rights of journalists, religious communities.