Joint Declaration of the First Parliamentary Summit of the International Crimea Platform 25 October 2022

JOINT DECLARATION OF THE PARTICIPANTS OF THE FIRST PARLIAMENTARY SUMMIT OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMEA PLATFORM

Following the establishment of the International Crimea Platform on its Inaugural Summit held in Kyiv on 23 August 2021, as well as the holding of its second Summit on
23 August 2022, the representatives of national parliaments and parliamentary assemblies of the international organisations participating in the International Crimea
Platform (further in the text: Participants) have gathered in Zagreb, Croatia on 25 October 2022 to hold the First Parliamentary Summit of the International Crimea
Platform, co-hosted by the Republic of Croatia and Ukraine.

Reaffirming the Participants’ commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders,

Reiterating the Participants’ non-recognition and continued condemnation of the temporary occupation and illegal annexation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, as well as any other occupied territories of Ukraine, such as areas of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhya and Kherson regions, which constitutes a direct challenge to international security with grave implications for the international legal order,

Recalling the stipulations of the International Crimea Platform Joint Declaration adopted in Kyiv on 23 August 2021, and of the Joint Statement of the International Crimea Platform Participants of the second Summit held on 23 August 2022, 

Taking into consideration the United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/RES/68/262 “Territorial Integrity of Ukraine”, and the subsequent resolutions on the “Situation of human rights situation in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine”, and on the “Problem of the militarization of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine, as well as parts of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov”,

Recalling the United Nations General Assembly resolutions A/RES/ES-11/1 “Aggression against Ukraine”, adopted on 2 March 2022, A/RES/ES-11/2 “Humanitarian consequences of the aggression against Ukraine”, adopted on 24 March 2022, and A/RES/ES-11/4 “Territorial integrity of Ukraine: Defending the Principles of the UN Charter”, adopted on 12 October 2022,

It is recognised that due to their constitutional position the Speakers of certain Parliaments and Chambers cannot directly associate themselves with substantive political statements, and therefore should not be seen as indicating specific support for all sections of this Joint Declaration. Nonetheless, on behalf of their Parliaments and Chambers, they recognise the importance of the issues raised in proposing particular ways forward. Furthermore, Speakers of Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian and Swedish parliaments are generally supportive of the content of this declaration, but they have constitutional/legal constraints which prevent them from signing documents that could be perceived as binding for their parliaments and/or states.

Realizing that due to the Russian Federation’s long-standing disregard for international law, the path towards ending arbitrary detention, releasing political activists from prisons, preventing crimes against humanity and gross abuses against the Ukrainian population, including in particular the Crimean Tatars, leads through the de-occupation of Crimea and other parts of Ukraine’s territory,

Demanding that Russian Federation revokes its decision on calling Crimean Tatar Mejlis an extremist organization and appealing to reinstate its rights and allow its leaders to
re-enter Crimea,

Recognizing the essential role of journalists, activists, human rights defenders and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in documenting and revealing violations and abuses
of human rights and the sanctions evasions,

Acknowledging the central place in the establishment of the First Parliamentary Summit of the International Crimea Platform of the Cross-Party Association created in the
Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in December 2020, which aims to promote active cooperation on the International Crimea Platform issues within the parliamentary
assemblies of international organizations, including with the Participants,

Welcoming the efforts of the individual countries and international organizations in setting up Crimea Platform Support Groups in their respective parliamentary bodies,

Concluding that the establishment of the Crimea Platform Support Groups in the parliaments of the Participants can be subject to discussions in the relevant parliamentary committees with the participation of the members of the friendship groups with Ukraine,

The Participants hereby concur that the strategic goal of the First Parliamentary Summit of the International Crimea Platform is to establish and implement an effective parliamentary dimension of cooperation among the Participants in order to contribute to the raising global and domestic awareness of the situation on the Crimean Peninsula under Russian temporary occupation.

The Participants condemn :

 the ongoing serious and systemic human rights violations and abuses on the Crimean peninsula, specifically the arbitrary detention of residents of Crimea, including Crimean Tatars, disruption of family unity, forcible recruitment of Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars into the Russian army, and threats to freedom of expression and freedom of religion,

 the deplorable attempt by the Russian Federation and its proxies to fake democratic tools and mechanisms, such as the recent so-called referenda in Ukraine’s regions, with a view to falsify grounds for the Russian Federation’s illegitimate claim to annex the territories it temporarily occupied, much like in the case of Crimea,

 the ongoing militarization of the Crimean Peninsula by the Russian Federation, which undermines security and stability in the wider Black Sea region, disrupts freedom of navigation in the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea, causing unbearable losses not only for the economy and agricultural sector of Ukraine, but also for global food supplies

 the reported attempts of illegal smuggling of stolen Ukrainian grain from the temporarily occupied regions of Donbas to third countries,

 the impediments to navigational rights and freedoms exercised in accordance with international law, including obstructing free passage of ships through the Kerch Strait to and from the Sea of Azov and the wider Black Sea region, which has negative economic consequences for Ukraine's ports and international trade flows,

 the continued change of the demographic structure in the temporarily occupied Crimea by the resettlement of Russian citizens and expulsion of pro-Ukrainian activists out of the Peninsula.

The Participants declare they intend to:

 continue political, diplomatic, financial, humanitarian and other support for Ukraine, in line with the respective procedures and legislation of each Participant, to restore
Ukraine’s territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders, while increasing pressure on Russia to end its temporary occupation of Crimea,

 implement at the parliamentary level the decisions of the Inaugural Summit of the International Crimea Platform by consolidating joint efforts inter alia, through:

- fully implementing and strengthening the policy of non-recognition of the illegal annexation of Crimea and cooperation in international forums;
- continuous strengthening of the efficacy of existing restrictive measures against Russia and the readiness to consider their further expansion, in line with the respective procedures and legislation of each Participant, should the developments in Ukraine require such action;
- promoting regional security and protecting freedom of navigation;
- respecting human rights and international humanitarian law;
- overcoming the negative impact of the temporary occupation of Crimea on the economy, the cultural and educational rights of Ukrainians and the indigenous Crimean Tatars, and on the environment.

 consider effective and well-coordinated actions in the economic and environmental spheres aimed at mitigating the impact of the temporary occupation of Crimea,

 consider the establishment of a permanent inter-parliamentary committee of the International Crimea Platform that could provide expertise to national and international partners, inform both at the national level and at international platforms about the real situation in the temporary occupied Crimea,

 develop an effective mechanism of formulating, wherever possible, joint positions to be presented at inter-parliamentary assemblies and elaborating common documents on security, human rights, cultural heritage, environmental threats etc., caused by the temporary occupation of Crimea,

 call on the Russian Federation to immediately cease the ongoing efforts to change the demographic structure of the temporarily occupied Crimea through resettlement of Russian citizens,

 advocate at the national level for adequate political, diplomatic, humanitarian, financial and other support for Ukraine, victim of Russia’s aggression,

 work with international parliamentary assemblies such as the European Parliament, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation and the Arab Parliament, to adopt resolutions supporting the Parliamentary Summit of the International Crimea Platform as a tool to consolidate inter-parliamentary efforts aimed at de-occupation of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol and the restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity.

Adopted in Zagreb on 25 October 2022