Ukrainian Parliament guarantees protecting rights of Crimean Tatars as a part of Ukraine. 283 MPs supported this decision. “Ukraine guarantees maintaining and developing Crimean Tatar ethnic, cultural, language and religious identity as the indigenous population and other ethnic minorities of Ukraine,” the statement says.

“Ukraine guarantees protection for full realization Crimean Tatars’ right to self-determination as part of sovereign and independent State of Ukraine,” the document reads. Besides, Ukraine recognized the Crimean Tatar Mejlis which is a Crimean Tatar executive body as the authorized representative body of crimean Tatars.

Verkhovna Rada also declared its support for the UN Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples and charged the Cabinet of Ministers with an urgent work upon the projects of laws and other acts of legislation in order to determine and secure The Crimean Tatar people’s status as the indigenous people of Ukraine.

The Government is to develop respective mechanisms of communication between executive authorities of Ukraine and the Crimean Tatar Mejlis.

Besides, Ukraine “vigorously condemns any attempts of limiting political and social rights and freedoms of Ukrainian citizens of different ethnic origin living in Crimea, namely Ukrainians, Russians, Crimean Tatars, Armenians, Bulgarians, Greeks, Germans, Karaites, Krymchaks, that occur as a result of an unlawful referendum in Crimea.”

Im Mr. Mustafa Dzhemilev’s (former Head of Crimean Tatar Mejlis) judgement, adopting such document and enforcing the indigenous people's rights provides Ukraine with an additional legal leverage in the international field over Russian Federation who occupied Crimea. In his speech during the plenary session, leader of the Crimean Tatars named all the provisions of the Parliament’s statement very important, having marked that these provisions determine the following process of rehabilitation of Crimean Tatars in their rights and making Ukraine a more democratic country.

adapted from “Ukrains’ka Pravda” and “Interfax-Ukraine”