Pre-day of Crimea Platform Summit: ZMINA discusses ways of peninsula’s reintegration

The Expert Network held an event on the Pre-day of the Third Summit of the International Crimea Platform on August 22. Alena Lunova, ZMINA advocacy director and a member of the human rights working group of the Crimea Platform Expert Network, joined the discussion of ways to liberate Crimea, identify risks in the reintegration of the peninsula, as well as determine opportunities to overcome them. 

Photo: Crimea Platform

The event gathered in Kyiv more than 100 participants from 12 world countries: representatives of Ukraine’s government agencies, international think tanks and NGOs, Crimea Platform member states and academic community. 

They created the basis for discussions during the Third Summit of the International Crimea Platform, in particular regarding the liberation of the temporarily occupied Crimea and part of the waters of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, the assessment of the most likely problems and risks on the way towards peace and reintegration of the peninsula. 

Photo: Crimea Platform

In particular, Lunova from ZMINA shared an expert opinion on the necessary steps the state should take for the reintegration of the temporarily occupied Crimea: “The vision for the reintegration of the temporarily occupied territories should be developed taking into account their characteristics. After the occupation, Crimea was illegally included in the economic, legal, and educational space of the Russian Federation. Our task is to fully return Crimea to the structure of Ukraine and ensure the predictability of the long-term fate of the peninsula residents.” 

Lunova gave the following recommendations: 

1. Ensure the development and adoption of a general vision for the reintegration of temporarily occupied territories 
2. Create an appropriate support mechanism for persons, who were deprived of their liberty as a result of armed aggression against Ukraine, and their families 
3. Contribute to the creation of an effective international mechanism to identify and release civilian hostages 
4. Introduce an extrajudicial procedure for the recognition of acts of civil status that took place under the occupation 
5. Develop a strategy for the educational reintegration of residents of the occupied Crimea 
6. To change approaches to criminal prosecution for collaborations 
7. To create a platform for the development and discussion of legislation on the further reintegration of the de-occupied territory of Crimea on the basis of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine 

Photo: Alena Lunova

Lunova emphasized that relevant policies and legislative initiatives should be developed now to be able to test these mechanisms and correct possible errors. “After de-occupation, we will deal with hundreds of thousands of people, so it will be difficult to create and test some new mechanisms,” ZMINA’s advocacy director concluded her speech. 

More detailed recommendations of civil society for the necessary actions of the state can be found here. 

Watch the livestream of the Pre-day of the Third Summit of the International Crimea Platform here. 

Background: The Crimea Platform is an international coordination mechanism initiated by Ukraine to return the issue of Crimea to the agenda, protect human rights in Crimea, promote the de-occupation of the peninsula and strengthen European and global security. The Platform’s activities are carried out at several levels: heads of state and government, ministers of foreign affairs, parliaments and interparliamentary assemblies, civil society and expert environment.