ZMINA took part in the meeting of the Expert Council under the Representative of the Commissioner for the Rights of Crimean Residents

On November 10, 2024, the Office of the Ombudsman of Ukraine hosted a meeting of the Expert Council under the Representative of the Commissioner for the Rights of the Residents of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol to discuss the adaptation of international humanitarian law.

Human Rights Centre ZMINA was represented at the meeting by Project Manager Viktoriia Nesterenko.

During the meeting, the participants discussed current challenges and necessary measures to protect human rights under the occupation of Crimea and other temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

Significant attention was paid to the need to amend the Geneva Conventions to take into account the current challenges related to the protection of civilians living in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. In addition, a work plan for 2025 was discussed, which includes specific actions and projects aimed at strengthening the legal protection of civilians suffering from systematic human rights violations, including the right to a fair trial, freedom of speech and protection from discrimination.

Earlier this year, at the Third Parliamentary Summit of the International Crimea Platform held in Riga in October 2024, Viktoriia Nesterenko said that Russia is trumping up criminal cases against civilian journalists in Crimea and that this was the most dangerous trend on the occupied peninsula. Russia also began to use punishment for “discrediting” the Russian army more severely. In less than two years, 15 court decisions have been issued in such cases.