754th meeting – 6, 7 and 8 June 2001
Item 6.1
Repatriation and integration of the Tatars of Crimea -
Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 1455 (2000)
(REC_1455(2000))
Decision
The Deputies adopted the following reply to Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 1455 (2000) on the repatriation and integration of the Tatars of Crimea:
“The Committee of Ministers has carefully examined Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 1455 (2000) on the repatriation and integration of the Tatars of Crimea.
It has drawn the attention of member governments to this Recommendation so that they may give it due consideration when implementing inter-state assistance programmes.
The Committee of Ministers has also communicated the Recommendation to the European Commission, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Organisation for Migration and the OSCE to ensure that these international organisations are informed of the Assembly's proposals and made aware of the concerns expressed.
The Committee of Ministers wishes to inform the Assembly of the work undertaken by the Council of Europe with regard to the situation of former Crimean Tatar deportees.
As part of its ADACS programme for 2000, and in consultation with the International Renaissance Foundation, the Council of Europe sent an expert mission to Ukraine to assess the effectiveness of programmes to integrate former deportees into Crimean society. The expert's task was to make recommendations regarding the priorities and consistency of actions to be undertaken by the various players concerned, and measures to protect national minorities in Crimea within the wider context of Ukraine's national policy.
In order to ensure that this activity was properly implemented, the Crimean Deportees Integration Programme organised meetings with ministers of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and representatives of various ethnic groups, non-governmental organisations and international agencies in Crimea as well as field trips.
This study visit resulted in the organisation of a round table in Kyiv, organised jointly by the Council of Europe, the Ukrainian Ministry of Justice, the state department for nationality and migration and the International Renaissance Foundation, to study the expertise mission's conclusions and recommendations.
It is of particular significance that the Council of Europe's expertise in the field of human rights and migration should be made available, in the form of technical assistance, to the governments of Ukraine and Crimea with a view to promoting a multicultural society.
The Committee of Ministers attaches great importance to the implementation of the whole of the Council of Europe Framework Convention on the Protection of National Minorities, including Article 15. Ukraine has submitted its first state report under the monitoring procedure for the Convention containing information on the participation of Crimean Tatars in the decision-making process. This report is currently being studied by the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention, and as soon as the Committee of Ministers receives the committee's opinion, it will adopt the conclusions and, if appropriate, the relevant recommendations on the implementation of the Convention in Ukraine.
The Assembly Recommendation rightly points out the importance of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. When the Committee of Ministers adopted this instrument in 1992, it recognised that the protection of these languages was a significant contribution to the construction of a Europe founded on the principles of democracy and cultural diversity. The application of the principles of the Charter, which Ukraine has undertaken to ratify, would further contribute to the blossoming of the Tartar language and culture and this in turn would facilitate their integration.
The Committee of Ministers wishes to assure the Assembly of the fact that the Council of Europe Development Bank has taken note of the Assembly's invitation to explore what it can do to assist returnee Crimean Tatars, in particular in the housing and infrastructure sectors. It nevertheless recalls that the CEB's possibility to intervene is facilitated by a country's membership in the Bank, and therefore encourages the authorities of this member state to follow-up the necessary steps in this respect.
The Committee of Ministers notes the utmost importance of the steps taken by the Ukrainian authorities in the field of repatriation and integration of the Tatars of Crimea. It welcomes the readiness of the Government of Ukraine to facilitate reintegration, in particular the steps taken to simplify the acquisition of Ukrainian citizenship. The Committee of Ministers also commends efforts by the international institutions, notably the United Nation Development Programme (UNDP), the Organisation for Security and Co-operations in Europe (OSCE) and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) to speed up and facilitate the integration process and calls on member states to give their full support to these efforts.”