Statement of the Delegation of Ukraine under agenda item 5 (g) Thematic dialogue on the financing of Indigenous Peoples’ work and participation across the multilateral and regional system of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
delivered by Mr. Refat Chubarov
(23 April 2025)
Thank you, Madame Chair, for giving me the floor!
Dear brothers and sisters, with special respect to you, let me say the following on the topic:
The creation of an equitable international financial architecture is essential for the present and future of the world's indigenous peoples.
But we must realize that the creation of an equitable international financial architecture is impossible if UN member states disregard the rights of indigenous peoples.
On March 20, 2014, during the dramatic days when the Russian Federation invaded the territory of Ukraine and occupied the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, the Parliament of Ukraine adopted a special Statement on Guarantees of the Rights of the Crimean Tatar People within the Ukrainian State.
In this statement, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, on behalf of the Ukrainian state, guaranteed the Crimean Tatar people the right to self-determination and recognized the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, the highest representative body of the indigenous people.
In 2021, Ukraine adopted the Law “On Indigenous Peoples of Ukraine,” according to which the indigenous peoples of Ukraine are the Crimean Tatars, Karaites, and Krymchaks, who have been formed over the centuries on the territory of Crimea, which is an integral part of the Ukrainian state.
However, the Russian occupation of Crimea deprives the Ukrainian state of the opportunity to fully implement this law, as well as to implement other measures aimed at preserving and developing indigenous peoples.
Russia's policy in the occupied Crimea is aimed at ousting the indigenous people from the peninsula. Priceless Crimean land, which has belonged to the indigenous Crimean Tatar people for centuries, is being distributed to Russian army personnel participating in the criminal war waged by Russia against Ukraine.
Russia is turning the occupied Crimea into a military outpost from which it will continue its expansion into other countries.
Therefore, the international financial architecture should include mechanisms for a tough response to third parties whose actions, as in the case of the Russian Federation's occupation of Crimea, not only deprive indigenous peoples of their right to self-determination, but also pose a real threat to their existence on their land.
In conclusion, Ukraine will continue to support measures aimed at involving indigenous peoples in the governance of the international financial architecture.
Thank you for your attention.