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Statement of the delegation of Ukraine under agenda item 4 “Discussion on the six mandated areas of the Permanent Forum (economic and social development, culture, environment, education, health and human rights), with reference to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” delivered by Mr. Refat Chubarov (25 April 2025)

Thank you, Madam Chair for the opportunity to speak.

Dear brothers and sisters!

Dear representatives of the UN member states!

The interconnectedness, and therefore interdependence, between countries and their people obliges us to act together to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

Obviously, efforts to achieve the SDGs at the national level require a special intensification of global partnership activities.

In this regard, we cannot but discuss the political and military factors that impede global partnership for sustainable development.

Today, a day of mourning has been declared in Kyiv, the capital of my country Ukraine, in memory of the victims of the massive Russian missile attack on the night of April 23-24, which injured more than 90 people, including 12 killed. Among the victims were 6 children and a pregnant woman.

Aggression and wars of aggression are always criminal, but Moscow's actions to force representatives of Russia's indigenous peoples to participate in a criminal war against Ukraine are doubly criminal.

Each of the indigenous peoples has its own glorious, and often tragic, history. But all of them have courageously defended and are defending their homes when armed bandits break in. 

Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars are also defending their home and their state from armed bandits who have invaded Ukrainian lands on Putin's orders. In this regard, I urge the Forum to maintain its focus on the repression and persecution of the Crimean Tatar people, the indigenous people of Ukraine, whose land, Crimea, has been occupied by the Russian Federation for eleven years.

No one will ever be allowed to step over the rights of indigenous peoples, including the right to their land.

Therefore, let me make the following statement against the backdrop of some statements about Crimea: "Crimea is the land of the indigenous Crimean Tatar people, it is their homeland, and at the same time an integral part of the Ukrainian state. And the fate of Crimea will be decided by the Ukrainian state and the Crimean Tatar people.

I call on indigenous leaders to be even stronger and more united to bring an end to wars of aggression on Earth.

Thank you for your attention!