For us it’s important to have justice for millions of Ukrainians, — human rights activist Alyona Maksymenko on 75th UDHR anniversary
The UN International Day of Peace was first declared by the General Assembly in 1981 and is observed on September 21st. At the United Nations, the International Day of Peace is marked by the ringing of the Japanese Peace Bell, cast from coins donated by children from six continents. Around the world, the day is marked by various nations, political groups, and militaries. The UN also calls for the enactment of a ceasefire during the International Day of Peace.
This year, the International Day of Peace also coincides with the 75th anniversary year of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide. In the ceremony held at the UN, Secretary-General António Guterres remarked that “peace is under assault across communities, countries and regions” and encouraged “rallying together to tackle the common challenges we face.”
This year’s theme according to the United Nations is Actions for Peace: Our Ambition for the Global Goals. It especially emphasizes the importance of working towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals as a means to engendering the absence of violence and conflict. In past years, hundreds of events world wide have been held to observe the day.
The International Day of Peace occurs this year concurrently with the rise of conflict globally, such as the invasion of Ukraine or the conflicts in Libya, Somalia, and South Sudan. The live stream of the ceremony held earlier on the 13th of September can be found on the UN YouTube page, and many events will be held worldwide to mark the passing of the day.
Alona Maksymenko emphasizes that the Russian incursion into Ukraine commenced in 2014 with the annexation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol. The war will be over once all of the territory of Ukraine will be liberated.
The occupation of Crimea, Donetsk and Lugansk served as a blueprint for subsequent Russian aggression against Ukraine. The methods employed, which encompassed severe human rights abuses such as abductions, torture, threats, and, at times, the killing of pro-Ukrainian activists, as well as the occupation tactics utilized in Crimea and eastern Ukraine in 2014, were replicated, expanded upon, and applied in the recently seized territories in 2022.
Since at least 2015, the unlawful deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children began originating from Crimea.
There can be no concessions regarding Ukraine’s territorial integrity, including Crimea. What’s at stake for Ukraine is not just the land, but primarily the rights and well-being of its citizens, including Ukrainians and the indigenous Crimean Tatars. They have been denied the opportunity to live freely in the land of their forefathers, which is their only true home.
Since 2014, Russia has illegally maintained authority over Crimea, and the consequences of Moscow’s actions in this region are evident. Crimea has been subjected to isolation, and oppression, and transformed into a military stronghold to advance Russia’s aggressive agendas. Individuals, whether they are politicians or experts, who engage in discussions about potential compromises regarding Crimea, Zaporizhia, Kherson, Donetsk, and Luhansk regions inadvertently aid the aggressor’s objectives. Instead of promoting peace, they lend support to genocidal practices, particularly against the indigenous Crimean Tatar population.
Any decisions on the status of Crimea, Zaporizhia, Kherson, Donetsk, and Luhansk regions can be made only after the Ukrainian victory and only by Ukrainian authorities.
To mark this day Hague Talks interviewed Alona Maksymenko, a human rights defender from the Center for Civil Liberties. She currently holds the position of assistant to the head of the organization.
People from different countries can’t imagine how we live under Russian attacks every week but for us it’s it’s a daily routine. I represent the Ukrainian human rights organization Center for Civil Liberties and we have been documenting war crimes since 2014. Together with other Ukrainian human rights organizations, we have created the Tribunal for Putin initiative and now in our database, we have more than 50.000 cases of war crimes also we have more than 1000 cases of civilians in prison under Russian occupation and we continue to document war crimes because for us it’s important to have Justice for civilians for millions of Ukrainians and we continue to work with it and we understand that our resources aren’t enough.
How do you envision your future in Ukraine?
I was born in Lugansk and I really didn’t have any idea who I would become in the future and this war changed a lot in my life and for example, a lot of my relatives don’t have the same vision. I support Ukraine and they support Russia because in our region (Lugansk) Russia has a huge propaganda and a lot of people don’t understand what’s going on now.
What gives you hope?
I think it’s important to spread knowledge about human rights. We work with children, we work with students because for us important to send this message human rights is a value, human rights are important for us, and for our future, we will build a new country European country and hope after maybe a few years we will be in EU family.
