The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe recognized Russiaʼs genocidal intent to destroy Ukrainian cultural heritage and identity.
This was reported by Yevgenia Kravchuk, a member of the permanent delegation of the Verkhovna Rada to PACE.
105 votes were cast for its resolution "Combating the erasure of cultural identity during war and peace".
The resolution condemns the systematic state policy of Russification, which has been ongoing since 2014 in the occupied territories of Ukraine, in particular the denial of Ukrainian cultural identity, language, literature and history.
It establishes that the deliberate destruction of cultural heritage and the erasure of cultural identity in Ukraine is a war crime, a crime against humanity, and evidence of the Russian Federationʼs genocidal intent to destroy Ukrainian national identity.
In addition, the resolution calls on PACE member states to ratify the Council of Europe conventions on the protection of cultural heritage, to strengthen sanctions for military destruction not justified by "urgent military necessity", to include in the scope of legal regulation violations against cultural heritage and to provide for full compensation based on international law. to strengthen the ability to fight against the illegal circulation of cultural values, to bring to justice the authorities and state institutions involved in such actions.
Here are some more steps the resolution calls for:
- develop the training of military, police, customs and justice officials to prevent, investigate and prosecute cultural heritage violations;
- raise awareness of how the ideology of "Russian world" can create grounds for violations of international law;
- raise awareness about the militarization of Ukrainian children in the occupied territories by the Russian Federation.
PACE member states will help Ukraine to collect, record, document and preserve evidence of Russiaʼs crimes against cultural heritage in Ukraine; to digitize objects of cultural heritage and property, etc.