Annexation of Ukrainian territories is illegal and a threat to human rights, say OSCE human rights Director and OSCE media freedom Representative

WARSAW/VIENNA, 6 October 2022 – The Russian Federation’s illegal annexation of territory in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions of Ukraine, which was signed into law earlier this week, was strongly condemned by the Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) Matteo Mecacci and OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM) Teresa Ribeiro.

The annexation, which follows the illegal so-called ‘referenda’ in Ukraine’s occupied territories, clearly runs contrary to the peremptory norm of international law prohibiting the acquisition of territory by force. ODIHR and RFoM wish to emphasise that in addition to having no validity under international law, such conduct further aggravates the already abysmal human rights situation.

“ODIHR has been on the ground monitoring the human rights situation in Ukraine for many months now, and we are particularly concerned that the annexation will further worsen the alarming situation in these territories, including the new reports of forced conscription of civilians and the plight of human rights defenders,” Mecacci said.

“Independent journalists working in those territories were already facing massive challenges, but this move will make their situation worse amidst an already dire state of media freedom,” said Ribeiro. “I will therefore continue to closely monitor the situation.”

Mecacci and Ribeiro emphasised that illegal annexation does not change the status of these territories and that the rights of all people living in it remain protected under international humanitarian law and international human rights law. The Russian Federation is obliged to uphold all relevant provisions under international law within the parts of the territory that it controls.