STATEMENT Of the representative of the Russian Federation At the 11th Session of the Forum on Minority Issues on Agenda Item 3 “Statelessness resulting from conflicts, forced population movements and migration affecting minorities: main challenges and possible solutions” 29 November 2018 Dear Madame Chair, We agree with Dr. de Varennes that the primary reasons for statelessness are conflicts and forced migration. We are witness to how the man-made destabilization of the situation in the Middle East and in North Africa has led to the appearance of a colossal number of hotbeds of tension, the massive exodus of peaceful residents of these regions in order to be free of war and devastation, and to the inflow of thousands of refugees to Europe. It is necessary to adopt measures for the quick, political regulation of the crises of these regions, to develop comprehensive strategies for political stabilization and socio-economic rehabilitation while respecting the sovereignty of the states located there and while taking into account the ethnic, cultural, and religious specificities of the peoples and societies living there. Madame Chair, In the context of the topic under review, the situation in Ukraine, where an internal armed conflict has been ongoing for a long time, causes widespread alarm. The aggressive policies of its current authorities are aimed at the forcible establishment of the mono-ethnic domination of all spheres of life of this multi-national state. All recent legislative initiatives in the field of education and mother tongue use, in essence, are aimed at the exclusion of representatives of national minorities – not only members of the Russian community, but also other ethnic groups – from the public, political, and socio-economic spheres of life of society. In addition, the actions of the Ukrainian authorities, provoking a religious split in society, create a serious threat for a new bout of tension and conflicts between religious communities, which will become critical for an already unstable situation in Ukraine. The official authorities condone the actions of nationalist organizations that deliberately post data about representatives of national minorities with dual citizenship in open informational spaces, including the odious website “Mirotvorets (Peacemaker)”, and collect signatures for a petition to deport dual citizens. This is a real danger for the safety of individuals from minorities. More than 1 million Ukrainian citizens have found shelter and work in the Russian Federation. The majority of them have appealed to relevant agencies to request temporary asylum, as well as to apply for citizenship. We call upon the Special Rapporteur to analyze the consequences and the impact of the civil war on the implementation of the entire range of rights of national minorities, including the right to life, the freedoms of expression, thought, religion, and opinion, and the right to use one’s mother tongue, and to participate in public life. Thank you for your attention.