30 August is the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances

30 August is the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, which is a symbol of drawing attention to the situation of people who have been illegally abducted and imprisoned. This day was established by the UN General Assembly, which in its resolution 65/209 of 21 December 2010 stressed the growing number of abducted and arbitrarily arrested people in different regions of the world.  

In 2015, Ukraine acceded to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and pledged to comply with its provisions. 

As a result of the war waged by the Russian Federation against Ukraine in 2014 and the establishment of the Russian totalitarian regime in the occupied territories, our citizens were subjected to massive pressure and violations of their legal rights. 

As of April 2023, the following Crimeans are considered missing: Abduramanov Rizvan, Alyautdinov Marcel, Apseliamov Eskender, Arsen Suyunov, Aripov Shevket, Bondarets Ivan, Vashchuk Valeriy, Kaplienko Maksym, Kostenko Fedir, Klapova Kateryna, Chernysh Vasyl, Shevket Marlen, Aliev Arsen, Arislanov Mukhtar, Haniev Ruslan, Dzhepparov Islyam, Zinedine Seyran, Ibragimov Erwin, Islyamov Dzhevdet, Terekhov Arlen and Shaimardanov Timur. 

So far, 44 cases of enforced disappearances have been reported during the occupation of Crimea, 15 of them are people whose fate and whereabouts are still unknown.  However, Russia has begun to actively implement this massive practice in the territories that were occupied as a result of the full-scale invasion in 2022.  In the Kherson region alone, at least 600 civilians have been victims of enforced disappearances since the beginning of the occupation of part of the region.