UNESCO will continue to monitor the situation in the annexed Crimea in 2020.

The decision was approved at a session of the UNESCO Executive Board on Wednesday, October 16, Ukraine's Permanent Delegate to UNESCO Oleh Shamshur tweeted.

"The decision of the UNESCO Executive Board on monitoring of the situation in the occupied Crimea has been approved again. During 2019, the Organization's monitoring group has already made two visits to Ukraine (in the fields of information and media freedom). In 2020, this work will be continued. We are grateful to our partners for support," Shamshur wrote.

As reported, on September 30, UNESCO released the report of the Director General of the Organization on the situation in the temporarily occupied Crimea in the fields of education, science, culture, dissemination of information and functioning of media, highlighting further deterioration of the situation on the peninsula.

In particular, specific facts of gross violations of human rights and freedoms, first of all of Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars, fundamental principles and norms of the Organization, including the issues of ensuring educational and cultural rights, obstruction of free dissemination of information and activities of mass media, numerous cases of persecution and illegal arrests of journalists were mentioned.

After the annexation of Crimea, Russia has taken under its jurisdiction all cultural and historical heritage sites located on the territory of the peninsula. Kyiv insists that these sites belong to the Ukrainian people and requests that they should be protected by UNESCO.

The UNESCO World Heritage List includes the National Reserve Khersones-Tavriysky (Tauric Chersonese) located in the annexed Crimea. In addition, the Khan Palace in Bakhchisaray, the Genoese Fortress in Sudak, the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory, Mangup Kale fortress, Eski Kermen cave town and Chufut-Kale city-fortress apply for inclusion in the World Heritage List.

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