France, Paris, 14 Avenue de l’Opera, 75001
Ukraine, Kyiv, 56 Kharkivske highroad, 02175
arcconstructionofcrimea@gmail.com
09.06.2021 № 046/2021
To the UN Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
srhealth@ohchr.org
Challenges for the Reproductive Health in the Modern Crimea
Subissions for Report
DrHab, Prof. Borys Babin, expert of ARC, Dr(PhD) Olexiy Plotnikov, expert of ARC, 
Dr(PhD) Andrii Chvaliuk, expert of ARC, Dr(PhD) Eduard Pleshko, expert of ARC, 
The Association of Reintegration of Crimea, as a registered non-governmental organisation, herewith submits the following responses (submission) to the questionnaire of the UN Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, for the Special Rapporteur’s forthcoming report to be presented at the 76th session of the UN General Assembly “The right to sexual and reproductive health – challenges and opportunities during COVID – 19”. Our responses (submission) are devoted to the situation of with right to sexual and reproductive health in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and city of Sevastopol (hereinafter – Crimea). The response deals with the issues identified by the Association in its work, namely the issue of non-effective humanitarian, financial, industial, environmental and social policy of the Russia’s de-facto “authorities” in the Crimea since 2014.
The illegal occupation and attempted annexation of the Crimea by Russian Federation (hereinafter – RF) since 2014 have been condemned in a series of international acts, including UN GA resolutions 2014 68/262, 2016 71/205, 2017 72/190, 2018 73/263 2019 74/168, 2020 75/192, 2018 73/194, 2019 74/17, 2020 75/29, resolutions of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe 1988 (2014), 2028 (2015), 2067 (2015), 2112 (2016), 2132 (2016), 2145 (2017), 2198 (2018), 2231 (2018) etc., of the European Parliament’s resolutions 2014/2841 (RSP), 2014/2965 (RSP), 2016/2556 (RSP), 2016/2692 (RSP), 2017/2596 (RSP), 2017/2869 (RSP), 2018/2754 (RSP), 2018/2870 (RSP),  2019/2734 (RSP), 2019/2202 (INI) etc. Those acts paid special attention to the brutal violation by the RF the fundamental human rights, including right to health for Crimean residents.
The attempted annexation the Crimea by Russia was never recognized by the international community. Human rights violations in the Crimea, now are the subject to consideration in the international courts, including the International Court of Justice (case 166) and the European Court of Human Rights (case 20958/14 and others).
Current situation in the Crimea makes impossible the effective realization of the right to sexual and reproductive health for the Crimean residents, including the right to make free and responsible decisions and choices, free of violence coercion and discrimination regarding matters concerning one’s body and sexual and reproductive health. The minimum adequate volume of the health facilities, goods, services and information, which would ensure all people full enjoyment of the right to sexual and reproductive health, are absent in the modern Crimea, the territory of lawlessness and arbitrariness. 
Association gives such information for the questions, pointed by the Rapporteur:
1. The organizational practice (methodic) of Russian de-facto “authorities” in conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic was extremely negative for the Crimean residents’ right to sexual and reproductive health. As the checkpoints on the boarding line with the Crimea were closed by the Russian punitive bodies in 2020, so the persons, who usually visited clinics on reproductive health in the Ukrainian mainland, lost such opportunity. 
2. The activities of the Russian de-facto “authorities” in conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic made negative influence on the information on the right to sexual and reproductive health, also as for the autonomy and free decision making on sexual and reproductive health. The departments of hospitals, purposed for the reproductive-related diseases and maternity hospitals were transformed, full or partially, for the COVID-19 hospitals and the urgent information on such transformation was not given to the population.
3. The Russian de-facto “authorities” did not provide in the Crimea the actual and effective services, goods and information regarding sexual and reproductive health care, as before COVID-19 pandemic so in 2020-2021. There were any one good practices or opportunities in the provision of sexual and reproductive health care during the pandemic.  
4. The “medical reform” started in the Crimea by the Russian de-facto “authorities”, with forcibly implementation the insurance medicine since 2014, made strong negative impact to the level of protection the rights to sexual and reproductive health. Thousands of persons, who refused or could not get the “Russia’s citizenship” in the Crimea after its attempted annexation, lost the possibility to get the adequate aid even in vital issues, including pregnancy conditions. Almost all the state maternity hospitals in the Crimea, captured by Russian “authorities” in 2014, are now in ugly sanitary, technical and personnel conditions now. There are any sustainable policies of the Russian de-facto “authorities” for support the maternity in the Crimea for the local residents. So it is not surprising, that in 2021 the mortality level exceeded the fertility rate twice in the Crimea.
 5.6. The Association of Reintegration of Crimea believes that a special research on the situation with the realization the sexual and reproductive health in conditions of the armed conflicts and related “grey zones” like Crimea, done by the UN Special Rapporteur, may be a starting point for improvement of the situation. The Special Rapporteur’s visit to Ukraine, including Crimea would contribute to collection of information, and would enable the Rapporteur to make a first-hand impression of the situation with sexual and reproductive health in the region. 
9th June, 2021                       Representative of the Association of Reintegration of Crimea 
Dr. Borys Babin