1.  UNESCO notes worsening of situation in the occupied Crimea.

The Secretariat of UNESCO has released to public a report of the Director-General of the Organization on implementing the decision of the UNESCO Executive Board “Monitoring the situation in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea (Ukraine)”, which refers to the deterioration of the situation on the territory of the temporarily occupied by Russia Crimea within of competence UNESCO’s domain of competence (Art.7).

The report is based on information from the Secretariat of UNESCO, as well as materials of the Ukrainian side and institutional partners of the Organization – The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, ICOMOS, and Amnesty International.

The document highlights gross violations by the occupying authority, in particular, in the field of the protection of cultural heritage: the so-called “Restoration works” on the territory of Bakhchisaray, which threaten the historical and cultural authenticity of this object, included in the Preliminary UNESCO World Heritage List, as well as the conduct of archaeological excavations and the export of artifacts from the territory of the Crimea in contravention of international law.

The report recalls the need to implement the UN General Assembly resolutions on the Crimea, the latest of which “Situation of human rights in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine” as of December 19, 2017 obliges Russia to comply with the decisions of the International Court of Justice on the rights of the Crimean Tatar community and ensuring access to education in the Ukrainian language in the occupied peninsula.

It is reported that Ukraine and the UNESCO Secretariat agree on the main parameters of the monitoring mechanism, on the basis of which UNESCO will directly monitor the situation in the occupied Crimea within the framework of Organization’s competence.

The Director-General's report will be considered at the 204-th session of the Executive Board of UNESCO, to be held from 4 to 17 April, 2018 in Paris.

 

2. Actual situation in the ATO area.

The Russia-backed militants made 192 precision attacks upon the Ukrainian troops’ positions.

Ukrainian troops returned fire 41 times.

The situation was the most anxious near Katerynivka, Luhanske, Zaitseve, Troitske, Novhorodske, Stanytsia Luhanska,  Schastya, Nololuhanske, Pavlopil, Pisky, Avdiivka, Vodiane, Maryinka, Shyrokyne, Novotroitske, Verhniotoretske, Pavlopil, Shakhta Butovka, Lebedynske, Kamianka, Staromykhailivka, Opytne, Pisky, Talakivka, Hnutove, Starohnativka.

Unfortunately, 2 Ukrainian servicemen were killed and 2 were wounded.

Also, one officer of the civil protection department of the State Emergency Service was wounded by an explosion of an unknown device during the joint patrolling with the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission outside the Donetsk water filtration station in Avdiivka area. The officer is in satisfactory condition.