OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Knut Vollebaek Visits Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Knut Vollebaek Visits Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People

26 July 2012

The OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Knut Vollebaek who arrived with the working visit to Ukraine came to Crimea on July 26, 2012 where he planned a range of meetings and consultations.

On the same day Mr Knut Vollenbaek and accompanied him advisors Alexander Vinnikov and Vincent de Graf met with the Chairman of Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, MP of Ukraine Mustafa Jemilev. The meeting, held in the office of Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people was also attended by the Fist Vice Chairman of Mejlis Refat Chubarov, Head of the Department of Foreign Relations Ali Hamzin and Head of the Secretariat of Mejlis Zair Smedlyaev.

As earlier on July 25 the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Mr Knut Vollebaek and Leader of Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people Mustafa Jemilev had a separate meeting in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine during the meeting in Mejlis the parties mainly discussed the preparation to the International Forum on the restoration of the rights of the Crimean Tatar people in its Homeland, ensuring its safety and guarantees of its development in Ukraine.

At the same time, as the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Mr Knut Vollebaek noted his office already finished the selection of the independent international experts who will carry out the special researches during several months on the basic issues that will be proposed to the consideration at the International forum. “Thus, Mr Knut Vollebaek said, I’m satisfied with the fact that the plan that we worked out in Hague (in June 2012) enters the stage of its practical implementation”.

The participants of the meeting also discussed the issues, relating to the preparation of the draft law “On the restoration of the rights of persons, deported on the national grounds” to the second reading and its adoption in the whole.