Порушення норм міжнародного та національного права російською владою на окупованих українських територіях в сфері освіти

Abstract

Based on the analysis of international legal acts and national legislation the authors of the given article provide a legal assessment of the actions of the Russian authorities concerning deliberate destruction of educational infrastructure in Ukraine, which included repressive measurements against Ukrainian teachers and scientists, russification, indoctrination of pupils and students, and deliberate destruction of educational institutions by shelling. Based on the violations of international and national law the authors of the article claim that destruction of the educational infrastructure by Russians makes it impossible to implement the right to education in Ukraine as a fundamental human right. During the destruction of Ukrainian education Russian bodies violated the legal norms of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of December 16, 1966, Annex IV of the Convention respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land, the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of August 12, 1949, as they did not make efforts to ensure the proper functioning of educational institutions. At the same time, the norms of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Law of Ukraine “On Education” regarding the language of instruction and the rights of indigenous peoples were ignored in the occupied territories. Moreover, on January 31, 2024, the International Court of Justice ruled that the legislative and other practices of the Russian Federation regarding school education in the Ukrainian language in Crimea constitute a “pattern of racial discrimination” in accordance with the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination of March 6, 1966. Ukrainian children are being subjected to forced deportation and re-education in violation of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of August 12, 1949 and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of December 16, 1966, as well as the Law of Ukraine “On Protection of Childhood”. The response to such actions by the Russian authorities was the issuance of arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court on March 17, 2023, for two key criminals, V. Putin and M. Lvova-Belova. It should be noted that there are sufficient legal mechanisms to bring representatives of the Russian authorities to justice for violating international humanitarian and international criminal law and national legislation by destroying the educational environment in Ukraine.