A/HRC/43/CRP.7 indigenous peoples and national minorities should also address this issue and provide appropriate protection for instruction the languages of indigenous peoples in school. VIII. A. Human rights in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine, temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation Forced conscription 113. During the reporting period, the Russian Federation completed its tenth conscription campaign since the beginning of occupation, during which at least 3,000 men from Crimea were enlisted into the Russian armed forces. This brings the overall number of Crimean conscripts to at least 21,000 men.107 A contingent of the conscripts were sent to military bases in the Russian Federation.108 114. The Russian Federation prosecutes Crimean residents for evading conscription into its armed forces.109 OHCHR identified 25 cases of draft evasion heard by courts in Crimea in 2019. Among these cases, OHCHR documented seven guilty verdicts. 110 The crime of draft evasion is punishable under Russian Federation law by a fine or up to two years imprisonment. Within the 2019 verdicts documented, the defendants were sentenced to fines ranging from 15,000 to 50,000 RUB ($243 to $810). In one case during the reporting period, the Sudak city court convicted a resident of draft evasion for failure to report for a medical examination during the conscription campaign. The court ordered the return of the man’s conscription case files from the police to the local draft commission, indicating his likely enlistment in future conscription campaigns.111 Under Russian Federation legislation, a conviction for draft evasion does not absolve the conscript of the obligation to serve in the military. 115. OHCHR notes that, as an occupying Power, the Russian Federation is obliged under international humanitarian law to refrain from forcing protected persons to serve in its armed or auxiliary forces, and that no pressure or propaganda aimed at securing voluntary enlistment is permitted.112 Forced enlistment also adversely affects conscripts’ enjoyment of human rights, restricting their free movement and access to education and employment. 113 B. 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 Forcible transfers, deportations and travel bans All figures are approximate and primarily based on periodic announcements by the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation. OHCHR notes that there are considerable discrepancies between individual sets of numbers made available by the Ministry at different times in the course of the conscription campaigns. For previously reported figures, see OHCHR, Report on the human rights situation in Ukraine, 16 November 2018 to 15 February 2019, para. 114 and 16 May to 15 August 2019, para. 112. Forcible allocation of protected persons from Crimea to bases in the Russian Federation violates article 49 of Geneva Convention IV. Analysis of the periodic announcements indicate that over a half of men from Crimea conscripted during the latest campaign have been sent to the Russian Federation. Under Article 328 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. These are the verdicts verifiable through the Russian court registry. As of 31 December 2019, the registry listed 68 cases of draft evasion in Crimea since 2017, but does not make verdicts publicly available in all cases. In total, OHCHR documented 35 guilty verdicts issued by courts in Crimea and available in the court registry. Given that the court registry does not necessarily list every criminal proceeding, it is possible that the actual figure of convictions is higher. For previously identified verdicts, see OHCHR report on the human rights situation in Ukraine, 16 May to 15 August 2019, para. 113. Judgment of Sudak city court, case No. 1-116/2019, 21 November 2019. Article 51, Geneva Convention IV. See OHCHR, Report on the human rights situation in Ukraine, 16 November 2018 to 15 February 2019, para. 115. 29