Dutch lower house recognizes deportation of Crimean Tatars as genocide

The Dutch House of Representatives on June 19 officially recognized the 1944 deportation of the Crimean Tatars by the Soviet Union as genocide, according to the parliament’s website.

The decision came in response to a proposal by Dutch lawmaker Derk Boswijk. The document notes that “several countries have already recognized the mass deportation of the Crimean Tatars in 1944 by the Soviet Union as genocide.”

The lawmakers also highlighted that since Russia’s occupation of Crimea in 2014, many Crimean Tatars have been unjustly imprisoned, tortured, or disappeared without a trace.

The statement adds that “Russia has likely continued the policy of genocide against the Crimean Tatars.”

The House of Representatives declared its position by recognizing the 1944 mass deportation of Crimean Tatars as genocide under modern standards and condemned the act.

The parliament called on the Dutch government to conduct its own assessment and make an official national decision on the matter.

Ukraine’s Foreign Affairs Minister Andrii Sybiha welcomed the decision, describing it as “a powerful gesture of solidarity with the Crimean Tatar people, who are still facing persecution.”

He added: “I thank the Netherlands for becoming the seventh country outside of Ukraine to recognize this crime as genocide, and I urge all other nations to do the same. This is the right thing to do.”