What is the ICC?

The International Committee for Crimea (ICC) is a nonprofit organization registered in Washington, DC. The Committee aims to raise awareness about the historical and cultural aspects of Crimean Tatars, the indigenous people of Crimea. It also engages in educational activities in support of the revival of culture and native language of people subjected to forced migration and political repression.

Since the occupation and annexation of Crimea by Russia in March 2014, Crimean Tatars have been subjected to extreme repression, with political leaders exiled and media outlets closed; Crimean Tatar Mejlis (elected representative body) banned; and activists arrested and detained without trial. Illegal searches of private homes and businesses continue, property is confiscated, and individuals run the risk of being kidnapped or even murdered. Thousands of Crimean Tatars have been forced to leave their native land and become IDPs in Ukraine. We keep up with updated news about Crimean Tatars through our Facebook Page.

Today, the objectives of the ICC remain:

• To disseminate information about the human rights violations and social developments in Crimea
• To organize public programs such as exhibits and film screenings to raise awareness about the issues involving indigenous people of Crimea
• To support historical research and gather documentation on the devastating effects of governmental policies on Crimean Tatars and uprooted populations
• To participate in professional conferences and public programs

The ICC evolved in 1997 from an Internet group of individuals who used the online media to set up a network of Crimean Tatars. The group tried to reach out to Crimean Tatars who had returned to their homeland in Ukraine, descendents of Crimean Tatars living in diaspora, and friends and allies of the Crimean people. The original members lived in the US, Germany, Holland, Turkey and Ukraine. Through Crimea-L, a Yahoo discussion group no longer active, and this Web site, ICC members provided a platform where participants shared information, ideas and experiences about being deported and forced to live in unsanitary conditions without adequate food; losing one's family members and home; and facing discrimination both in exile and in one's native land upon return. Our Web site includes scholarly articles, stories, news accounts and images that reflect the saga of these uprooted people, and is a major Internet resource on the subject.

We believe that Crimean Tatars, who were unjustly deported en masse from their homeland by Soviet authorities in 1944, have the right to live in their homeland in peace, free of political, social and economic prejudices against them. We look forward to the day when the indigenous people of Crimea can live without poverty on their ancestral land, maintaining their own cultural identity and traditions, and speaking their native language.

Updated: August 16, 2019