Russia presented a report on human rights issues to the UN

On Monday, November 13, Deputy Minister of Justice of the Russian Federation Andrei Loginov presented the fourth national report on the state of human rights in Russia at the UN Human Rights Council. Mr. Loginov emphasized that Russia has managed to achieve success in this area, despite the “conducted by Russia on the basis of Art. 51 of the UN Charter” of the SVO and “unprecedented sanctions pressure.” His words, however, did not satisfy representatives of all countries participating in the event, who, among other things, recommended that the Russian authorities revise the national law on foreign agents, ensure citizens the right to freedom of speech, and journalists and human rights activists – security.

On Monday in Geneva, at the 44th session of the relevant working group of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC), Russia presented a report on the situation in the field of rights and freedoms in the country. The national report was prepared by the Ministry of Justice, and it was presented to the UNHRC by State Secretary, Deputy Head of the Department Andrei Loginov.

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism in question was created based on a resolution of the UN General Assembly in 2006. Through the UPR, states report on the measures they have taken to improve their human rights situation. At the same time, other participating countries make recommendations to solve core problems in the reporting country. In the process of forming recommendations within the framework of the UPR, not only the report of national authorities is taken into account, but also documents of other international structures, appeals and alternative reports on the state of human rights of NGOs and associations of lawyers. In addition, the recommendations of the UN Human Rights Committee are taken into account. Russia submitted its reports to the UNHRC in 2009, 2013 and 2018.

Presenting Russia’s report, Andrei Loginov expressed confidence that communication between countries should be “depoliticized” in nature and free from “the use of human rights issues as a pretext for interference in the internal affairs of the state.”

Mr. Loginov said that the Russian authorities are actively fighting manifestations of discrimination and intolerance, including on the basis of nationality, gender, and in the labor sphere.

“Among the questions traditionally addressed to Russia are accusations of discrimination against representatives of the LGBT community,” he hastened to anticipate the claims. “We emphasize that in Russia, restraining the demonstration of non-traditional sexual relations or preferences is not a form of censure for them. On the contrary, it is a way to limit the propaganda of this way of life as not corresponding to the spiritual and moral foundations of the multinational population of the country.” Equally important, Andrei Loginov noted, are the issues of combating racism, xenophobia, aggressive nationalism, and neo-Nazism.

Mr. Loginov ruled out the abolition of the moratorium on the death penalty in the Russian Federation: he recalled that the moratorium is based on the position of the Constitutional Court. After mentioning progress in protecting the rights of children, the disabled and the elderly, the speaker moved on to the situation in the non-profit sector, which has also improved, in particular due to the “removal of additional requirements for the charters of organizations.” “We note that the institution of a foreign agent appeared in Russia in connection with the need to inform society about organizations conducting activities of a political nature and having foreign funding,” he said. “Recognition of a person as a foreign agent does not imply restrictions in legal status, loss of rights, but the inclusion of persons entry into the register does not entail a ban on activities or liquidation of the organization.”

However, Mr. Loginov also drew attention to a number of objective difficulties in the area under discussion: “Conducted by Russia on the basis of Art. 51 of the UN Charter, a special military operation, unprecedented sanctions pressure, unlawful restrictions on our country’s participation in various international platforms – all this has presented us with new challenges, including in the human rights sphere. Despite these circumstances, Russia continued its sovereign course to ensure its security.”

A significant number of representatives of the participating states present at the speech, judging by the discussion that followed, were not satisfied with Russia’s report.

Having criticized the authorities for military actions on the territory of Ukraine, several EU countries recommended stopping “persecuting Russians for their anti-war position” and repealing laws on foreign agents and “fake news” about the army. Recommendations were also made to ensure the safety of human rights defenders and journalists, the independence of the judicial system in the country, to actively combat torture, and to legislate the rights of sexual minorities. At the same time, there were states that highly appreciated the work of the Russian authorities in the field of protecting human rights, in particular the DPRK.

In response to criticism, the head of the Department of International Law and Cooperation of the Ministry of Justice, Ekaterina Kudelich, told the audience that the law on foreign agents is a completely legal instrument of the state to protect its sovereignty. Remarks about violations of the rights of journalists were commented on by a representative of the Prosecutor General’s Office, Natalya Emelkina, who made it clear that the Constitution of the Russian Federation guarantees freedom of thought and speech, and “censorship is prohibited.” “Yes, in Russia there are cases of detentions and arrests of journalists. However, criminal cases were initiated against them not for illegal professional activities, but in connection with suspicion of committing general criminal offenses, for example, fraud or espionage for another country,” said Ms. Emelkina.

In the coming days, members of the working group, with the assistance of representatives of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, will prepare a final document based on the results of the discussion. In particular, it will include the conclusions and recommendations made, as well as the responses of the Russian delegation.

Emilia Gabdullina