(Moscow) - European leaders should use the upcoming EU-Russia summit to convey alarm over deteriorating human rights in Russia and to press for concrete improvements, Human Rights Watch said today. The summit is scheduled for November 18 and 19, 2009, in Stockholm.
During the past year, Russia has suffered unprecedented blows to its human rights community, with at least five independent civic activists murdered, and others imprisoned, beaten, and harassed. A leading rights activist is facing criminal charges for speaking out over the murder of a colleague. Violence has surged in the North Caucasus.
"At the last EU-Russia summit there was hope for civil society reform in Russia," said Allison Gill, Moscow office director for Human Rights Watch. "Six months later, at least four more activists have been murdered, showing how vulnerable independent voices still are in Russia. The time for action is now."
The EU should seize the opportunity of the summit to raise human rights concerns, Human Rights Watch said, and to emphasize that Russia can only be a strong partner for the EU when it demonstrates respect for fundamental rights and rule of law.
In a memorandum to the EU in advance of semiannual EU-Russia human rights consultations, which took place on November 5 and 6 in Stockholm, Human Rights Watch outlined pressing rights problems in Russia and concrete steps that EU officials should urge Russia to undertake to address them.
The memorandum addresses: violence against civic activists, restrictions on civil society, rights violations in the North Caucasus, Russia's failure to implement European Court of Human Rights judgments on Chechnya, and abuses against migrant workers.
Human Rights Watch called on the EU not to limit engagement with Russia on human rights only to the twice yearly human rights consultations.
While these consultations provide an important forum for working-level discussions on specific human rights topics, raising human rights at the summit level sends the key political messages that human rights form an integral part of the EU-Russia relationship, and that the situation in Russia is urgent, Human Rights Watch said.
Human Rights Watch called upon the EU to underscore in particular the urgent need to protect human rights defenders and civic activists. In the past year, violence and threats against those who speak out about abuses or work for justice for victims have reached crisis levels.
Since the last EU-Russia summit at least three brazen murders of civic activists have taken place in Chechnya, and another occurred in Ingushetia just last month. Other activists have been subjected to violent attacks, threats, harassment, and intimidation; and state officials have made numerous, hostile public statements against independent groups. Most of these individuals work on issues related to the North Caucasus.
"The precedent set by these attacks, together with violence against activists in other parts of Russia, indicates that this is an all-Russia crisis," Gill said. "The EU should press Russia to take real steps to protect activists and bring their attackers to justice. Russia can't be a vibrant democracy without a vibrant civil society."
Human Rights Watch also called on the European Union to urge Russia to fully implement the European Court of Human Rights judgments on Chechnya. In 119 judgments to date, the European Court has held Russia responsible for serious human rights violations in Chechnya, including enforced disappearances, extrajudicial executions, and torture. It almost all cases, the court also found Russia responsible for failing to investigate these crimes properly.
Following a judgment, Russia has an obligation not only to pay the monetary compensation and legal fees awarded by the court, but also to implement measures in each individual case to rectify the violations, as well as to adopt policy and legal changes (also known as general measures) to prevent similar violations from recurring.
Russia generally has paid the compensation and legal fees in a timely manner. But in cases from Chechnya, it has failed to meaningfully carry out the core of the judgments, requiring it to ensure effective investigations and hold perpetrators accountable. Only one perpetrator in any of the cases decided by the European Court has been brought to justice, even though several others are known, and even named in court judgments.
The EU should make the implementation of European Court judgments on Chechnya a priority in its talks with Russian leaders, Human Rights Watch said.
"The EU should make it clear that carrying out the European Court's judgments on Chechnya means not only doing right by the victims, but showing Russia's willingness to abide by the rule of law," Gill said.
