Letter to the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

Much of Human Rights Watch’s work in Russia in recent years has focused on the rights of persons who are in the custody of the state or are otherwise dependent on the state for their survival: conscript soldiers in the armed forces, children in state orphanages, and those internally displaced as a result of the armed conflict in Chechnya. With respect to these vulnerable groups, we found Russia to be in breach of its obligations under the Covenant to ensure the right to adequate food (article 11.2), to physical and mental health (article 12), to education (article 13), and to shelter (article 11.1).