In Crimea, the United Nations has consistently condemned human rights violations committed by the occupying authorities of the Russian Federation. Meanwhile, in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas, forces backed by Russian authorities are persecuting human rights defenders and expanding the “existing climate of fear limiting the exercise of fundamental freedoms”, according to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. In the Georgian territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, where local authorities are supported by Russia, the UN high commissioner for human rights notes reports of ongoing human rights violations. Belarusian authorities, which have shutdown every human rights organisation in the country and effectively criminalised human rights work, continue to enjoy diplomatic, military, and political support from Russia.
Russian influence across the region impedes democratic transitions and supports an anti-human rights and anti-civil society agenda through governments and non-state actors including the Orthodox Church and radical far-Right groups. Dozens of countries have enacted legislation strikingly similar to Russia’s which attack and criminalise legitimate human rights work. Even within the European Union, we see authoritarian leaders taking pages out of the Russian anti-human rights playbook. In Bulgaria, Hungary and Poland, the authorities are actively seeking to delegitimise independent media and human rights defenders.
As the world’s attention is understandably focused on avoiding the outbreak of armed conflict in Eastern Europe, the international community must concurrently address the security crisis and push back against the human rights crisis perpetrated by the Russian authorities.
While separate, the crises are intertwined and insufficient attention is being paid to human rights. Russia must be brought onto the agenda of international and regional human rights bodies and mechanisms in order to formally scrutinise the actions of the Russian authorities. States should push for country visits to Russia, occupied Crimea and other territories under Russia’s control, by relevant UN Special Procedures mandate holders and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, EU, and Council of Europe experts and rapporteurs.
At the same time, governments can and must offer concrete protection and support to human rights defenders facing reprisal and their families. If and as the human rights crisis in Russia and in territories controlled by Russia continues to worsen, the international community must consider additional steps to hold individuals responsible for those violations accountable. The Russian human rights crisis is both a domestic and international crisis and the international community must maintain its focus accordingly.