Daily Maverick
Dailymaverick logo

Africa

Africa, South Africa, Maverick Citizen, Ukraine Crisis

Russian activists appeal to Africa to take a stand for human rights at UN

Russian activists appeal to Africa to take a stand for human rights at UN
Russian policemen detain a person taking part in an unauthorized protest against Russia's partial military mobilization due to the conflict in Ukraine, in downtown Moscow, Russia, 24 September 2022. Russian President Putin announced in a televised address to the nation on 21 September, that he signed a decree on partial mobilization in the Russian Federation. Russian citizens who are in the reserve will be called up for military service. On 24 February 2022 Russian troops entered the Ukrainian territory in what the Russian president declared a 'Special Military Operation', starting an armed conflict that has provoked destruction and a humanitarian crisis. (Photo: EPA-EFE / MAXIM SHIPENKOV)
Violetta Fitsner
By Violetta Fitsner
28 Sep 2022
Facebook
1
Russian society needs support from the international community now more than ever. Russian civil society needs new means for addressing human rights violations at the international level. This is why we have been repeatedly calling for the creation of a mandate for a UN Special Rapporteur to collect, examine, assess and document relevant information on systematic human rights violations in Russia.

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 left no sphere of Russian society untouched by extensive repression and human rights violations. For years, the Kremlin and the security services had been steadily building a massive machine of oppression, which effectively contributed to the aggression against Ukraine by preventing principled opposition to Vladimir Putin’s action. The sheer scale of Russia’s efforts to subvert human rights at home and abroad requires urgent action from the international community.  

During the past decade, the only response that protesters and activists received from the state was suppression of any forms of protest by use of violence, torture, criminal prosecution and threats. Nevertheless, Russians protested against the full-scale invasion from its very first hours. 

We created OVD-Info, an independent human rights media project, to monitor those facing political persecution. Since 24 February, we have documented almost 19,000 arrests for anti-war expression, hundreds of gross violations and hampered access to justice. After the mobilisation was announced last week, the security forces started conscripting detained anti-war protesters. 

A poster featuring the bloodied face of Russian President Vladimir Putin was put up during a protest against the war in Ukraine in front of the Russia Embassy in Riga, Latvia, on 17 March 2022. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Toms Kalnins)



Furthermore, by strengthening repressive legislation and increasing controls over the internet, the authorities rapidly established military censorship to silence dissenting voices. 

More than 138,000 web resources were blocked, including all independent media outlets reporting on war, websites of NGOs and human rights defenders’ social media profiles, and even the platforms themselves, such as Facebook and Instagram. The authorities completely shut down access to fact-based sources of information while total control over legacy media allowed the state to peddle false pro-war narratives, framing annexation as “liberation” and actions of the invading military-appointed administrations as “acts of peoples’ self-determination”. 

Read more in Daily Maverick: “More than 1,000 people detained at anti-war protests in Russia – protest monitor” 

On top of that, new repressive laws were adopted, banning any anti-war expression under the threat of administrative and criminal liability. Undeterred, people did express their disagreement with the war. There are now 264 people who have been criminally prosecuted for their dissent. More than 4,000 administrative charges have been brought for “discrediting the use of the Russian army”. 

Russian police detain protesters during an unauthorised demonstration against the partial mobilisation due to the war in Ukraine, in central Saint Petersburg on 21 September 2022. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Anatoly Maltsev)


Civil society targeted


During the past decade, the state also endeavoured to eliminate civil society with the help of gradually harsher legislation and practices, such as the law on “foreign agents”, “undesirable organisations” and the abuse of anti-extremist legislation. 

The resulting systematic and prolonged suppression of human rights led to the paralysation of society, the lack of direct influence by citizens on political decisions, diminishing capacity in forming public opinion from below, and a near total paralysis in confronting the Russian aggression in Ukraine.  



Visit Daily Maverick's home page for more news, analysis and investigations



At the same time, representatives of Russian civil society have few means at their disposal for addressing human rights violations committed within Russia. Earlier in 2022, Russia was expelled from the Council of Europe, and since then UN mechanisms have become vital and the only remaining avenue of international justice for ordinary Russians. 

Yet, twice now, Russia failed to attend the review by the UN Human Rights Committee in an obvious attempt to avoid accountability for its human rights violations.

Read more in Daily Maverick: “War crimes were committed in Ukraine, says UN-mandated inquiry”   

Russian society needs support from the international community now more than ever. Russian civil society needs new means for addressing human rights violations at the international level.   

Russian police detain a woman protesting against Russia's partial military mobilisation for the war in Ukraine, in downtown Moscow on 24 September 2022. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Maxim Shipenkov)



This is why we have been repeatedly calling for the creation of a mandate for a UN Special Rapporteur to collect, examine, assess and document relevant information on systematic human rights violations in Russia. 

Fortunately, the calls have been heard and a resolution is expected to be introduced at the ongoing session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Read more in Daily Maverick: “Russia set to annex Ukrainian regions; US warns Kremlin on nukes”  

We believe it is time to take a meaningful step to address Russia’s unprecedented crackdown on human rights. Therefore, we hope that states, especially those throughout Africa, will answer the call we made and endorse this resolution in the face of political pressure from Russia. DM/MC

Violetta Fitsner is a Russian human rights defender and member of OVD-Info, a leading human rights media project on freedom of assembly and political persecution.

 

Categories:

Tags: