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EU: Use Russia Summit to Build Reform Momentum

21 May 2009 13:56:00 GMT
Source: Human Rights Watch

(Moscow) - European Union leaders should build on President Dmitri Medvedev's recently expressed readiness for human rights reform by pushing for concrete and urgently needed changes at the upcoming EU-Russia summit, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to EU heads of state. The summit is scheduled for May 21 and 22 in the far eastern city of Khabarovsk.
"Medvedev has given strong public signals that he is ready to strengthen civil society and support human rights and freedoms," said Allison Gill, Russia office director for Human Rights Watch. "The EU should jump at this chance to work with him to make some real and urgently needed changes."
In its letter in advance of the summit, Human Rights Watch urged EU leaders to press for reform on two issues. One is the hostile and deteriorating environment in Russia for civil society, including a 2006 restrictive law on nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). The other is Moscow's failure to comply with the rising number of European Court of Human Rights judgments that have found Russia responsible for serious human rights violations in Chechnya.
In April, Medvedev acknowledged the difficulties faced by nongovernmental organizations, including "restrictions... without sufficient justification" imposed by the NGO law and the fact that many government officials view NGOs as a threat. He later formed a working group to draft changes to the law.
"While President Medvedev stopped short of making specific commitments on reform, he recognized that reform was necessary," said Gill. "Forming the working group was a good first step. Now the EU should encourage Russia to ensure that the process is open and inclusive, and that it results in meaningful improvements."
Russia's NGO law subjects Russian and foreign NGOs to excessive government scrutiny and interference, and burdens Russia's NGOs with unreasonable bureaucratic requirements.
Some Russian human rights NGOs and activists also face attacks and threats. Human Rights Watch said the goal of these attacks, especially against those who speak out about torture, abductions, and extrajudicial executions in the North Caucasus, can only be to silence these important voices for human rights and the rule of law.
The Human Rights Watch letter also called on the EU to press Russia to comply fully with the European Court rulings on Chechnya, a step that is essential to ending abuses in the North Caucasus region.
In nearly 100 rulings to date, the court has repeatedly found Russia responsible for grave human rights violations in Chechnya, including torture, "disappearances," and extrajudicial executions. Russia has generally paid court-ordered monetary compensation to the victims. But it has failed to undertake effective investigations, which the court has repeatedly ordered it to do, and to address the underlying causes of abuse in order to prevent similar violations in the future.
The Russian government is the only Council of Europe member state that has not ratified protocol 14 to the European Convention on Human Rights, which would streamline cases for the overburdened court.
"The court rulings provide the EU with a golden opportunity to persuade Russia to take the action necessary to break the cycle of abuse in Chechnya," said Gill.
Human Rights Watch's letter to EU leaders outlines a number of steps they should ask Russia to take in the context of the summit, including the following:

Establish a transparent process to reform the NGO law that involves meaningful consultations with NGOs, legal experts, and other stakeholders;
Foster an environment in which civil society can operate freely by imposing only such regulations on NGOs that are strictly compatible with international standards and absolutely necessary, and narrowly defining the terms under which the government can interfere in legitimate private citizen activity;
Amend the NGO law to streamline the registration process so that NGOs can register in a prompt and straightforward manner, remove the most restrictive and intrusive provisions of the law - such as those that allow authorities to conduct unlimited inspections and attend all NGO events, and provide remedies other than liquidation for violations of the NGO law, which can help noncompliant NGOs to come into compliance;
Ratify the full Protocol 14 to the European Convention on Human Rights;
Re-open investigations in cases where the European Court of Human Rights has determined that prior investigations were inadequate and conduct the investigations in a manner that ensures they are meaningful and effective, resulting in those responsible for violations being brought to justice;
Undertake a thorough review and revision of domestic legislation and regulations regarding the use of force by military or security forces to ensure their compliance with human rights law.

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