On 23 June 2010, PACE unanimously adopted the resolution based on a report by the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights. The fouteen points resolution states that: “the situation in the North Caucasus, particularly in the Chechen Republic, Ingushetia and Dagestan, constitutes today the most serious and most delicate situation from a standpoint of safeguarding human rights and upholding rule of law, in the entire geographical area covered by the Council of Europe.”

Members of the Assembly paid tribute to human rights activists, lawyers and journalists working in difficult circumstances, often endangering their lives, in order to help victims obtain justice and denounce abuses.

Recommendation for the Committee of Ministers
PACE also adopted a recommendation for the Committee of Ministers, calling on them to directly monitor Russia’s commitments in the North Caucasus.

The resolution invites the Committee of Ministers to:

– pay the utmost attention to the development of the human rights situation in the North Caucasus;
– in enforcing the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights concerning this region, emphasise the prompt and complete elucidation of the cases in which the Court has ascertained an absence of effective investigation;
– consider creating, within the Council of Europe and with the collaboration of non-governmental organisations working in this field, a record-keeping system for the witness statements, documents and evidence substantiating human rights violations committed in the region, in the firm belief that genuine lasting conciliation has to be attained through an effort of recollection and truth.

The resolution recommends that the Committee of Ministers assign itself the monitoring of the Russian Federation’s commitments concerning the state of democracy, human rights and rule of law as regards the situation in the North Caucasus (Declaration of the Committee of Ministers on compliance with commitments accepted by member states of the Council of Europe of 10 November 1994, paragraph 1, third indent).

No protection for human rights defenders
Many of the concerns outlined by the report and resolution reflect the repeated calls made by Article 19 and other organisations to the Russian government.

In the 29 April 2010 statement, Article 19 highlighted the complete lack of security and protection for media workers and human rights defenders in the region. The statement emphasized increasing harassment and violence, continued misuse of legislation to suppress criticism and independent voices, and a lack of proper investigation into murders and assaults.

The Russian government has systematically failed to address these concerns.

The statement also underlined how defamation laws are still being used to harass and silence independent media and human rights defenders.

In October 2009 Article 19 also submitted a report to the United Nations Human Rights Committee. This submission criticised the killings, kidnappings and physical attacks against journalists, media and civil society representatives that continue to go unpunished in the North Caucasus.

Orlov’s case
In the case of Oleg Orlov (picture below), head of human rights organisation Memorial, court proceedings, including a summons for 6 July, have continued despite a public retraction of the complaint by the plaintiff, Chechnya’s President Ramzan Kadyrov.

These relate to the publication on 15 July 2009 of a statement by Orlov in which he indicated that he believed that Kadyrov or his administration, were morally responsible for the murder of human rights defender Natalia Estemirova.

Oleg Orlov had received in December 2009 the European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.

ARTICLE 19 calls on the Russian government to implement the calls within PACE’s resolution and use this opportunity to take full responsibility for freedom of expression violations in the region.

Contacts
For more information please contact: Nathalie Losekoot, Senior Programme Officer, nathalie@article19.org, +44 20 7324 2500.

HRH London, based on organisation’s Article19 press release and Council’s of Europe information.

Related links:

Russia: freedom of expression remains under threat in the North Caucasus

Kadyrov drops charges against two human rights defenders but pressure continues