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2023-10-05 International-UN-NGOs
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UN Special Rapporteur listed human rights violations in the North Caucasus
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Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
 [KavkazUzel] In the North Caucasus, there is widespread use of torture, extrajudicial executions, forced disappearances, and in Chechnya, in particular, harsh suppression of political opponents, infringement of women's rights and persecution of people of non-traditional sexual orientation are widespread, noted the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Russia Mariana Katsarova.
As the "Caucasian Knot" wrote, during the years of the counter-terrorism operation and the rule of Ramzan Kadyrov, thousands of people disappeared in Chechnya, but Russia did not take measures to investigate their disappearances, says the report of human rights activists Oleg Orlov and Alexander Cherkasov. They called on the OSCE to take measures to investigate the abductions, in particular, to establish an international court for crimes against humanity in Chechnya.
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The human rights organization Amnesty International, in a submission to the UN High Commissioner, noted the worsening situation with human rights violations in Russia. The organization highlighted cases of persecution of government critics and human rights activists in Chechnya, noting that critics of local authorities in Chechnya are being arbitrarily arrested and subjected to forced disappearances amid the prevailing impunity in the region. Participants in the discussion “Abductions and Enforced Disappearances in the North Caucasus” noted that during the second Chechen campaign alone, up to five thousand people became victims of forced disappearances, and over the past 30 years, about 8 thousand people have disappeared in the North Caucasus. At the same time, cases of punishment of security forces are rare, and their impunity leads to the reproduction of such crimes.
Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Russia Mariana Katsarova at the 54th session of the UN Human Rights Council on human rights in Russia highlighted the North Caucasus, pointing out that among the key human rights problems in the North Caucasus is the widespread use of torture , extrajudicial executions, forced disappearances and detention without trial, the Memorial Human Rights Center reported today.
The report notes that Chechnya's leadership is often criticized for suppressing any political dissent and severely restricting freedom of peaceful assembly and association, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press. The reprisals and murders of independent journalists still remain uninvestigated, human rights activists said in a publication.
It also states that persecution of LGBTIQ+ people includes reports of men being rounded up and tortured based on their perceived sexual orientation. Women's rights are also infringed, their role in public life is limited, and those who commit “honor crimes” remain unpunished.
Among other human rights violations in Russia, Katsarova, in particular, highlighted the application of the law on foreign agents, on discrediting the army, mobilization for participation in the military operation in Ukraine, the lack of independence of courts and government human rights structures, restrictions on freedom of speech and freedom of expression.
Among the recommendations of the special rapporteur, in particular, is to introduce criminal liability for torture into national legislation in full compliance with the requirements of the Convention against Torture, take measures to prevent discrimination, stigmatization, hate speech, violence and other violations of human rights and persecution based on sexual orientation and gender identity, as well as repeal the provisions of current legislation in this area, ensure respect for the right to conscientious objection, both at the legislative level and in practice.
The Memorial Center also sent summary texts to Katsarova about the abuse of counter-terrorism laws; new legislation that violates freedom of speech; about political prisoners; violation of the right to a fair trial; on the suppression of political opposition; forced mobilization and other types of rights violations, human rights activists indicated.
“In the text, the speaker said that the Russian government twice refused to communicate with her and emphasized that it did not recognize her appointment and would ignore any of her appeals and reports. However, Ms. Katsarova received, analyzed and revised about 100 written appeals from Russian human rights activists, fitting them into a laconic report of 20 pages,” noted Memorial Center lawyer Tamilla Imanova.
Earlier, in particular, the Memorial Human Rights Center together with the public organization Ecodefense pointed out human rights violations in the North Caucasus in their alternative report to the UN on the observance of human rights in Russia.
Women and LGBTIQ+ people in the North Caucasus are often discriminated against when exercising their social and cultural rights. “They are forced to conform to local traditions, otherwise they may be subject to violence, including honor killings. Authorities often do not investigate such cases, citing local traditions of non-interference in family affairs or the need to follow “traditional values”, and also interpret traditions in a way that support discrimination and violence against women.
In the North Caucasus, women are often subject to violent acts - forced marriages and bride kidnappings, female circumcision, forced separation from their children in case of divorce. Women, especially young girls, are also pressured to return from foreign countries, to live in “traditional relations” in the North Caucasus. All of these practices have a negative impact on the social status of women in the North Caucasus, which is often considered lower than that of men. Women are often deprived of the freedom to choose their lifestyle, cultural values, education and work,” the text of the report dated August 9 says.
It is impossible for LGBTIQ+ people to express their identity due to the high risk of becoming victims of honor killings and various forms of violence - kidnapping, illegal detention and false accusations of criminal activity, human rights activists emphasized. “Traditional social norms in the North Caucasus regions of Russia justify violence against LGBTIQ+ people, including torture and murder. Conversion therapy clinics are widespread, where victims are subjected to physical and psychological violence and where they are turned in by their own relatives. The authorities do not combat these negative practices and often support them with inciting hate speech against LGBTIQ+ people and the need to follow so-called “traditional values,” says the text posted on the Memorial center’s website.
The "Caucasian Knot" publishes materials about human rights violations in Chechnya, Kadyrov's attacks on the opposition and his fight against dissidents in the republic on the thematic page "Dissent in Chechnya".
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Posted by badanov 2023-10-05 00:00||
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