Address to Duma Representatives by Ms. Navanethem Pillay United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

Human Rights Council 16th Session 

Moscow, 16 February 2011

Honourable Members of the Duma,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

          Let me begin by conveying to you and to the Russian people my deepest condolences for the terrorist attack at Moscow's Domodedovo Airport. I condemn this deplorable and unjustifiable act of violence which is an assault against the most fundamental human right of all: the right to life.

          Whether perpetrated with such heinous flagrance, or carried out in less violent ways, or inflicted with subtly debilitating methods, human rights abuses challenge us to remain vigilant, do our utmost to prevent them or, at a minimum, ensure that those responsible are brought to justice.

          Concomitantly with the executive and the judiciary, parliaments share the responsibility to ensure that all individuals under their jurisdiction are protected, that hatful stereotypes do not percolate into national discourse, and that progress does not leave anybody behind.

          It is a great privilege to address the Duma deputies at a time when the country is engaged in a multi-dimensional effort of modernization.  I am confident that the fruitful interaction between my Office and the Russian Federation, under the 2007 “Framework for Cooperation,” can assist you in this highly demanding process of reform.   Indeed, our agreement aims at facilitating support in areas that are integral parts of modernization endeavours, such as the promotion and enhancement of the rule of law, the advancement of equality and tolerance, as well as human rights education.  I am heartened by the good working relations that my staff in Moscow has established with a number of ministries and other Government institutions, the Office of the Federal Human Rights Commissioner, civil society, and academia.

          My visit takes place at a time that is momentous also for human rights advancement on the international scene.  The United Nations Human Rights Council, the pre-eminent human rights intergovernmental institution, is about to undergo its first review after five years of operations.  The Russian Federation has been a member of the Council since its inception in June 2006.  The HRC has 47 elected members, but all States, Members of the Human Rights Council or not, have both a stake and a responsibility to make this UN body more responsive, authoritative and effective.           We must spur greater accountability for action on human rights.  We must assess the Council, its achievements and its shortcomings, through the lens of those who expect protection from the United Nations and its Member States.  

          To this end, it is essential that States give effect to the deliberations of the Council by implementing its resolutions and recommendations.  The latter stem from a process known as the Universal Periodic Review, that is, the periodic assessment of the HRC of the human rights record of all UN Member States.

          Thus far, 143 countries have undergone this review.  The Russian Federation was among the first to be reviewed in February 2009.  This assessment led to 57 recommendations.   Many dealt with your country’s absorption of international human rights law into your national legal system; others addressed problems related to migration, discrimination, and the functioning of the judiciary and law enforcement agencies. These subjects, together with the issue of the Government’s interaction with human rights experts, as well as with civil society, will also be the topics that I will discuss now and in the course of my many meetings in this country.

          I am aware that the Russian Federation has signed several international and regional human rights treaties.  However, it still has to become party to or ratify some other key human rights conventions as well as their optional protocols.  I note that the Government has undertaken to consider acceptance of the Convention for the Elimination of Enforced Disappearances and pledged unconditional support to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which I hope it will soon ratify.  Yet much more needs to be done. Two crucial steps would be the acceptance of the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, as well as the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.  Russian diplomacy has been very active in supporting and in the drafting of these two instruments.  The natural progression of this engagement is accession.

          Of particular concern is also the Government’s stated reluctance to accede to the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.  I am encouraged by the Government’s intention to study the convention and determine whether to accede to it or not.  In our era of global migration and increasing movement across countries, this treaty offers the most comprehensive framework for the protection of the human rights of migrants and the best platform for maximizing the benefits of migration. 

          I recognize that in your country, as elsewhere, migration poses serious policy challenges and has at times strained social infrastructure and mechanisms. Yet Russia shares with many other countries an undeniable need for the labour of migrant workers.  Indeed, the UN and ILO have estimated that Russia may face labour shortages in the near future.

          However, all too often for many foreign migrants, particularly those from Central Asia, but also for Russians in search of better working conditions within this vast country,  the process of migration is not the positive and empowering experience that it should be. Rather, it is reportedly characterized by human rights abuses, discrimination, criminalization of irregular or trafficked migrants, corruption and exploitation, including non-payment (or under-payment) of wages, and forced labour.

          It is my belief that the protection of migrants is one of the most urgent human rights challenges of today.  Thus, it is of the utmost importance that in crafting and applying the law, parliaments, the executive, and the judiciary maintain a human rights approach to migration at the front and centre of their action.  This is done by ensuring that the rights of migrants are upheld at all stages of the migration process, by shielding them from violations, and by bringing the perpetrators of abuse to account. 

          At all times, we should never lose sight of the goal of integrating migrants into the communities where they live and work while respecting their diversity.  It is of crucial importance to put in place vehicles and mechanisms that stimulate the informed participation and contribution of migrants in matters that affect them.

          Education, labour rights, housing, and healthcare are particularly important to the well-being and successful integration of migrants. Yet migrants, particularly those in an irregular position, face many obstacles in securing these literally vital entitlements.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

          The UPR has underscored a need to reform the Russian judiciary and law enforcement practices in order to make them more responsive to human rights.  In particular the Human Rights Council has recommended measures to increase the independence of the judiciary and to strengthen oversight of the implementation of federal human rights legislation and obligations at the State level.  Further, the Council pointed to the need of confronting challenges in the judicial system, including corruption and a lack of transparency and accountability in public administration.  It advocated the eradication of the use of torture and it expressed concerns regarding serious and persistent allegations of ill-treatment of detainees committed by law enforcement personnel.  I am aware that the Government is seeking to address these issues.

          Crucially, the Government should follow up with its pledge to issue more standing invitations to human rights independent experts, known as special procedures mandate holders, as recommended in the course of the UPR. 

          Ten requests are currently pending, including by the mandate holders on trafficking, on human rights and counterterrorism, on torture, and on human rights defenders.  Allow me to remind you that the special procedures experts are the Council’s main vehicles to shine a light on human conditions on the ground.  They are indispensible sources of information and expertise.  Their recommendations for remedial and preventive action represent key human rights tools for the United Nations system and for individual Member States.  Their purpose is to offer beneficial and actionable expert advice, not unwarranted criticism. They should not be seen as biased, Western-inspired apologists, but as independent experts ready to assist Governments to find solutions to prevailing human rights issues.

          Any reality check, however, would be incomplete without the contributions of civil society, including human rights defenders, nongovernmental organizations, and the media.   In this regard, I am particularly alarmed by the lack of tangible and satisfactory results yielded by investigations into the killings, aggression toward, and harassment of human rights advocates, lawyers and journalists.  In 2007, a study covering the decade 1996-2006 by the

International News Safety Institute, a respected not-for-profit charity, rated Russia second among the ten deadliest countries in the world for reporters—Iraq ranked first.  This lack of protection persists.

          Clearly, the Government must take all appropriate action to ensure that perpetrators are held accountable and representatives of civil society are protected.  I cannot overstate the fact that we must exercise utmost vigilance against assaults upon freedom of expression and assembly.  Attacks on such freedoms represent not only abuses of the rights of the victims, but also on the safety and freedom of whole societies.  Ultimately, they lead to an erosion of democratic space for all. 

          In this context, I wish to join the Human Rights Council in urging the Russian Federation to review again its laws on extremism and nongovernmental organizations in order to ensure their compatibility with international human rights obligations and standards, including the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders.

          I realize that, as legislators of such a vast country with a wide variety of peoples, cultures and interests, the task of making human rights a reality for all Russians is monumental.  Yet progress is both urgent and possible.   Rest assured that my Office stands ready to assist you in this demanding endeavor.

          Thank you.