Human Rights Council

Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group

4th session (2-13 February 2009)

Russian Federation
On 4 February 2009 the UPR Working Group reviewed the human rights situation in the
Russian Federation. The Working Group members (troika), selected to facilitate the review
were Bahrain, Chile and Ghana.

For more information on the UPR process, see:

http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/UPR/Pages/UPRMain.aspx

Background Documents

National Report
In Russian:
http://lib.ohchr.org/HRBodies/UPR/Documents/Session4/RU/A_HRC_WG6_4_RUS_1_R.PDF
In English:
http://lib.ohchr.org/HRBodies/UPR/Documents/Session4/RU/A_HRC_WG6_4_RUS_1_E.PDF

Compilation of information from UN sources

In Russian:
http://lib.ohchr.org/HRBodies/UPR/Documents/Session4/RU/A_HRC_WG6_4_RUS_2_R.PDF
In English:
http://lib.ohchr.org/HRBodies/UPR/Documents/Session4/RU/A_HRC_WG6_4_RUS_2_E.PDF

Summary of information received from other stakeholders

A total of 17 Civil Society Organizations made submissions to the UPR.

In Russian:
http://lib.ohchr.org/HRBodies/UPR/Documents/Session4/RU/A_HRC_WG6_4_RUS_3%20Russian%20Federati
on_R.pdf
In English
http://lib.ohchr.org/HRBodies/UPR/Documents/Session4/RU/A_HRC_WG6_4_RUS_3_E.PDF

Outcome of the Review

Report of the UPR Working Group (in English only)

http://lib.ohchr.org/HRBodies/UPR/Documents/Session4/RU/A_HRC_WG6_4_L5_RUS_E.PDF

NB: These documents are also available from the LWF Office for International Affairs and Human Rights
on request. Please contact:
Patrik Sebastian Schmidt
Office for International Affairs & Human Rights/LWF
Email: psc@lutheranworld.org

P.O. Box 2100, Route de Ferney 150,

CH-1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland
Tel +41/22-791 63 65
Fax +41/22-791 66 30, E-mail psc@lutheranworld.org
Introduction

The delegation of the Russian Federation was headed by Mr. Alexander Konovalov, Minister
of Justice of the Russian Federation. The delegation presented the national report on the
situation of human rights in the Russian Federation.

During the interactive dialogue that followed, 55 delegations (member states and observers)
made statements and posed questions. Among the discussed issues were:

Concerns and Recommendations

These concerns and recommendations were expressed during the interactive dialogue.
The response of the Russian Federation to these recommendations will be included in
the outcome report to be adopted by the Human Rights Council at its eleventh session.

Signing and Ratification

Sign and/or ratify:

- Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political

Rights (Germany, Australia)
- Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of
Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography (Slovakia)
- Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (United Kingdom, Brazil,
Mexico)
- Rome Statue on the ICC
- Convention for the Protection of Migrant Workers and their families (Egypt)
- Convention for the Elimination of the Enforced Disappearances of Persons
(Argentina, Mexico)
- The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Mexico)
- ILO Convention 169 concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples (Mexico)
- Protocol No. 14 to the European Convention on Human Rights (prohibition of
discrimination) (Finland, Ukraine, Slovenia)

Special Procedures

Issue (Brazil, France, Czech Republic, Slovenia) and implement (Czech

Republic) a standing invitation to all United Nations Special Procedures (Brazil,
France, Czech Republic, Slovenia) as well as to all thematic special procedures
(Switzerland).

Find an agreement as soon as possible on the visit of the Special Rapporteur on torture
(Switzerland, United Kingdom) and his visit to North Caucasus under his usual terms of
operation (Denmark).
The visit by the Working Group on enforced or involuntary Disappearances should take place
within 1009 (Norway).
Submit as quickly as possible information on alleged forced disappearances cases to the
Working Group (Japan).

Death penalty

Implement its announcement to abolish the death penalty de iure (Germany, Australia) and
consider officially establishing a moratorium on executions (Brazil).

Counter terrorism

Revise the federal law on countering terrorism and the law on extremism to ensure their
compatibility with international obligations of the Russian Federation (Mexico).

Racial discrimination

Systematically condemn and prosecute racist and xenophobic violence (Belgium, Switzerland,
Austria, Norway).
Set up a national mechanism to counter the phenomena of racist violence and to gather
reliable statistics in this regard (Belgium, Ireland, Austria).
Strengthen the legislative framework in the area of non-discrimination with a special attention
to gender equality, ethnic minority, indigenous people and migrants regardless of their
minority status (Mexico)
.

Discrimination on the basis of gender and sexual orientation

Take concrete policy measures to promote equality between men and women (Algeria,
Belarus and non-discrimination of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and transgender persons
(Netherlands).

Legal reforms and human rights accountability

Strengthen its efforts to reform the justice system according to international standards,
especially with a view to:

- establish accessible accountability mechanisms to ensure transparency in the

investigation and prosecution of human rights violations (New Zealand)
- increase the independence of the judiciary and strengthen oversight of the
implementation of human rights legislation (Ne Zealand, Australia)
- overcome challenges such as corruption, and lacking accountability of the public
administration as well as a rational division of responsibility between federal and
regional levels of Government (Italy, Vietnam)
Human Rights defenders, Journalists and Criminalization of NGOs

Review the extremism and NGO laws to ensure their compatibility with international human
rights obligations and standards including the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights
Defenders (Slovakia, The Netherlands).

Promote the rights of human rights defenders and journalists to freedom of expression,
association and assembly (Slovakia, Australia, Italy).

Intensify its efforts made to investigate practices of harassment and aggression

against journalists and lawyers and punish their perpetrators, including those as referred to in
paragraphs 18, 21, 24 and 58 of the report (Switzerland, Norway, United Kingdom, The
Netherlands, France, Ireland).

Adopt appropriate measures to disseminate widely and ensure full observance of the
Declaration on Human Rights Defenders. The Declaration, as well as all other human rights
standards, should in particular be made available to schools and institutions of higher
education (Norway).

Torture

Combat torture by effectively addressing concern s of the Committee against Torture over
many ongoing allegations of torture and ill-treatment committed by law enforcement
personnel (Denmark) and the concerns of the High Commissioner for Human Rights about the
use of torture in the Chechen Republic (Australia).

Establish the national preventive mechanism of the Convention against Torture (Czech
Republic, Algeria)

Detention

Provide law enforcement officials with human rights training focusing on protection of human
rights of women, children, national minorities and persons of minority sexual orientation or
gender identity (Czech Republic).

Ensure investigation and punishment of all cases of violation of human rights by law
enforcement officials (Czech Republic).

Improve conditions in prisons, particularly in pre-trial detention facilities (Czech Republic,

Algeria)
Encourage the use of non-custodial options in pre-trail detention, especially in cases where
there are pregnant prisoners and prisoners with children and where women are detained.
Also, put in place policies to ensure that all children are able to maintain contact with their
mothers (New Zealand).
Domestic violence

Adopt specific law on domestic violence (Czech Republic, South Africa).

Establish shelters and safe housing for victims of domestic violence, that would be locally
accessible and sufficiently and sustainably funded (Czech Republic, New Zealand, Sweden).

Child rights

Establish a juvenile justice system that not only strives to punish, but rather to help juveniles
to re-integrate into society (Austria, Czech Republic).

Continue its efforts to reduce the number of children without parental care (Algeria).

Enhance its efforts to provide equal educational opportunities for children with disabilities,
including by abolishing the practice of “corrective” and “auxiliary schools”, by providing the
necessary support and by ensuring that teachers are trained to educate children with
disabilities in regular schools (Liechtenstein)

Economic, social and cultural rights

In the current world economic crisis, step up its efforts for the protection of economic, social
and cultural rights for the most vulnerable segments of the population including the migrants
(Algeria).

Indigenous People

Implement the recommendations raised by CERD as to how to improve the situation of the
indigenous communities (Denmark)

Intensify its efforts to ensure provision of education in minority languages (Finland, Ukraine).

Russian Occupation of Abkhazia and South Ossetia

In the view of the Russian Federation, the recommendations contained in the report in
paragraph 54 are not relevant as they do not comply with the basis of the review stipulated in
HRC Resolution 5/1 “Institution-building of the United Nations Human Rights Council.”

Georgia recommended that Russia de-occupy the territories of Georgia – Abkhazia and
Tskhinvali region including South Ossetia, and until remaining in the territories in question, to
comply with the obligations of an occupying power, set up by the rules of the international
humanitarian law.
It recommended halting forced distribution of passports certifying Russian citizenship among
ethnic Georgians in the occupied territories controlled by the Russian armed forces.
 ***

For further information please contact:

Patrik Sebastian Schmidt

Office for International Affairs & Human Rights
The Lutheran World Federation
P.O. Box 2100, Route de Ferney 150
CH-1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland
Tel +41 22 791 63 65
Fax +41 22 791 66 30
E-mail: psc@lutheranworld.org
www.lutheranworld.org