UN demands from Russia to answer questions about human rights violations in Caucasus

Russian authorities must answer questions about the situation with extrajudicial executions in Northern Caucasus, pressure on journalists and human rights defenders, and cases of torture and domestic violence, the Human Rights Committee of the United Nations (UN) has stated.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that this June, 12 human rights organizations of Russia submitted to the UN a report on the non-observance of human rights in the country, especially pointing out to the totalitarian regime in Chechnya, which controls all spheres of life, including the private one.

Russia should answer the questions in a few months; and the UN will consider them in 2021. The UN asks the Russian authorities to report on the progress of investigations into human rights violations in the regions of Northern Caucasus. Among them are reports of extrajudicial executions, kidnappings and secret detentions. The UN committee also pointed to the harassment of journalists and human rights defenders, including the case of Oyub Titiev, the head of the Chechen Branch of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", who was accused of drug possession.

The UN is also concerned about the tightening of sanctions for participation in protests, and pressure on human rights NGOs, including the fines imposed on the HRC "Memorial".

Thanks to rights defenders' reports, the UN is for the first time asking Russia questions about female genital mutilations in Northern Caucasus and the persecution of LGBT people in Chechnya, said Tatiana Glushkova, a lawyer of the HRC "Memorial". According to her story, the UN Human Rights Committee has no enforcement mechanisms, and the main method of influence is publicity.