UN Authority Figures

UN Human Rights Council: Russia

Nearly 8,000 people have been killed in the Ukrainian conflict since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014. Source: The Washington Free Beacon, September 18, 2015

Mission of the Human Rights Council:
"The General Assembly...2. Decides that the Council shall be responsible for promoting universal respect for the protection of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, without distinction of any kind and in a fair and equal manner; 3. Decides also that the Council should address situations of violations of human rights, including gross and systematic violations, and make recommendations thereon..." (Resolution 60/251)

Russia's Term of office: 2014-2016

Russia's Record on human rights:
"The most significant human rights problems during the year involved: 1. Restrictions on Freedoms of Expression, Assembly, and Association: The government increasingly instituted a range of measures to suppress dissent. The government passed new repressive laws and selectively employed existing ones systematically to harass, discredit, prosecute, imprison, detain, and fine individuals and entities that engaged in activities critical of the government, including NGOs, independent media outlets, bloggers, and the political opposition... 2. Political Prosecutions and Administration of Justice: Officials again denied due process to defendants in politically motivated cases... The government fined selected NGOs and stigmatized them by adding them to a list of registered "foreign agents." Authorities failed to bring to justice the individuals responsible for the deaths of prominent journalists, activists, and whistleblowers. 3. Government Discrimination against Racial, Ethnic, Religious, and Sexual Minorities:... Other problems reported during the year included: allegations of torture and excessive force by law enforcement officials, life-threatening prison conditions, electoral irregularities, widespread corruption, violence against women, limits on the rights of women... In February the armed forces unlawfully entered Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and then occupied and attempted to "annex" the Crimean peninsula in March. The international community denounced the occupation and refused to recognize the country's purported annexation of Crimea. The government also trained, equipped, and supplied pro- Russia "separatist" forces in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts of eastern Ukraine, who were joined by numerous fighters from Russia. International monitors and human rights nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) attributed thousands of civilian deaths and injuries, as well as widespread human rights abuses, to Russia- backed separatists in the Donbas region and the Russian occupation authorities in Crimea. " (US State Department's Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2014, Russia)

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