Posts Tagged ‘european union’
The European Union – Russian Federation human rights
On 17 May 2013, the European Union and the Russian Federation held their seventeenth round of human rights consultations in Brussels, allowing the EU to raise its growing concerns on the developments affecting human rights in the Russian Federation.
Both sides discussed at length the worrying situation of civil society in the Russian Federation, in
particular the wave of restrictive legislation, the recent checks conducted on the basis of the
“foreign agents” law and the ongoing court cases. In that context, the EU confirmed its intention to
continue to follow closely developments affecting NGOs as a whole in the Russian Federation
and expressed among others its concerns at the fining of election monitoring organisation GOLOS
and at the charges brought against ADC Memorial in St Petersburg. Russia expressed openness in
providing detailed clarification as to the implementation of that law and to pursue this dialogue in
more depth on the basis of specific EU observations with the Ministry of Justice in Moscow.
The EU raised a number of specific human rights issues in the Russian Federation, enquired about
the impact of Russia’s efforts to fight against torture and to foster the independence of the
judiciary in light of the recent visit of the UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges
and lawyers. The EU asked Russia to ensure that defence lawyers are able to work freely, in
particular in the Northern Caucasus. The EU also called on Russia to refrain from adopting a federal
legislation on “homosexual propaganda”, which it believed could increase discrimination and
violence against LGBTI individuals. Russia shared its concerns on the situation of non-citizens in
the European Union and on the legislation regulating the use of minority languages in education
systems.
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MEP calls for entry ban on those involved in Russian lawyers’ death
The EU has been urged to impose an entry ban for “all people” incriminated in the death of a Russian anti-corruption lawyer.
Sergei Magnitsky is said to have uncovered what he described as a ‘web of corruption’ involving Russian tax officials.
He is said to have uncovered the theft of more than €152m and, after reporting it to the authorities, he was himself detained on suspicion of aiding tax evasion, and died in custody on 16 November 2009 at the age of 37.
The lawyer’s colleagues insist the case against him was fabricated to make him halt his investigation into a number of high-profile corrupt officials.
Green MEP Werner Schulz, deputy chairman of the EU-Russia parliamentary cooperation committee, has praised the late lawyer for “daring” to speak out against alleged corruption in his country.
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U.S. human-rights measure puts Russia on notice
Finally, there is good news for politically disenfranchised liberals in Russia and for U.S.-Russian relations in the long run.
And that’s not because of Russia’s long-coveted admission to the World Trade Organization next month or the expected scrapping of a Cold War-era law restricting Russian trade with the United States.
Under the boot of Russian President Vladimir Putin for most of the past 12 years, Russian liberals looked with hope to the U.S. Congress to approve a new human-rights bill that would replace the old.
A bill that ties up the scrapping of the old provision — the Jackson-Vanik Amendment — with the adoption of the new one — the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act — was approved in a 24-0 vote earlier this month by the Senate Finance Committee, which gives hope that it will sail through the full Congress.
The 1974 Jackson-Vanik Amendment that denies Russia normal trade relations has been routinely waived by U.S. presidents since 1992, following the downfall of the Soviet Union in 1991. The Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act would deny American visas to corrupt officials and human-rights violators and freeze their U.S. bank accounts. Prompted by a notorious quarter-billion-dollar corruption scandal in Russia, the Magnitsky bill would cover all foreign nations.
A lawyer for Hermitage Capital Management, once the largest foreign investor in Russia, Mr. Magnitsky died in police custody on false charges of tax avoidance after he was arrested for alleging a $230 million state-orchestrated fraud that he had uncovered.
It is critical that the bill is passed despite opposition from the Kremlin and the White House, which is interested in keeping up appearances in this election year.
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Statement to the European parliament about Russian Elections by HR Catherine Ashton
Statement to the European parliament on the outcome of Presidential elections in Russia on behalf of HR CatherineAshton delivered by Danish Foreign Minster Villy Søvndal
Strasbourg 14 March
Mr. President, Honourable Members,
It is my pleasure to be here today to discuss with you the outcome of the Presidential elections in
Russia on behalf of High Representative/Vice-President Ashton.
Let me first of all thank Parliament for the strong voice it has consistently been giving to European
citizens’ concerns about democracy, fair elections and human rights in Russia.
Russia is our largest neighbor, an important business partner and indeed a Strategic Partner for many global and regional issues. So it matters to our citizens what the situation with human rights and the rule of law is in Russia.
Parliament has followed both the Russian State Duma elections of 4 December and the Presidential
elections of 4 March very closely.
It has adopted several resolutions expressing the expectations of European citizens for Russia to live
up to her international commitments to ensure free and fair elections. You have also given High Representative/Vice President Ashton several opportunities to address the Plenary on these crucial issues.
In addition, several hearings have taken place since December on these elections and on human rights more generally, organized by the Foreign Affairs Committee, by the Subcommittee on Human Rights, by the Parliamentary Cooperation Committee with Russia, and by individual political groups.
Catherine Ashton has asked me to thank Parliament for all this important work. She also asked me to in particular convey the message that she shares Parliament’s concerns about the case of the arrest and death in pre-trial detention of lawyer Sergey Magnitsky.
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The European Union – Russian Federation human rights
On 4 May 2011, the European Union and the Russian Federation held their thirteenth round of human rights consultations in Brussels. The consultations were held in an open and constructive atmosphere. The EU and Russia focussed in particular on the rule of law and the working of civil society as well as cooperation in international fora and the fight against discrimination. The EU and Russia also discussed the rights of the child.
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Russian Officials Associated with Khodorkovsky’s verdict face Prospect of Sanctions
The latest verdict to Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev became one of the central items on the agenda of the first meeting of the EU Subcommittee on Human Rights. In fact, all key statements had been made throughout the West even before the meeting of the structure. President of the European Parliament Jerzy Buzek called the verdict a “symbol of systematic problems of the judiciary, legal nihilism, and human rights abuses in Russia.” Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, called it a “disappointment and a cause for concern.”
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