Brussels, 24/01/2014 (Agence Europe) - On 23 January, for the second year in a row, the commissioner for human rights, democracy and the rule of law from the Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry, Konstantin Dolgov, presented his report on the human rights situation in the EU in 2013. “We are not saying that democracy is in danger in the EU, just that it is not perfect, that problems exist and some of them have become worse”, Dolgov said. According to the 100-page report, “the EU's most pressing human rights issues always include continued growth in xenophobia, racism, violent nationalism, chauvinism and naziism”. The document also underlines that, in the current economic and financial crisis, “serious violations of minority rights, and of the rights of refugees and migrants are growing, and the social rights of citizens are violated”. The lack of protection for children's rights, gender inequality, and the abuse of police power continue to be serious, the report states. “The facts proving systematic and massive violations of private life and infringements of the freedom of expression and the media are particular cause for concern”, the report adds. Dolgov also stressed the violations of Russian minority rights in the Baltic countries.
Aggressive promotion of sexual rights of minorities. For the first time, the report also highlights “aggressive promotion of the sexual rights of minorities”. “Attempts have been made to apply an alien view of homosexuality and same sex marriages to other countries as a way of life and a sort of natural social phenomenon which deserves support at the level of the state”, the report notes. It also underlines that such an approach is meeting with resistance and the report takes the example of the protests in France against gay marriage.
Who monitors the states? As at the presentation of the first report in December 2012 (see EUROPE 10747), Dolgov again asked who the person responsible for human rights in the EU was. In his view, the member states are not monitored seriously and there is no effective response. “The problem is the implementation and the control of the implementation” of the European Charter of Fundamental Rights, Dolgov said. “If you position yourself as an advocate of democracy you must be coherent in what you say and do”, he added.
“The report is an invitation to look at the problems, to become more effectively involved with them and to develop international cooperation to resolve these issues with us”, Dolgov concluded.
The report can be consulted on http://www.mid.ru
Europeans watching Russia closely. The previous day, human rights protesters criticised the situation in Russia during a hearing in the European Parliament's human rights committee.
In the view of Tanya Lokshina, the director of the Russia programme at Human Rights Watch, the recent release of people from prison has come about because of the approach of the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi (7-23 February).. “But this does not show a trend for improvement. There isn't really any impact on the rule of law in a country where the system is still subject to political manipulation”, she said. In Lokshina's opinion, there has been an unprecedented crackdown on civil society since Vladimir Putin's return to power. “After Sochi, the world will stop focusing on Russia. Our fear is that the crackdown will be resumed even more”, she said. Lokshina called on Europe not to lose Russia from its sight and she reiterated that the 28 EU member states need to speak with one voice.
Kirill Koroteev, a lawyer at Memorial, criticised the law on NGOs “agents from abroad”, believing it to be “vague”, and that “it strikes blindly” “at the goodwill of justice”. Wanja Kilder de Quarteera criticised the “witch hunt against homosexuals” (our translation throughout). (CG/transl.fl)