Human Rights

Universal periodic review - Russian Federation

Questions/Recommendations from New Zealand, Wednesday 4 February 2009

New Zealand welcomes the delegation of the Russian Federation to the Council. We value this opportunity to engage with the Russian Federation on human rights, particularly during its term as a Council member.

The Russian Federation has made significant strides forward in recognising and protecting the rights of its citizens, and has put in place much of the legislative framework necessary to protect human rights. However, we note that a common thread in the OHCHR compilation reports is that many of these legislative protections are not being properly implemented, and that there is an underlying climate of impunity.
 
We welcome President Medvedev’s prioritisation of judicial reform and rule of law.  What processes have been established to progress judicial reform and promote the rule of law, and how will proposed reforms incorporate human rights?

• New Zealand recommends that the Russian Federation prioritise the establishment of meaningful and accessible accountability mechanisms to ensure transparency in the investigation and prosecution of human rights violations, provide effective remedies and legal redress for victims, and take measures to increase the independence of the judiciary and strengthen oversight of the implementation, at the State level, of national human rights legislation.

The compilation reports highlight a lack of official statistics on the extent of domestic violence and the absence of legislative protections for women, noting that these lead to an ongoing culture of impunity for these crimes.  However, the Russian Federation’s national report makes no mention of these issues. 

• New Zealand recommends that the Russian Federation adopt a comprehensive strategy to combat domestic violence. This should include, inter alia, specific legislative measures to prosecute perpetrators of domestic violence, measures to increase victim’s awareness of options to address domestic and family violence, training for government authorities, including the police and judiciary, the collection and analysis of disaggregated data on the  prevalence and prosecution rates for domestic violence, access to effective remedies, the establishment of shelters for victims and media campaigns to raise awareness of the issue.

Concerns have been raised by the Special Rapporteur on racism, Committee on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination and other stakeholders on the profound social, economic and political marginalisation faced by ethnic minorities and other discriminated groups and the increase in racially motivated crimes and attacks. 

• New Zealand recommends that the Russian Federation adopt a clear and comprehensive definition of racial discrimination in its legislation; adopt comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation; intensify efforts to combat racially motivated violence; and improve the collection of statistical data on the number and nature of reported hate crimes. 

We are encouraged to see that the unique situation of children of detainees is mentioned in Russia’s national report, and that facilities are available for children to live with their mothers in prison. We would be interested to know what percentage of mothers in prisons are able to enjoy these facilities, and what steps are taken to ensure that the best interests, rights and development needs of children are met in this environment? New Zealand also understands that in some circumstances, a sentence may be postponed and then cancelled or reduced for pregnant women or women with children under the age of fourteen, but that this option is not utilised in practice.

• New Zealand recommends that the Russian Federation encourage the use of non-custodial options when sentencing or determining pre-trial measures involving pregnant prisoners and prisoners with children. Where women are detained, New Zealand recommends that policies are put in place to ensure that all children are able to maintain contact with their mothers either through being accommodated with them or through regular visits.

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