MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the continuous crackdown on civil society and human rights defenders in Russia: the case of human rights organisation Memorial
14.12.2021 - (2021/3018(RSP))
pursuant to Rule 144 of the Rules of Procedure
Pedro Marques, Andrea Cozzolino, Evin Incir, Raphaël Glucksmann
on behalf of the S&D Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B9-0604/2021
B9‑0605/2021
European Parliament resolution on the continuous crackdown on civil society and human rights defenders in Russia: the case of human rights organisation Memorial
The European Parliament,
– having regard to its previous resolutions on Russia, in particular of 19 December 2019 on the Russian ‘Foreign Agents’ Law, of 14 February 2019 on the situation in Chechnya and the case of Oyub Titiev, of 8 February 2018 on Russia, the case of Oyub Titiev and the Human Rights Centre Memorial, and of 23 October 2014 on the closing-down of the NGO Memorial in Russia,
– having regard to the statement by the High Representative/Vice-President of 13 November 2021 on legal steps against the NGO Memorial,
– having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
– having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,
– having regard to the European Convention on Human Rights,
– having regard to the Venice Commission Opinions on the Russian Law on “Foreign Agents”,
– having regard to the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders,
– having regard to Rule 144 of its Rules of Procedure.
A. whereas Memorial (International Memorial Society and Memorial Human Rights Centre) is not only one of Russia’s oldest and most prominent human rights organisations that works to commemorate victims of Stalinist repression, to document, research and educate about political repression and to defend human rights, but also a national symbol of Russia’s active civil society and an international model for organisations working on historical remembrance and the defence of human rights;
B. whereas the European Parliament named its Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought after Memorial’s co-founder and first chair Andrei Sakharov and awarded the 2009 Prize to Memorial, represented by Liudmila Alexeyeva, Sergei Kovalev, and Oleg Orlov;
C. whereas on 11 November 2021, International Memorial Society was notified about a lawsuit opened by the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation seeking its closure for alleged repeated violations of the country’s legislation on “foreign agents” and, in particular, for failure to mark some published materials with the “foreign agent” label; whereas on 12 November 2021, Memorial Human Rights Centre was notified about a similar lawsuit filed by the Moscow City Prosecutor’s Office, based on additional claims that the Centre’s articles allegedly justified the activities of terrorist and extremist organisations; whereas court proceedings opened on 23 respectively 25 November 2021 and hearings were announced to resume on 14 respectively 16 December 2021;
D. whereas Russia’s Presidential Human Rights Council on 12 November 2021 described the lawsuit as disproportionate, arguing that not a single legal violation by the International Memorial Society in the past 14 months was detected, and only two minor violations were committed by the Memorial Human Rights Centre;
E. whereas the Russian “Foreign Agents” Law adopted in 2012 compels Russian NGOs to register with the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation as “organizations performing the functions of foreign agents” if they receive foreign funding and engage in activities vaguely described as “political activities”, and imposes specific requirements inter alia for labelling of publications; whereas the law has been amended several times, in particular in June 2014 to allow the Ministry of Justice to register NGOs as “foreign agents” on its own initiative, in November 2017 to impose the use of the “foreign agents” label against any media receiving, directly or indirectly, foreign funding, ad in November 2019 to allow for the designation of individuals as “foreign agents”, and in November 2020 to further expand the scope of targeted organisations and individuals and add new restrictions;
F. whereas Russia’s restrictive legislation, such as the “Foreign Agents” Law, the legislation on “undesirable organisations” or on “countering extremist activity”, violates Russia’s own constitution and international human rights obligations, in particular concerning the freedom of association and expression, the right to privacy, the right to participate in public affairs as well as the prohibition of discrimination; whereas this legislation is being misused to intimidate and silence critical voices in civil society and independent media, inter alia by cutting access to funding, limiting activities due to fear of state retaliation, reducing publicity and provoking self-censorship;
G. whereas the Memorial Human Rights Centre and the International Memorial Society were registered as “foreign agents” in 2014 and 2016 respectively and have since experienced an escalation of restrictions and violent attacks against their activities, offices and staff, including a first lawsuit filed by the Russian Ministry of Justice in September 2014, a four-years sentence against the Head of Memorial’s Chechnya office Oyub Tititeb on fabricated charges and arson attacks against the offices in Grozny and Makhachkala in 2018, fines imposed on different Memorial branches based on the “Foreign Agents” Law in 2019 and 2020, as well as an attack on the Moscow office in October 2021 during the screening of a movie about the Stalin-era famine (Holodomor) in 1930’s Soviet Ukraine; whereas the 2009 killing of Memorial Human Rights Centre researcher Natalia Estemirova has still not been effectively investigated and perpetrators have not been held to account;
H. whereas attempts to intimidate, silence and eventually close Memorial are a symbol for the Russian authorities’ increasingly repressive actions against civil society and human rights defenders, thereby adding a new chapter to Russia’s history of political repression, while Memorial, during the years of 1987-1992, was precisely established to document, research, commemorate and educate about the country’s past repressions and free the Russian people from the tragic legacy of history;
1. Firmly condemns the lawsuits against the International Memorial Society and the Memorial Human Rights Centre and calls to discontinue the proceedings; welcomes the letter by the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights to the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation of 7 December 2021 expressing the same urgent request;
2. Insists that the request by the Prosecutor General to dissolve International Memorial Society and the request by the Moscow City Prosecutor’s Office to dissolve Memorial Human Rights Centre lack any reasonable legal justification, are completely disproportionate to the alleged violations of the law, and that any verdict based on such request would reveal, again, the arbitrary character of judicial proceedings in the Russian Federation;
3. Reiterates its demand to the Federal Assembly, the government and the president to repeal the Law on “Foreign Agents” that is in breach with Russia’s own constitution and violates Russia’s commitments as a member of the Council of Europe, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe and signatory to relevant UN declarations;
4. Calls on the Russian Federation to refrain from using arbitrary interpretation of legal provisions such as in the Law on “Foreign Agents” for judicial harassment against civil society organisations such as Memorial or against persons carrying out activities for them; expresses deep concern about the wide impact of a general crackdown on Russian civil society through discriminatory laws and disproportionate legal proceedings, including on civil society actors active in the social sphere;
5. Reiterates its support to Russia’s civil society and human rights defenders and calls on Russia to establish a clear legal framework as well as a safe working environment for civil society organisations in line with international human rights standards, in particular by using clear definitions, by avoiding stigmatising language such as “foreign agents” or discriminatory provisions related to sources of funding, and by encouraging the work of civil society organisations that is vital to a modern society and state;
6. Considers the lawsuits against International Memorial Society and Memorial Human Rights Centre as the provisional culmination point of a targeted campaign by Russian authorities and urges to end this general crackdown on civil society, human rights organisations, independent media and critical voices, which is exercised through excessive administrative requirements, inconsistent interpretation of intentionally ambiguous legislation, the use of criminal procedures against activities guaranteed by the constitution, and the incitement of politically-motivated violence;
7. Praises Memorial’s significant contribution to documentation, research and education about political repression in the Soviet Union, which set international standards, and its tireless work in defence of human rights in today’s Russia and beyond its borders which turned it into a model for human rights work in many countries; commends in particular its initiatives such as the request for initiation of criminal proceedings against members of the Wagner group on behalf of victims in Syria, and its sustained efforts for the criminal prosecution of crimes and human rights violations in Chechnya;
8. Calls on EU Member States to continue supporting the respective Memorial branches present on their territory as a sign of support to the organisation as a whole, to its laudable objectives as well as to Russian civil society in general; calls on the Commission and on EU Members to provide increased, flexible and sustainable funding to Russian civil society actors in Russia or in exile as well as emergency assistance and support where needed, and to encourage greater international support for these actors and their broader inclusion in international civil society networks; calls on the EU to strengthen the protection of rights and physical integrity of activists and human rights defenders targeted by the Russian authorities’ repression, including through the issuing of emergency visas and providing temporary shelter in EU Member States;
9. Calls on the EEAS to continue raising Russia’s unabated crackdown on civil society, human rights defenders and independent media, especially the recent case of Memorial, and to initiate monitoring and evaluation procedures in all relevant fora such as the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Council of Europe and the UN Human Rights Council, and in particular to follow up on the discussion on Memorial in the OSCE Permanent Council on 25 November 2021 and to add Russia’s persistent crackdown on civil society to the agenda of the next session of the UN Human Rights Council starting in February 2022; calls on EU Member States’ embassies and the EU Delegation in Moscow to monitor and attend the court hearings on 14 and 16 December;
10. Calls on the EEAS to constantly and closely monitor the impact of the “Foreign Agents” law, in particular to keep detailed track of organisations and individuals declared as “foreign agents” and sanctioned as such, and to assess the legal changes to the law and their effect on Russian civil society;
11. Calls on the Vice-President of the Commission/ High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Council and the Commission to systematically address the concerns with the Russian Law on “Foreign Agents” and other restrictive legislation against civil society and human rights defenders in all meetings with Russian representatives and to call for the immediate repeal of the “Foreign Agents” Law and for bringing Russia’s legislation in line with international commitments and human rights standards;
12. Calls on the Vice-President of the Commission/ High Representative and the Council to to impose sanctions under the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime on Russian officials involved in the unlawful repression against Memorial and in the judicial proceedings against the organisations and its members;
13. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Vice-President of the Commission/ High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Council of Europe, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe and to the President, Government and Parliament of the Russian Federation.