International Committee of Indigenous Peoples of Russia

Cases

Relevant SG report

From Country

Country Geolocation

Latitude: 61.52401

Longitude: 105.318756

From Region

UN body that raised the case prior to the SG report

Individual's/organization's activity: an indigenous civil society representative and human rights defender of the rights of the indigenous Shor people in the Russian Federation

Type of rights defended

Was the victim a civil servant, member of the security forces or of the judiciary?: No

Reported trigger of reprisal: Ms. Tannagasheva took the floor as a civil society organization representative at the EMRIP. As she finished her statement, she was approached by a representative of the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations in Geneva, who asked her name, phone number and her business card [in a reportedly aggressive manner]

Engagement with UN body

Type of attempted engagement

Reprisal information: As she finished her statement, she was approached by a representative of the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations in Geneva, who asked her name, phone number and her business card [in a reportedly aggressive manner].7

They also addressed the allegation of the subsequent removal of related content from the website of a partner organization where the International Committee of Indigenous Peoples of Russia, the organization Ms. Tannagasheva is a member of, had uploaded a statement on the incident. Reportedly the hosting provider of the website received an e-mail with a request from the Russian authorities to remove the page from the Internet within 24 hours. Mandate holders expressed concern that the reported incident of intimidation may have a significant chilling effect on the participation and freedom of expression of representatives of indigenous peoples in the EMRIP and the Human Rights Council, from the Russian Federation and beyond (RUS 15/2022).

Types of reprisals suffered

Does the report make general comment about country’s environment for engagement with UN?: No

Further case development

On 12 and 13 April 2023, during the dialogue between the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the delegation of the Russian Federation in regard to the Committee’s consideration of the Russian Federation’s twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth periodic reports, the Committee sought clarifications on the reported attempt to intimidate Ms. Tannagasheva as she was making a statement at the session of the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) in July 2022 and the reported request by the authorities to the organization represented by Ms. Tannagasheva to remove the statement they published in their website about the incident at EMRIP (CERD/C/SR.2959 para. 28). The Committee recommended in its concluding observations that the State party conduct effective, thorough and impartial investigations into all reported cases of intimidation and harassment of, and threats and reprisals against, human rights defenders, journalists, lawyers, activists and members of civil society organizations (CERD/C/RUS/CO/25-26, para. 19).

Is the country cited for a "pattern of reprisal" in the context of this case?: No

Is a pattern of reprisals mentioned otherwise in the context of this case?: No

Does the report cite "self-censorship" as an issue in the context of this case?: Yes