“Man and Law”

Cases
Location of case in SG report
2024-093-001
Relevant SG report
Year of the report
2024
Country Geolocation

Latitude: 61.52401

Longitude: 105.318756

Country Geolocation (linked Cases)
Russia
From Region
UN body that raised the case prior to the SG report
  • UN Special Procedures: Thematic
Dates of prior UN action
17 April 2024
Type of record
Named organization
Individual's/organization's activity

This organization works on human rights education, legal assistance, reporting, and advocacy, including through its engagement with the United Nations bodies and mechanisms (RUS 3/2024).

Type of rights defended
  • Unclear in SG Report
Reported trigger of reprisal

its cooperation with the UN and its recently obtained ECOSOC Status.

Engagement with UN body
  • UN ECOSOC
Dates of engagement
7 December 2022
Type of attempted engagement
  • Other
  • Submission of information to UN
Dates of mentioned reprisals
9 December 2022, 27 December 2022, January 2023, 21 August 2023
Location of mentioned reprisals
Russia
Reprisal information
  1. On 17 April 2024, special procedure mandate holders addressed allegations on the forced dissolution of the non-governmental organization “Man and Law” through a court administrative decision that cited its consultative status with the United Nations as one of the reasons for the dissolution. This organization works on human rights education, legal assistance, reporting, and advocacy, including through its engagement with the United Nations bodies and mechanisms (RUS 3/2024).
  2. On 7 December 2022, “Man and Law” was granted ECOSOC consultative status with the United Nations by a vote of ECOSOC (see E/2023/L.6).38 This followed repeated deferrals of its 2018 application for accreditation by the UN Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations39 (RUS 3/2024).
  3. On 9 December 2022, the Ministry of Justice conducted an unscheduled inspection of the organization’s documentation and refused to disclose the content of the complaint which served as the grounds for this inspection. On 27 December 2022, the Ministry of Justice presented a report alleging that “Man and Law” had carried out activities inconsistent with its founding objectives, along with other violations of the l domestic legislation? concerning public associations,40 non-commercial organizations,41 and foreign agents.42 The NGO was not provided with the possibility to challenge this report (RUS 3/2024).
  4. In January 2023, the Ministry of Justice used this report to file an administrative lawsuit against “Man and Law” with the Supreme Court, resulting in its forcible dissolution on 21 August 2023. In its decision, the Supreme Court invoked several reasons for the dissolution, including violations of the territorial scope of activities of the organization, and referred specifically to its ECOSOC consultative status. Special procedures mandate holders noted that the dissolution of “Man and Law” appeared to constitute an act of reprisals against the organization for its cooperation with the UN and its recently obtained ECOSOC Status. (RUS 3/2024).
Types of reprisals suffered
  • Administrative reprisal
Alleged/likely perpetrators
State actors
Was the reprisal based on new legislation?
No
Does the report make general comment about country’s environment for engagement with UN?
No
Was the case raised by a State at the UN?
Yes
Which State raised the case at the UN and when?

In September 2024, the United Kingdom raised the case at the 57th session of the Human Rights Council during the Interactive Dialogue with the Assistant Secretary-General on the report on reprisals for cooperation with the UN: 'in Russia, the authorities have dissolved the NGO "Man and Law" citing its engagement with the UN.'

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?
No