UK and others condemn systematic repression of independent voices
and civil society in the Russian Federation.
H.E. Fatène Benhabylès-Foeth, Permanent Representative of France
to the OSCE
"Mr Chair,
I'm honoured to deliver this statement on behalf of the following
OSCE participating States: Canada, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands,
Norway, Poland, Sweden, the United Kingdom and, my own country,
France.
In the 1991 Moscow Document, OSCE participating States agreed
that commitments undertaken in the field of the human dimension
are matters of direct and legitimate concern to all participating
States and do not belong exclusively to the internal affairs of
the State concerned. This was subsequently reaffirmed, inter
alia, at the Seventh OSCE Summit of Heads of State, held in
Astana in December 2010.
In keeping with this commitment, we have expressed our gravest
concerns about the broader human rights situation in the Russian
Federation on numerous occasions. Among these were 28 July 2022,
when 38 participating States activated the Moscow Mechanism, and
the subsequent Vienna Mechanism on 23 March 2024, invoked by 41
participating States.
In that regard, we are deeply concerned by the Russian Supreme
Court decision to classify the “international public movement
Memorial” as an “extremist organization”. This is a clear
attempt to ban the work of Nobel Peace
Prize-winning organisation Memorial as well as all
Memorial-related organizations.
Mr Chair,
Memorial is one of Russia's oldest and most reputable human
rights organisations, dedicated to preserving the memory of
Soviet-era repression in Russia and abroad. Memorial has long
been targeted by the Russian state.
This is another example of Russia's attempts to bury the memory
of both the terror's victims and its perpetrators, by
criminalising those who are brave enough to speak about it openly
and their audience.
On the same day that Memorial was labelled an extremist
organisation, the offices of “Novaya Gazeta” were subject to a
several-hours-long search conducted by Russian investigating
authorities.
The day after, on 8 April 2026, six activists from the “Vesna”
Youth Movement, that has been designated as extremist by the
Russian authorities in 2022, were also sentenced to long prison
terms.
These outcomes are clearly underpinned by political motivations
and form part of a broader pattern of repression against
independent voices and civil society in the Russian Federation.
We strongly condemn the continuing deterioration in the Kremlin's
domestic human rights record. The Russian authorities must repeal
their extensive repressive legislation and bring their laws and
practices into line with their international obligations and OSCE
commitments. This would include ending the practice of these
politically motivated trials, ceasing the persecution of
independent media, releasing all persons arbitrarily detained for
political reasons, and immediately and unconditionally abandoning
the legal proceedings initiated against them."
