Abstract
Leading human rights advocates give their opinions
Dmitry Makarov
Co-chair of the International Youth Human Rights Movement
The so-called “foreign agents law” was introduced so the authorities of Russia can restrict under the pretext of “national interests” any civic activity aimed at influencing public opinion, including defending human rights, protection of the environment or fighting corruption. Human rights are considered to be an issue of “national sovereignty”, and no external player is allowed to “intrude”. In fact it means Russia challenges the very fundamental principles of the post-war system of human rights that is based on the belief that human rights are universal. Attempts to redefine human rights by the Russian authorities are dangerous as at the moment they do not face strong opposition from the international community and can potentially affect the whole system of international relations.
Natalia Taubina
Director of Public Verdict Foundation
The way the prosecutor’s office defines our activities contradicts the standards of human rights we are defending. Our traditional work is declared to be politics. According to the authorities, we can continue supporting victims of torture, but we cannot publicly speak about it. Or we can criticise reforms of the police, but do it invisibly to citizens. If we follow the logic of the prosecutor’s office, we should refuse our profession and stop being human rights defenders. This is in fact a ban for publicity and prohibition of attempts to influence the state, which is an integral part of human rights work in any open and democratic society. We do have a choice; we can continue being human rights defenders, but only in the status of “foreign agents.” Our moral obligations to people we help do not allow us to agree to this status, because we act in their interests, and by no means in the interests of some non-existent “foreign principals”.
Lyudmila Alexeeva
Chair of the Moscow Helsinki Group, the Oldest Human Rights Organisation in Russia, in The Guardian
It is precisely to destroy civil society – and primarily the human rights groups that form its backbone – that a series of repressive laws were adopted in 2012 by Russia’s Duma, elected fraudulently and obedient to Putin. One of these laws requires that NGOs which receive funding from abroad and “engage in politics” voluntarily register as “foreign agents.” This demand is the equivalent of Nazi Germany’s demand that Jews don a yellow star. This law is directed against human rights organisations that have to receive financing from foreign donors in order to maintain their independence – since neither the Russian government nor big business will support organisations whose goal is to protect citizens from violations of their rights by the state.
Elena Panfilova
Head of Centre Transparency International, Russia, Posted on Facebook
By about the end of the autumn there won’t remain a single independent NGO left in our country. In the end there is a choice for everyone to make: either to close down one’s own organisation or to be prosecuted and face up to two years in prison. There are no other variants. Not for anyone. I think that not everyone understands this, but this is the bottom line.