Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

109 th session

11–28 April 2023

Item 4 of the provisional agenda

Consideration of reports, comments and information submitted

by States parties under article 9 of the Convention

List of themes in relation to the combined twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth periodic reports of the Russian Federation *

Note by the Country Rapporteur

1.The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination decided at its seventy-sixth session that the Country Rapporteur would send to the State party concerned a short list of themes with a view to guiding and focusing the dialogue between the State party’s delegation and the Committee during the consideration of the State party’s report. The present document contains a list of such themes. It is not an exhaustive list; other issues may also be raised in the course of the dialogue. No written replies are required.

Statistics

2.Statistics on the demographic composition of the population based on self-identification, disaggregated by ethnic origin, as well as on migrants, refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons and internally displaced persons. Economic and social indicators on various groups living in the territory of the State party, disaggregated by national or ethnic origin, gender and age, in particular on minority groups and Indigenous peoples, in the light of the 2020 national population census.

The Convention in domestic law and the institutional and policy framework for its implementation (arts. 1–2, 4 and 6)

3.Measures taken to adopt comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation, which includes a definition of direct and indirect discrimination and prohibits racial discrimination in line with articles 1, 2 and 4 of the Convention.

4.Specific measures taken or envisaged to combat racist hate speech, including in political discourse, in the media and on the Internet.

5.Specific measures taken or envisaged to ensure that police and other law enforcement officers do not engage in racial discrimination, including racially motivated violence and practices that amount to racial profiling.

6.Results of the implementation of the State Nationalities Policy Strategy of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2025, as amended on 6 December 2018.

7.Information and statistics on registered complaints submitted to courts or other national institutions regarding acts of racial discrimination, racist hate speech and racist hate crimes, including in political discourse, in the media and on the Internet, and on the number of investigations, prosecutions and convictions of perpetrators and reparation provided to victims, if any.

8.Information on measures taken to ensure that the national legal framework for monitoring and combating racist speech, in particular the Criminal Code, the Federal Law on Combating Extremist Activity and federal laws on non-commercial organizations, is not used in a manner that leads to unnecessary or disproportionate interference with freedom of expression or freedom of peaceful assembly and association in relation to the activities of civil society organizations, human rights defenders and journalists, in particular for those working on the rights of ethnic groups and Indigenous peoples.

Situation of ethnic groups and Indigenous peoples (arts. 2 and 5)

9.Measures taken to combat structural discrimination against Roma and to guarantee their full and equal enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights, in particular with regard to access to education and adequate housing, and ensuring consultation and participation of Roma in the design and implementation of such measures.

10.Information on measures taken (a) to ensure the legal recognition of Indigenous peoples; (b) to establish federally protected territories to fulfil their right to own, use, develop and exercise full control over their lands, territories and resources; (c) to ensure the right to consultation and free, prior and informed consent on administrative and legislative procedures affecting them; and (d) to guarantee fair and immediate compensation and reparation for communities that have been removed from their traditional lands and territories.

11.Measures taken to restore the rights of Shor people, in particular to provide them with fair compensation for the loss of their lands and houses and to ensure that they have access to their ancestral lands and cemeteries.

12.Information on steps taken to repeal discriminatory legal and administrative measures against Crimean Tatars and Ukrainian residents of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine, temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation, in particular in relation to nationality and citizenship rights, the registration of religious communities, education in their own languages, and the operation of institutions representing Crimean Tatars. Measures taken to investigate the allegations of violations of human rights, in particular abductions, torture and ill-treatment, enforced disappearances and arbitrary detention, and to bring perpetrators to justice and provide victims or their families with effective remedies.

Situation of migrants, asylum-seekers, refugees and stateless persons (arts. 2 and 5)

13.Measures taken to combat exploitation and abuse of migrant workers by their employers and to facilitate the access of migrant workers to effective remedies. Information on the coverage of labour inspections and statistics on inspection visits, detected violations, sanctions or penalties imposed and compensation provided to victims.

14.Information on the legislative and policy frameworks on asylum-seekers, refugees and internally displaced persons, and measures to ensure access to education, employment and health services without discrimination for all persons under the State party’s jurisdiction.

15.Measures taken to facilitate the residency registration procedures in a transparent manner, in particular among stateless persons, refugees and holders of temporary asylum and individuals belonging to minority groups, including Roma.

Situation of armed conflicts (arts. 2, 5 and 6)

16.Measures to promptly and impartially investigate all human rights violations and abuses, in particular against ethnic groups, committed in the context of the ongoing armed conflict in Ukraine and other armed conflicts in which the State party is and has been involved, such as in the Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia, Georgia and in the self-proclaimed “Donetsk People’s Republic” and “Luhansk People’s Republic”.

Human rights education to combat prejudice and intolerance (art. 7)

17.Information on measures to promote human rights education, including on racial discrimination, in all school curricula, university programmes and teacher training, and measures to ensure that history is taught in such a way as to prevent a dominant historical narrative and ethnic hierarchization. Measures taken to raise awareness among the general public, civil servants, law enforcement and judicial authorities on the importance of cultural diversity, tolerance and inter-ethnic understanding. Updated information on the activities of the Federal Agency for Ethnic Affairs.