Madam Chairperson, members of the Committee, colleagues,

Preventing racial discrimination in all its forms is becoming an increasingly topical issue in today’s world. The Russian Federation highly values the role played by the Committee in countering any forms of racial discrimination and responsibly fulfils its international obligations under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Considering the importance of this issue, the Russian Federation included in its delegation representatives of the key ministries and agencies involved in implementing the Convention’s provisions within their scope of authority, specifically, the Federal Agency for Ethnic Affairs, the Ministry of Sport, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, the Ministry of Education and Science, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Supreme Court and the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs.

The provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (hereinafter the Convention) have been enshrined in the laws of the Russian Federation, and are part of the basic principles regulating social interactions in all areas of public life, thus becoming an integral part of government policy.

Noting the holistic nature and consistency of the Convention as a comprehensive international legal instrument to fight racial discrimination, Russia attaches special importance to its Article 4, which requires States Parties to this international treaty to undertake immediate and positive measures designed to counter the spread of any ideas rooted in racism. Not only did the Russian Federation refrain from making any reservations regarding the provisions of the Convention, but it recognised the Committee’s authority to review individual reports on violations of the treaty.

In addition, Russia sponsors a resolution submitted to the UN General Assembly every year on “Combatting glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to fuelling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.” In particular, this document emphasises the crucial role and significance of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and your Committee. A considerable part of Russia’s annual voluntary contribution to the budget of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights goes towards implementing projects to counter racism and racial discrimination.

Historically, the Russian Federation has always been a multi-ethnic state that brought together all ethnic groups within its borders and created the conditions needed for their further ethnic and cultural development. Russia has unique, millennia-old experience in creating a political and legal environment conducive to the development and peaceful coexistence of various ethnicities.

The President of the Russia Federation Vladimir Putin has noted in his statements on multiple occasions the importance of establishing sustainable inter-ethnic peace and accord in Russia and preventing any forms of discrimination on any grounds.

The principle of preventing and eliminating all forms of discrimination on social, racial, ethnic, language or religious grounds has been designated as one of the key government policy principles in ethnic affairs.

Article 19 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation guarantees the equality “of human and civil rights and freedoms regardless of race, ethnic background, language, origin, place of residence, attitude towards religions” and also bans any forms of “limitations of human rights on social, racial, national (ethnic), language or religious grounds.”

This approach was formalised in the Strategy for the Russian Federation State Ethnic Policy towards 2025, approved by Presidential Executive Order No. 1666 of December 19, 2012. The Federal Agency for Ethnic Affairs, which was created under Presidential Executive Order No. 168 of March 31, 2015, was tasked with implementing this strategy as a specialised government body. The Agency’s main functions include, among others, preventing any forms of discrimination on racial, ethnic, religious or language grounds, as well as preventing attempts to incite racial, ethnic or religious strife, hate or hostility.

The State Programme for Implementing the State Ethnic Policy was devised. It sets forth a list of measures designed, among other things, to ensure the equality of human and civil rights and freedoms regardless of race, ethnic background, language or attitude towards religion, and provides for the relevant funding. The authority and area of competence of regional government bodies, local governments and their officials with regard to inter-ethnic affairs are established by the relevant laws. In all constituent entities of the Russian Federation, deputy heads of the regions were designated to oversee inter-ethnic relations.

Ethnicity-related laws and regulations in Russia are sector-specific, which means that all normative legal acts are divided into sectors that cover all norms to regulate specific types of public interactions and stipulate specific methods to do so. General anti-discrimination principles and norms banning discrimination on racial, ethnic, social, language or religious grounds correlate with the human rights in specific areas, be it the right to labour, the right to education, the right to use a native language, the right to enjoy cultural benefits, etc. With this approach, the non-discrimination principle covers all rights recognised by the Constitution and laws of the Russian Federation.

This legal framework is regularly updated.

In accordance with Federal Law No. 114-FZ dated July 25, 2002 On Countering Extremist Activity, incitement to social, racial, ethnic or religious strife; propaganda of exceptionalism, superiority or inferiority of a person on social, racial, ethnic, religious or language grounds or attitude towards religion; propaganda or public display of Nazi or any similar attributes or symbols; public calls to such action; mass production and distribution of materials featuring content of this kind; organising and preparing the said actions, as well as financing them and inciting to carry them out fall under the definition of extremist activity and are subject to prosecution under the relevant norms of criminal law.

In a number of its articles, the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation designates extremism-related crimes (Articles 282-282.3) as criminal offences. Political, ideological, racial, ethnic or religious hatred or strife, or hatred or strife towards any social group are regarded as qualifying elements in more than ten types of crime, aggravating the responsibility for perpetuating such crimes and leading to higher criminal liability.

In accordance with Article 13 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the activities of public associations whose goals and actions are designed to incite social, racial, ethnic and religious strife are prohibited. The Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation, among other things, is tasked with continuously monitoring activities by various public associations, including with the view to identifying illegal activity.

A Strategy for Countering Extremism in Russia towards 2025 was adopted in 2014 as part of efforts to ensure a system-wide approach to countering the manifestations of extremism aimed at inciting social, racial, ethnic and religious strife.

Russia is consistent in its policy to fight attempts to glorify Nazism, propaganda of Nazi ideology and other supremacist ideas and theories based on race, ethnic, religious or social origin, or attempting to justify or encourage racial hatred and discrimination in any form, and is also consistent in taking measures to eliminate any incitement to discrimination of this kind. Specifically, the laws prohibit publishing works by the leaders of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party, the National Fascist Party of Italy, or publications supporting or justifying ethnic and/or racial supremacy or justifying military or other crimes that aim to completely or partially annihilate any ethnic, social, racial, national or religious group, the use of Nazi symbols or emblems of organisations that collaborated with the Nazis as offensive to the memory of Great Patriotic War victims. In 2014, rehabilitation of Nazism was criminalised in the Russian Federation.

The Russian authorities attach special importance to investigating and holding the perpetrators accountable for inciting racial, ethnic or religious hatred or strife. Regular training courses are held for law enforcement officers on fighting racial discrimination and profiling.

Audits on compliance with anti-extremism laws show that law enforcement agencies are proactive in identifying and suppressing extremism, and the results of their efforts are becoming increasingly tangible. Specifically, the increase in the number of extremism-related crimes reported in the regions of the Russian Federation is by and large attributable to the proactive approach of counter-extremism centres operating within Internal Affairs bodies.

In 2016, the law enforcement agencies of the Russian Federation identified 1,450 extremism-related crimes. Of this total, 1,207 crimes were investigated, and criminal charges were filed in 993 of them. In the closed criminal cases, 934 individuals faced charges.

In the first quarter of 2017, law enforcement bodies identified 421 crimes of this kind and 211 individuals behind these crimes. Of this total, criminal charges were filed in 267 cases.

In 2016, the courts of the Russian Federation at various levels convicted a total of 427 people in criminal cases involving racial or ethnic hatred. Of this total, 72 people were convicted for racial discrimination under Articles 280, 280.1-280.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, and four people were convicted under Clause “L,” Part 2 of Article 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for manslaughter motivated by racial hatred or strife. In the same year, there were 64 cases involving acts punishable under administrative law, and 44 civil law cases related to racial discrimination.

This was largely facilitated by general measures undertaken by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation to ensure compliance with the main provisions of the Convention.

The judges and staff of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation are constantly updated on the latest initiatives by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation posts in its internal network Russian translations of the Committee’s resolutions adopted following the review of individual reports, as well as the Committee’s general recommendations. This information is available to general courts, including the justices of the peace. Supreme Court judges and staff also receive information from the Committee’s annual reports. The annual reports are also posted in Russian in the internal network of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. The Committee’s resolutions, in Russian, are also included in periodic reviews of the operation of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. Supreme Court judges and staff are also informed about the periodic reports by the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.

All in all, the Russian Federation has developed an efficient system of judicial protection of any person against any acts of discrimination and violation of human rights. The courts of the Russian Federation are consistent in following the principle of ensuring unfailing protection of the rights and legitimate interests of people within the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation, regardless of race, skin colour, tribal, national or ethnic origin, relying, among other things, on direct references to the relevant articles of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

Since 2012, extremism-related crimes conceived or perpetrated using the internet have been on the rise. In 2016, these violations accounted for 63.2 per cent of all crimes (526 out of 831) that fall under the Federal Law On Counter-Extremist Activity. Most of the perpetrators of these crimes were between 18 and 29 years old.

The competent Russian agencies are seeking to identify and block published information containing calls to actions designed to incite racial, ethnic or religious strife, or spread propaganda of exceptionalism or inferiority of a human being on any of these grounds. The Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media (Roskomnadzor) is the competent government agency tasked with taking pre-emptive measures for preventing this activity within the scope of its authority.

The regional prosecutor offices are engaged in an ongoing media and internet monitoring effort for identifying content that could be regarded as extremist. Inspections are carried out whenever violations are detected, followed by appropriate prosecutorial action.

From February 1, 2014 until April 2017, Roskomnadzor identified about 42,000 websites promoting the ideas of racial intolerance, xenophobia and neo-Nazism. Since October 2014, 26,332 websites were identified featuring propaganda of the ideology of the terrorist group Islamic State. Following official warnings, illegal content was deleted from 39,702 of them, and access to 2,216 websites was restricted in Russia. At the request of the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation, Roskomnadzor worked with more than 1,630 websites of this kind, and 1,490 of them deleted the information in question, while access to 144 websites was restricted.

In accordance with the Strategy for the State Ethnic Policy, the Federal Agency for Ethnic Affairs monitors the state of inter-ethnic and inter-religious relations, and is also involved in early prevention of conflict situations. The information obtained as part of these efforts is designed to help take effective decisions regarding the implementation of the state policy in this area.

The database currently contains more than 90,000 entries on media outlets, about 10,000 indicators of socioeconomic tension, and 220,000 entries on non-profit and other organisations that are being monitored in connection with inter-ethnic relations. The total number of items monitored within this system exceeds 25 million. This monitoring system is expected to become an important tool for suppressing acts undermining interethnic peace and accord, inciting racial, ethnic and religious hatred or strife.

Special attention is paid to preventing racial intolerance and other manifestations of extremism among sports fans, including in the context of major international sporting events hosted by Russia. Sports organisations are involved on an ongoing basis in holding international events for exchanging best national practices in creating an environment free from discrimination. For instance, preparations for the Summer Universiade in Kazan, the Sochi Olympic Games, FIFA Confederations Cup and the FIFA World Cup included seminars and workshops on this matter, attended by representatives of government agencies, football community and experts from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, as well as NGOs, including SOVA Centre, Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) and Supporters Direct Europe.

The law ratifying the Council of Europe Convention on an Integrated Safety, Security and Service Approach at Football Matches and Other Sports Events was adopted on July 26, 2017 with a view to ensuring security and creating a people-friendly environment at football matches, as well as other sporting events.

In addition, Russian sports organisations (federations, leagues and clubs) have units within their structure in charge of working with sports fans and preventing discrimination in sports. For example, the Football Union of Russia has an inspector for fighting football-related racism and discrimination.

The Russian authorities are taking steps to address prejudices leading to racial discrimination, encourage mutual understanding, tolerance and friendship among nations, ethnic and religious groups. Working in close cooperation with representatives of national diasporas, as well as ethnic and cultural, social, youth and religious organisations, mechanisms for preventing and settling inter-ethnic and inter-religious conflicts were developed and effectively implemented.

Whenever appropriate, the Russian Federation encourages unifying multi-ethnic organisations and movements, as well as other initiatives undertaken with a view to eliminating racial and inter-ethnic barriers. Various ministries and agencies are involved in initiatives of this kind. The state provides financial support to ethnic and cultural autonomies and ethnic and cultural centres. This includes holding folk and ethnic music concerts, crafts workshops, research and dialogue events, as well as projects to preserve and develop the traditional culture of the peoples of Russia.

Measures are being taken on an ongoing basis in the Russian Federation related to education, mentoring, culture and information, including at the regional level. In all state and municipal general education institutions, primary and secondary school curricula feature special courses promoting mutual respect and a patriotic mindset among the younger generation, traditional cultural, religious and moral values, as well as providing an insight into the cultural and religious traditions of the peoples of Russia. Schools hold Holocaust remembrance days.

Special attention is paid to preventing the spread of youth radicalism. To this effect, the Russian authorities strengthen cooperation with higher education institutions, volunteer organisations and public associations working on youth issues. The Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation is in charge of holding cultural awareness and educational initiatives at higher education institutions. Universities establish centres promoting harmony in inter-ethnic relations, inter-ethnic friendship clubs and youth tolerance schools. Foreign students can benefit from adaptation programmes.

Russia pays great attention to preserving the historical memory of the Great Patriotic War and the Second World War. In 2016, Russia’s Ministry of Education and Science together with the Russian Historical Society and the Russian Military Historical Society developed, at the instruction of the President of the Russian Federation, a new teaching package for Russian history. In 2016, many educational initiatives were held to mark 70 years since the establishment of the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg and its legacy in suppressing neo-Nazi, radical and extremist activity and inciting inter-ethnic and religious strife.

The Russian Federation is home to more than 190 peoples and ethnic groups. In accordance with the Russian Constitution and laws, they all have an equal right to preserve and develop their language, culture and traditions. The state also provides additional support to the small-numbered indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and Russia’s Far East (ethnic groups of less than 50,000 people, referred to as the “indigenous peoples of the North”), as well as other ethnic minorities.

Considering the vulnerability of their way of life and environment, as well as the small size of these indigenous peoples, the Constitution of the Russian Federation and its federal laws stipulate a wide range of preferences and benefits that the small-numbered indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and Russia’s Far East are entitled to in terms of water and land use, and social protection. In addition, over 1,200 regional norms and regulations were enacted in a number of Russian Federation regions to this effect. This legislative effort was designed to better safeguard the rights of the small indigenous peoples. It continues to this day.

As part of the effort to implement antidiscrimination provisions, the Russian Federation regions where the indigenous peoples of the North live and engage in traditional economic activity have been proactive in introducing mobile healthcare services using various kinds of transport (road, railway, water and air transport) in order to improve the availability of healthcare services. The mobile medical teams are equipped with portable diagnostics equipment (330 sets), operating in areas where small-numbered indigenous peoples live.

The state works together with the business organisations in this area. For example, there is a partnership with Russian Railways, which helped launch medical trains in a number of regions. Every year, this ambulant clinic provides diagnostics services in 40 to 45 remote villages to more than 10,000 people, with small-numbered indigenous peoples accounting for one third of the total patients.

Russia attaches great importance to improving the status of the Romani people by helping them integrate into society. In accordance with the 2010 national census, there were 207,000 Roma in Russia or 0.15 per cent of the country’s total population. The Romani have nine ethnic and cultural autonomies and 23 public associations, including regional public Romani associations in the Krasnodar Territory, Kaliningrad, Sverdlovsk, Rostov, Omsk, Smolensk and Tver regions.      

Nadezhda Demeter, head of the Federal Autonomous Ethnic Cultural Organisation  of Russian Roma is a member of the Presidential Council for Interethnic Relations and the Advisory Council on National Cultural Autonomy with the Federal Agency for Ethnic Affairs. The Government approved a Comprehensive Plan for the Socioeconomic, Ethnic and Cultural Development of the Romani in 2013-2014, developed in cooperation with the Federal Autonomous Ethnic Cultural Organisation of Russian Roma. The Federal Agency for Ethnic Affairs has developed the Comprehensive Plan for the Socioeconomic, Ethnic and Cultural Development of the Romani in 2017-2019, pending approval.  

Quarterly monitoring reviews are conducted in the Russian Federation regions on the status of the Romani people and compliance with the Methodological Recommendations for regional executive and local self-governance bodies in dealing with the Romani population. The Romani population is mostly sedentary, and is economically, socially and culturally integrated into society. They work in various sectors of agriculture, manufacturing, services, educational and cultural institutions. The State Romani Theatre Romen was created in Moscow 86 years ago. There are also many musical bands and performance groups, and talented Roma children are studying theatre and music at higher education institutions.

At the same time, Romani with a nomad lifestyle are in need of support, primarily in terms of access to education for their children.

Specifically, special preparatory classes can be offered to Roma children to help them adapt and master the curriculum for their respective age groups, so that they can go on to follow regular school curriculum without psychological or other stress.

It is also worth mentioning the pilot project by the Federal Autonomous Ethnic Cultural Organisation of Russian Roma, “Facilitating adaptation of Romani to Russian society through education.” The project has benefited from Presidential grants in the Moscow and Smolensk regions. It was designed to provide the relevant knowledge and skills for ensuring academic achievements and adaptation to primary and secondary education (including Russian language). New methods for working with Roma children in schools were developed and implemented as part of the project. The project featured an experiment with the presence in the school of a community assistant speaking the native language, who facilitated communication between teachers, students and their parents.

The Convention and its national implementing legislation are in full force in the Republic of Crimea and the Federal City of Sevastopol. The authorities of the Russian Federation, the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol are consistent in their efforts to implement the ethnic and cultural policy on the peninsula.

In accordance with the new Constitution of the Republic of Crimea, the Russian, Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar languages were for the first time granted the status of state languages. The federal and regional authorities pay great attention to creating a favourable environment for people in Crimea to learn their native languages.

Seeking to restore historical justice and repair the consequences of the illegal deportation of the Armenian, Bulgarian, Greek, Italian, Crimean Tatar and German population from the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic and the related violations, the President of the Russian Federation released an Executive Order in 2014 on measures to rehabilitate these peoples and provide government support to facilitate their revival and development. Following up on this Executive Order, the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Crimea issued a directive approving a plan of action. It featured a package of measures to draft regulations on inter-ethnic relations, helping repatriates establish and pursue sustainable livelihoods and adapt to the social and cultural environment, promoting state languages in the Republic of Crimea (the Crimean Tatar, Russian and Ukrainian languages) and the study of the Armenian, Bulgarian, Modern Greek and German languages, as well as holding initiatives designed at satisfying the social, ethnic and cultural needs of repressed peoples.

In execution of this Executive Order, the Government of the Russian Federation, together with the concerned federal executive bodies, the State  Committee on Interethnic Relations and Deported Citizens of the Republic of Crimea and the Government of Sevastopol, developed and launched the implementation of a package of measures for 2017-2019 to restore historical justice, and promote the political, social and spiritual revival of the Armenian, Bulgarian, Greek, Italian, Crimean-Tatar and German peoples who suffered from illegal deportation and political repressions due to their ethnicity or other factors. The Federal Agency for Ethnic Affairs is coordinating the implementation of this plan.

The Government of the Russian Federation adopted Resolution No. 790 of August 11, 2014 to approve the federal targeted programme Social and Economic Development of the Republic of Crimea and the City of  Sevastopol until 2020 (the federal targeted programme), designed to assist the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol in integrating the Russian economic space, ensuring transport accessibility, addressing infrastructure-related limitations with a view to ensuring sustainable economic development and inter-ethnic conciliation. Under the programme, the Government of the Russian Federation approved 708 billion roubles (over 10 billion euros) for the development of Crimea. Of this sum, 10 billion roubles (150 million euros) were allocated specifically for fostering development within the Crimean Tatar community.

As part of the single comprehensive campaign to harmonise interethnic relations and strengthen tolerance among ethnicities, the State Committee on Interethnic Relations and Deported Citizens of the Republic of Crimea assists the media in the Armenian, Bulgarian, Modern German, Modern Greek and Crimean Tatar languages. In addition, Krym Television and Radio Broadcasting Company has  desks broadcasting in the Armenian, Bulgarian, Greek, Crimean Tatar, German and Ukrainian languages.

Based on its historical experience, the Constitution, norms and regulations, and principles of state ethnic policy, as well as proceeding from the goals and principles enshrined in the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and this Convention, the Russian Federation is consistent in its policy efforts to maintain strong interethnic peace and conciliation and prevent any forms of discrimination, and is committed to following this policy moving forward.

Members of the Committee,

In conclusion, I would like to say there is an abundance of aspects in Russian national legal framework and case law regarding the elimination of discrimination. There is no way I can elaborate on all of them in such a short period of time. For this reason, my colleagues and I will be glad to provide you with more details on the issues that may be of interest to Committee experts during today’s and tomorrow’s meetings.

Thank you, Madam Chairperson.