Important announcement from the OSCE
A group of 15 countries have issued questions to Russia under the OSCE's Vienna Mechanism.
15 countries have asked Russia a series of questions on human rights issues – including a call to clarify what steps it has taken to address serious abuses in Chechnya.
The Vienna mechanism is a tool developed by the OSCE to allow states to raise specific human rights concerns.
Russia now has ten days to reply to the request for more detailed information on how abuses against (perceived) LGBTI people in Chechnya have been investigated and how the federal authorities ensure that civil society groups can work freely.
Questions posed by the OSCE delegations of Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States:
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What steps have been taken by the federal authorities to ensure Chechen officials abide by the Russian Federation’s OSCE commitments?
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How have Russian federal authorities investigated allegations of violations and abuses reportedly committed against actual or perceived LGBTI persons, and how have they arrived at the conclusion (as repeated by Russian authorities) that no such violations or abuses have occurred and that no LGBTI persons exist in Chechnya?
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What steps have been taken by the federal authorities to ensure the ability of civil society and media actors to freely document and report, without reprisal, on human rights concerns in Chechnya, in particular the human rights organization, Memorial?
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How have Russian federal authorities investigated the fate of each of the 27 individuals who were reportedly extrajudicially executed by Chechen authorities in Grozny in January 2017?