UN urges post-Soviet countries to abandon harassment of NGOs and activists

The High Commissioner, in particular, criticized the new law in Russia, which dealt with foreign and international organizations. He also defended prisoners in Azerbaijan and denounced the laws of a number of Central Asian countries, which were directed against NGOs.

Speaking of Russia, the High Commissioner noted that the new Federal Law allowed the authorities to declare the foreign and international organizations "undesirable" and close them on the grounds that they posed a threat to the constitutional order, national security or defense.

"I noted that the Commissioner for Human Rights in Russia expressed concern over the possible negative consequences of this law. For our part, we are concerned that the current wording of the law could be interpreted arbitrarily, as there is no clear legal definition or criteria of what constitutes a threat. This law can lead to serious consequences for civil society - especially human rights defenders," the High Commissioner said.

He added that some countries of Central Asia, including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, are developing draft legislation on non-governmental organizations to receive foreign funding. "If such laws are adopted, it will lead to further restrict of the democratic freedoms," Zeid Ra'ad Al-Hussein noted.

In his speech, he also drew attention to the situation in Azerbaijan, saying he was concerned about reports of violations in the country of the right to a fair trial and cases of prolonged pretrial detention in custody.

Source: AKI Press