The United Nations says Russia is undermining fundamental freedoms by "intimidating" voices opposed to the country’s unprovoked invasion of neighboring Ukraine.
Opening the start of a new UN Human Right Council (UNHRC) session on September 12, acting UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Nada Al-Nashif denounced the "intimidation, restrictive measures, and sanctions against people voicing opposition to the war in Ukraine."
Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine
RFE/RL's Ukraine Live Briefing gives you the latest developments on Russia's invasion, Western military aid, the plight of civilians, and territorial control maps. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here.
These actions, she warned, "undermine the exercise of constitutionally guaranteed fundamental freedoms, including the rights to free assembly, expression, and association" in Russia.
Her comments come amid growing calls, including from international human rights groups, to establish at this UNHRC session a special rapporteur on human rights within Russia.
In March, an independent commission of inquiry was established by the UN Human Rights Council to examine possible violations of human rights and humanitarian law in Ukraine during Russia’s war of aggression.
Only Russia and Eritrea voted against the resolution to establish the three-member commission of inquiry on Ukraine.
The commission conducted its first mission to Ukraine in June, during which it started gathering evidence and taking statements from victims and witnesses.
In Geneva on September 12, Nashif -- who is currently serving in the post until Volker Turk replaces the previous high commissioner, Michelle Bachelet -- also decried "pressure against journalists, blocking of Internet resources, and other forms of censorship."
These actions, she said, were "incompatible with media pluralism and violate the right to access information."
Since Russia launched its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the Kremlin has tightened even further restrictions on dissent, criminalizing virtually all criticism of and independent reporting on the war in Ukraine.
Two laws adopted on March 4, just eight days after President Vladimir Putin announced the invasion, make it illegal to spread what the state deems “false information” about the Russian military and its activities. The measures also criminalize protesting the war, or supporting Western sanctions imposed in response to the offensive against Ukraine. In some cases, the maximum penalty is 15 years in prison.
"We urge the Russian Federation to reconsider measures taken to expand the 'foreign agent' label to include individuals considered to be 'under foreign influence'," she said.
The original 2012 legislation on "foreign agents," which targeted nongovernmental organizations and rights groups, has since been expanded to target media organizations -- including RFE/RL's Russian-language service and many of its local projects -- individual journalists, and most others who receive money from outside of Russia and, in the eyes of the Kremlin, voice a political opinion.
Nashif also called on the Kremlin to refrain from criminalizing "undeclared contacts with representatives of states, foreign, or international organizations deemed to be directed against the 'security' of the Russian Federation."