Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards

On 14 January 2014 the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs published its report “On the situation with human rights in the European Union” (posted on the ministry’s website ) in which it claimed that the EU was struck by “serious human rights illnesses.” A large part of he report relies on information from international human rights organizations, such as AI. In the document the Russian Foreign Ministry called the situation regarding national minorities and migrants in the EU “far from ideal“. In addition public opinion in the EU “underestimates the threat of neo-Nazism”, while the European Union also creates artificial barriers to enter the territory, that to infringe the freedom of movement of the individuals. Former US National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden’s revelations have highlighted significant restrictions on the freedom of speech and freedom of the press in the European Union.

In conditions of the ongoing financial-economic crisis in Europe, the number of gross violations of the rights of minorities, refugees and immigrants and infringements on citizens’ rights has increased,” the report said. The ministry voiced concern over insufficient protection of the rights of children, gender inequality, abuse of power by police, violations of the rights of convicts, and the involvement of a whole number of EU countries in the CIA’s program of secret jails in Europe, as well as mass intrusions into the private life of individuals and encroachments on the freedom of speech and the press in the EU, concluding that it is “obvious that the existing system of protection of the basic human rights and freedoms in the EU continues to be ineffective and incomplete”.

Alluding to the fact that the report of the Russian Foreign Ministry abundantly quoted information from [western] human rights defenders, the representative office of Catherine Ashton said to the Russian service of BBC that the EU foreign policy “takes into account the report of [Russian Foreign Minister] and his sources of information.” In that context he also recalled problems faced by human rights organizations in Russia, often accused of receiving “Western money” and being forcing to register as “foreign agents”. :

[The Russian report on human rights in the European Union makes more than 20 references to documents of Amnesty International. In response AI stated that they distribute accurate information about human rights violations in many countries, including Russia. AI welcomes the use of its information when it is for the benefit of human rights and anyway does not control the dissemination]