The European Union is concerned about Russia's policies that allow torture and other cruel forms of punishment.
The European Union made a statement during the 60th session of the UN Human Rights Council, addressing concerns about human rights violations in the Russian Federation, as reported by Ukrinform.
The statement highlighted the findings of the Special Rapporteur, expressing concern that "torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment are used as state-sanctioned tools for oppression in Russia."
The EU called on Russia to abolish its repressive legislation and align it with international human rights law, to ensure a safe and enabling online and offline environment for all. Additionally, the EU urged Russia to comply with its human rights obligations by ensuring safeguards and their effective implementation against arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, torture, and other ill-treatment and sexual and gender-based violence.
The statement emphasized the EU's demand for the immediate and unconditional release of all arbitrarily detained individuals, including political prisoners, human rights defenders, lawyers, and journalists. The EU also condemned the political misuse of the judiciary and law enforcement, criticizing Russia for prosecuting lawyers for fulfilling their professional duties.
Concerns were raised about the increasingly closed civic space in Russia, with continued systematic crackdown on civil society, human rights defenders, lawyers, independent media, journalists, democratic political opposition, LGBTI persons, Indigenous Peoples, and persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious, and linguistic minorities.
Furthermore, the EU insisted that Russia must ensure accountability for all human rights violations and work to eliminate discrimination on all grounds, with specific attention to multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination.
The EU called on Russia to fully cooperate with the UN, including special procedures and investigative mechanisms, and to fully implement all outstanding rulings of the European Court of Human Rights and abide by the judgment on the responsibility for the downing of Flight MH17.
Expressing concern that systematic human rights violations appear to be part of a government strategy to control all spheres of life and suppress dissent towards its aggressive foreign policy, the EU urged Russia to "immediately stop its illegal war of aggression against Ukraine and all violations of international humanitarian and human rights law on Ukrainian territory, including the temporarily occupied regions of Ukraine."
The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Russian Federation, Mariana Katzarova, presented her report on the human rights situation that requires the Council's attention during the 60th session of the UN Human Rights Council.