Russia: Non-governmental Organisations

(asked on 18th October 2021) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the implications for her policies of the treatment of NGOs in Russia following the storming of the office of Memorial; and whether she has plans to hold discussions with her Russian counterpart on the protection of NGOs.


Answered by
Wendy Morton Portrait
Wendy Morton
This question was answered on 21st October 2021

Russia is a FCDO human rights priority country and we remain deeply concerned about the deteriorating situation for civil society in Russia, including the treatment of NGOs. The UK stands by those who defend human rights, and we will continue to make our concerns clear in bilateral interactions with the Russian government. I visited Memorial's offices in November 2020 to learn more about their important work preserving the memories of the victims of Soviet repression and promoting the role of civil society. We regularly call on Russia to uphold its international commitments on freedom of assembly and freedom of expression, including in the Council of Europe and the OSCE.

Reticulating Splines