Statement by Deputy Permanent Representative Gennady Kuzmin at the Security Council Arria Formula meeting on reprisals against women human rights defenders and women peacebuilders who engage with the Security Council and its subsidiary bodies
Mr. President,
If you permit, I would like to start with words that we always hear at this kind of fora.
Women play a positive role in various aspects of armed conflict resolution and post-conflict reconstruction.
In the two decades after the adoption of UNSC Resolution 1325, the role of women in the prevention and resolution of armed conflicts has increased. We note the significant role of the UN Peacebuilding Commission in promoting women's interests in post-conflict reconstruction, which is an important condition for establishing the lasting peace.
Now, let me be more specific.
In her address at the round table on 10 February, our new Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, Ms. Ilze Brands Kehris, rightfuly noted:
«At the outset, it is important to distinguish between the targeting of human rights defenders broadly speaking, and those who have been targeted because of their cooperation with the UN. Both contexts are extremely serious».
We welcome this approach – it’s comprehensive, integrated and systemic.
The initiators of today's meeting wished to focus only on women. Basically on women engage with the UN system bodies.
Shouldn't we care about Mr. J. Assange just because he's a man? Meanwhile, he is suffering ill-treatment in a British prison, he is deprived of access to basic medical care and psychologically tortured. Isn't this a case of harassment and reprisals for expressing his stand?
Let alone Ukraine. It has come to the point that Ukrainian legislators propose to introduce criminal liability for providing positive reporting about Russia. There is a forced ukrainianization. It’s common practice to murder, to burn to death and incarcerate those who do not share special Ukrainian-style "European values" associated with blood and coup d'etat.
Don’t we need to protect ordinary Ukrainians, Estonians, Russians?
The question is, who are those "women who engage with the UN" who deserve protection and support? For example, you are unlikely to hear in the UN, certainly not in Security Council, women’s voices from NGOs of Crimea and Donbass. The host country, through its visa policy, will surely could help you identify "good" and "bad" human rights defenders. That’s the case.
I will conclude with the short summary.
- The Russian Federation strongly opposes any kind of reprisals or groundless restrictive measures against people of any gender, including those who engage with the UN system bodies.
- We reiterate our willingness to cooperate with the representatives of the Secretariat to establish cases of harassment.
- We believe that linking the issue of reprisals with the Security Council agenda is unjustified. This issue pertains to human rights discussion, which are to be conducted at relevant fora, in particular at the UN Human Rights Council.
Thank you.
