United Nations Human Rights Council

Delegation from Represented

by
The Russian Federation Jil Biener

Position Paper for the Session of the Human Rights Council

The issues before the Human Rights Council are: The Use of Torture and Degrading Treatment to
War Prisoners and The Violation of Rights of Refugees. As the Russian Federation is truly committed to
international peace and considers the improvement of international security as being of pivotal importance,
it recognizes the high relevance of the agenda topics to future development and looks forward to productive
discussions.

I. The Use of Torture and Degrading Treatment to War Prisoners

On December 10, 1948 the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United
Nations General Assembly. Article 5 states "No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman
or degrading treatment or punishment". Since that time the use of torture has been regulated by a
number of international treaties, of which the two major ones are the United Nations Convention
Against Torture and the Geneva Conventions. The Russian Federation is alarmed about the persisting
use of torture and the degrading treatment to war prisoners. By giving various examples, the Russian
Federation will show that it is of immediate need to take action in this issue:
For example the United States has openly declared itself to be against torture, but it has been
endlessly accused of carrying out violations against human rights in conflicts such as Iraq and
Afghanistan. Accusations attack United States’ international prisons that include Guantanamo Bay in
Cuba and Abu Ghraib in Iraq. In the year 2001, 45 detainees died in US custody due to being
suspected of criminal homicides. Since the year of 2004, 1100 prisoners were interrogated while being
tortured in Guantanamo Bay. Moreover, in court filings made public in January 2007, FBI agents
reported that they observed a few detainees at Guantanamo Bay who were chained in a fetal position
on the floor, subjected to extremes of temperature, one was gagged with duct tape and they were
subjected to loud music and flashing lights. Reports also exist about two detainees which were chained
in a fetal position between 18 to 24 hours that had urinated and defecated on themselves. Also
numerous accounts of abuse and torture of prisoners held in the Abu Ghraib prison in Irak came to
public attention. The United States Administration has created a category called unlawful combatants,
that have no basis in U. S. or international law, to deprive such persons of protection under the Geneva
Convention as prisoners of war, and keeps and interrogates them on foreign or "ambiguously foreign"
soil such as Guantanamo Bay. Besides this the United States have refused to apply the Geneva
Conventions to prisoners of war from Afghanistan. Therefore, evidence shows that torture has been
employed in these prisons, but the USA continues to deny these claims.
Israel is also a country which is reported of using torture illegally. A few decades ago the
practice of torture was legal in Israel. It was only banned in 1999. However, it has been proven that
torture is still very commonly used in the country. Suspected Hezbollah guerrillas, their families and
Lebanese civilian internees were previously detained in the South Lebanon Army (SLA) prison at
Khiam in the then Israeli-occupied Southern Lebanon. Torture, including electric shock torture, by the
SLA was routine. This was detailed after the end of the occupation in 2000, when Lebanese who freed
the prisoners found instruments of torture. Such methods of torture have not been documented in
Israel-proper or in the occupied Palestinian territories. However, Israel keeps on denying these facts
and moreover has proved to be uncooperative in the investigations.
Although China approved the Convention against Torture in 1988, torture and mistreatment
remains widely in use across China. Torture methods cited in a statement of an UN envoy included use
of electric shock batons, cigarette burns, and submersion in pits of water or sewage. In China
government officials often ignore the laws and disrespect human rights. They mainly use torture to
resolve cases quickly because it has proven to be time saving and efficient.
In view of such atrocities, the Russian Federation sees an urgent need to take action. She will do its
utmost to contribute to a solution finding process in putting an end to these severe human rights violations,
bringing relief to all tortured and mistreated persons.
 United Nations Human Rights Council
Delegation from Represented
by
The Russian Federation Jil Biener

The Russian Federation welcomes the International Convenant on Civil and Political Rights,
which entered into force the 23rd march 1976 and was signed by the Russian Federation the 18th March
1968 and ratified 16 October 1973. Moreover, she clearly approves the Convention against Torture and
Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment which entered into force the 26th June 1987
and was signed by the Russian Federation the 10th Dec 1985 and ratified the 3rd March 1987.
Concluding, the Russian Federation condemns the use of torture and degrading treatment to war
prisoners as being a severe violation of human rights and international law.

II. The Violation of Rights of Refugees

One of the most important rights common to all refugees, asylum-seekers, migrants and
internally displaced persons (IDPs) is the right to non-discrimination. This right is at the core of all
human rights.
More than 140 governments have now signed the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status
of Refugees, amongst them the Russian Federation in 1993. Current estimates are that there are 175
million migrants in the world, which is roughly 2.8% of the world’s population.
The lead international agency coordinating refugee protection is the Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which counted 8.4 million refugees worldwide at the
beginning of 2006.
The Federation of Russia is deeply concerned about the world-wide violation of the rights of
refugees. The largest source countries of refugees are Palestine, Afghanistan, Iraq, Myanmar,
and Sudan. The country with the largest number of IDPs is Sudan, with over 5 million. The
extent of these happenings shows us that migration has become a global problem of topical character
which we can no longer turn away from and for which a solution has become indispensable.
With a number of 200 million migrants worldwide, migration is a serious issue that goes much
further than the actual migration movements themselves. As all countries worldwide are certainly
enriched by migrants but also negatively affected by this phenomenon which also poses a grave
security problem since the migration flows have tendency to become uncontrolled, the Russian
Federation sees an urgent need for action and considers it imperative that the international community
of states undertakes quick, effective and sustainable measures. However, the Russian Federation
implores the given states to at the same time respect immigrant and refugee rights and to comply with
the principle of non-refoulement incorporated in article 33 of the the Geneva Convention and Protocol
Relating to the Status of Refugees of 1951. Consequently, the Russian Federation accords great
emphasis to the issue of refugees. Refugees are the least protected and most vulnerable group of
migrants who flee their homeland for fear of political, religious or ideological persecution. The
alarming amount of more than 9 million refugees worldwide make humanitarian aid for and
ameliorated organization of refugee movements obligatory.
The Russian Federation also calls for higher financial contribution to international
organizations dealing with refugee matters. In this context, the Russian Federation would like to
express its concern about internally displaced persons. With an estimated sum of 25 million
worldwide, IDPs represent more than the amount of officially defined refugees. Nonetheless, IDP –
who cannot be subsumized under the refugee definition – are often overlooked when speaking about
refugees. Thus, the Russian Federation actively promotes the finding of a solution in order to give
these people a defined legal status which would furnish them more claimable rights. In this regard, it
welcomes the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement issued on September 30, 1998.
Moreover, the Russian Federation sees the necessity of tackling crises which are the cause for
streams of refugees in the first place. By preventing such push factors from the beginning, the number
of refugees could be enormously reduced. Therefore, the Russian Federation encourages the
establishment of local early warning systems in potential expulsing countries which would allow
preventive measures to be taken timely. But not only crises are push factors. Last but not least, the
reducement of the birth rate in developing countries may be a possibility to stabilize the population
that the community of states might want to consider along with creating fairer economic conditions in
the named regions.
 United Nations Human Rights Council
Delegation from Represented
by
The Russian Federation Jil Biener

In conclusion, the Russian Federation sees an immediate need to enhance the situation and
rights of refugees.