Thread by @delseroad

A 🧵.The time has come for the
@UN_HRC to establish a Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Russia. We need 🇪🇺 leadership and defense of the universality of human rights and Russian civil society. 1)

For two decades, international and Russian civil society have documented the increasingly repressive situation in the country. In 2004, @hrw reported that "The government once again failed to take on Russia’s numerous entrenched human rights problems". 2)
bit.ly/3Q6FLz0

In 2010, @amnesty wrote about HRDs, lawyers and journalists threatened and physically attacked; some killed. "A climate of impunity for these crimes prevailed" 3)
bit.ly/3H3ESmP

In 2014, following 🇷🇺 illegal annexation of Crimea,
@freedomhouse reported that "Crimea’s residents have since faced increasingly grave civic, political, & HR violations. . . the Kremlin has sought to suppress reporting of many such abuses." 4) bit.ly/3azlEZY

In 2020, @HRHFoundation summarised two decades of repression and concluded, "it has never been more difficult or dangerous for human rights defenders and organisations to operate in the Russian Federation." 5) bit.ly/392dbxX

So why the unwillingness of 🇪🇺 to introduce a resolution at #HRC50 to establish a Special Rapporteur? The votes are there. Regional groups are waiting for European leadership. 6)

Is 🇪🇺 concerned about the what 🇫🇷 says could be the "humiliation" of 🇷🇺? A SR is a response to demands of 🇷🇺 civil society & 20 years of repression. Yes, it would be established w/in the context of 🇷🇺 invasion of 🇺🇦. But, it is not in response to it. A critical distinction. 7)