kemper human rights essay contest 2023

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Kemper Human Rights Education Foundation Essay Contests; apply by 12/10/22

This year the  Kemper Human Rights Education Foundation  is offering prizes of  $3000, $1500,  and  $750  to high school students judged to have written the best answers to the question on the flyer below and attached.  Please inform your students about the contest and encourage them to participate in it.  More information about KHREF, the essays of past winners, and resources useful for addressing human rights issues may be found on our  http://khref.org/  website. Also, in two additional attachments below you can find information about KHREF’s  mission, board, and history.  

2022 ESSAY CONTESTS

$3000, $1500, AND $750 PRIZES

This year The Kemper Human Rights Education Foundation ( khref.org ) is offering prizes of $3000, $1500, and $750 to high school students judged to have written the best answers to the question below.  There are two contests and two sets of prizes: one for high school students in the U.S. and one for high school students who are citizens and residents of other countries.

Respect for human rights seems to be eroding in many countries.  Do you agree?  If so, provide examples and explain what you think is the major cause of the problem and how it should be addressed?  If you disagree, explain the reason you disagree. 

Essays are due on or before December 10, 2022 (Human Rights Day) and should: 1.  be 2500 words or less in length.   2.   be submitted as a Microsoft Word attachment to: [email protected] or by regular mail to: KHREF, 184 Fillow Street, Norwalk, CT 06850, USA.   3 .  include a cover page with the title, author’s name and grade level; name and address of the author’s high school; name of a teacher or administrator at the high school; and the following statement signed by the author  and  author’s parent or guardian: “I give the Kemper Human Rights Education Foundation permission to publish this essay.”

Winners will be announced, and awards presented on January 16, 2023.

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Human Rights Essay Contest open to high school students

Posted by Kemper Human Rights Education Foundation | May 22, 2023 | Features , Student media | 0

This year The Kemper Human Rights Education Foundation   is offering prizes of $4000, $2000, and $1000 to high school students judged to have written the best answers to the question below. There are two contests and two sets of prizes: one for high school students in the U.S. and one for high school students who are citizens and residents of other countries.

This year, Amina J. Mohammed the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, noted that the world is facing the highest number of violent conflicts since the Second World War. The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin and in September, Chileans will mark the 50th anniversary of the overthrow of their democratically elected government and the inauguration of the brutal Pinochet dictatorship.

Considering these and other matters, if you were asked to give a talk on December 10 marking the 75 th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, what would you say about its effectiveness and its value going forward? Does it need to be revised to achieve its goals, or can it be effective in its current form? Please support your arguments with scholarly research.

Essays will be judged according to how clearly and well they answer the question posed and the extent to which they are supported by research. They are due on or before December 10, 2023 (Human Rights Day) and should:

1. Be 2,500 words or less (not including the footnotes and bibliography) in length.

2. Be submitted as a Microsoft Word attachment to: [email protected] or by regular mail to: KHREF, 184 Fillow Street, Norwalk, CT 06850, USA.

3. Via footnotes and a bibliography indicate the names, titles, year of publication, and page numbers for all references on which it is based.

Cover letter

Include a cover page with:

i. The title

ii. Author’s name and grade level and name and address of author’s high school

iii. Name of a teacher at the high school and iv. the following statement signed by the teacher:

“I teacher’s name, a teacher of [subject] at [name of the essay author’s school] am aware of [author’s name] participation in KHREF essay contest and to the best of my knowledge the essay [s/he] submitted represents [her/his] independent work.

iv. The following statement signed by the essay’s author: My essay is based on the research cited in its footnotes and bibliography and represents my own thoughts on the subject and prior to receiving a prize I agree to participate in a Zoom interview with members of KHREF’s board regarding my essay.

v. The following statement signed by the essay’s author and essay author’s parent or guardian: “I give the Kemper Human Rights Education Foundation permission to publish this essay.”

Winners will be announced, and awards presented by the end of January 2024.

About The Author

Kemper Human Rights Education Foundation

The Kemper Human Rights Education Foundation (KHREF), a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, seeks to spur the search for rules and enforcement mechanisms that will ensure everyone’s human rights are realized. Hence it sponsors human rights essay contests for high school students in the U.S. and other countries.

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KHREF Essay Contest

Offered by Kemper Human Rights Education Fund

Multiple awards worth

$1,000 - $4,000

Grade level

High School Students

Expected deadline: This scholarship might not currently be accepting applications. Most scholarship programs only accept applications a few months ahead of their annual deadline. We’ve estimated this deadline based on last year’s deadline in order to help you plan out your scholarship applications.

December 2024

Scholarship Overview

The KHREF Essay Contest is an amazing opportunity for high school students, from any country in the world, who have a passion for writing and international studies/relations. Each year, the contest awards impressive prizes of $4000, $2000, and $1000 to the high school applicants who submit the best essays answering the international studies/conflict-related prompt. Bear in mind that essays must be written in English, be a maximum of 2,500 words, and students’ arguments must be supported by scholarly research. If you’re a high school student with an interest in international studies and conflict, we encourage you to apply! Keep on reading to learn more.

About Kemper Human Rights Education Fund

The Kemper Human Rights Education Foundation (KHREF), a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, seeks to motivate students to search for the rules and enforcement mechanisms that will ensure everyone’s human rights are realized. Hence it sponsors human rights essay contests for high school students in the U.S. and other countries.

Eligibility information

This scholarship is open to students meeting the below eligibility criteria.

U.S. Citizens, Canadian Citizens, Permanent Residents, Other

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Essay Competition Theme: What Are Human Rights?

INSTRUCTIONS:

• Read the booklet What Are Human Rights? (You can download a copy of the booklet from our website or order it from our online store.) Click to download                                        Click to order 
• Essay Theme: What are human rights?
• The essay can be handwritten or typed (single spaced).
• The essay should be approximately one page long.
• Send this information: Name: Age (18 and under): Country: Parent/Guardian name: Parent/Guardian signature: Parent/Guardian email address for notification:
• Submit your essay with a letter giving “permission to publish” (if you are under 18 this letter must be from your parent) by email to [email protected] with the words “ESSAY COMPETITION” in the subject line.
• Your essay can also be mailed directly to YHRI. Click for address to mail 

Deadline: December 1st  Notification: December 10th, Human Rights Day

All essays will be considered for the YHRI website. Unfortunately, due to the large volume of submissions only a selection of essays, or excerpts from those received, will be placed on our international website!

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International Sites

Moscow court shuts down Russia's Memorial Human Rights Center in escalating crackdown

A court on Wednesday ordered the closure of Russia ’s Memorial Human Rights Center, a day after its sister organization and the country’s oldest human rights group was ordered to disband by the Supreme Court.

State prosecutors had accused both organizations of breaking a law requiring them to act as “foreign agents.” Both said the charges against them were politically-motivated.

Prosecutors at Moscow City Court said Wednesday that Memorial Human Rights Center was conducting “non-transparent financial activity,” Russian state media agency Interfax reported , including inadequately reflecting its revenue and expenses. 

Prosecutors also said the organization concealed the receipt of foreign funding by not complying with the requirements of the law on labelling its materials as that of a “foreign agent." They said the organization's publications were also found to contain "signs of approval of extremism and terrorism," according to Interfax.

The center’s lawyer Maria Eismont has already told TASS state news agency they will appeal the decision.

International rights groups and the U.S. State Department strongly condemned Tuesday’s ruling against the center's sister organization Memorial International, Russia’s oldest and most prominent human rights group that chronicled the history of repression in the Soviet Union.

Memorial International said in a statement after the ruling it would appeal the verdict and find “legal ways” to continue its work.

The two court decisions cap off a year of unprecedented crackdown on dissent in Russia.

Memorial closures bookmarked a year in which Alexei Navalny , the Kremlin’s top critic, was jailed, his movement banned and many of his allies forced to flee.

Moscow says it is simply enforcing laws to thwart extremism and shield the country from what it says is malign foreign influence.

Critics say that Vladimir Putin , in power as president or prime minister since 1999, is turning back the clock to the Soviet era when there was zero tolerance of dissent, and the legal assault on Memorial is an attempt to whitewash Soviet Russia’s darkest chapters, which do not chime with the Kremlin’s narrative of a resurgent country with nothing to be ashamed of. 

Established in the final years of the Soviet Union , Memorial initially investigated the crimes of the Stalin era, but later broadened its remit to looked into modern-day abuses too.

That irked the authorities who sometimes accused the group of siding with extremists.

Latah County Human Rights Task Force

Strengthening the bonds of community to embrace diversity and reject bigotry..

Welcome to the Latah County Human Rights Task Force webpage!

Congratulations to the 2023-2024 MLK Art and Essay Contest winners!

This year’s theme was FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND OUR LIBRARIES

The winners for the Art Contest were Cece Rose Ristene (St. Mary’s), Eduarda Gurge (Moscow Charter), Quinten Rowley (Moscow Charter), Hayley Cohee (Moscow Charter),

The winners for the Essay Contest included Cordelia Haley (Lena Whitmore), Leo Johnson (St. Mary’s), Fern Newlan (St. Mary’s), Catherine Apt (McDonald), Amy Zhou (Moscow Charter School), Naya Lee (Lena Whitmore), Emily Scout Heward (Lena Whitmore), Nora Algarni (Moscow Middle School), Lillian Camin, (Moscow Middle School), and Morgan Apt (Moscow High School).

A little about us and ways to become involved!

Our 2023 Martin Luther King, Jr. Breakfast on January 21st was a great success with an excellent presentation by Dr. Scott Finnie. A video of the Breakfast, including the Rosa Parks Awards and Dr. Finnie’s speech is now available here: 2023 Breakfast and Friends of Human Rights .

The Rosa Parks Award winners are available here: 2023 Rosa Parks Award Winners | Latah County Human Rights Task Force (humanrightslatah.org)

The Art and Essay Contest winners are available here: 2023 Art and Essay Contest Winners | Latah County Human Rights Task Force (humanrightslatah.org)

Dr. Scott Finnie’s Keynote address at the 2023 MLK Jr. Breakfast:

AREA RESPONSE TO ANTISEMITISM

Check out the recent Palouse Pride Day under Recent Events here: Palouse Pride Day 2021

Our mission:  To work for social justice for all people by supporting diversity, respect, and inclusiveness, while opposing bigotry, harassment, and discrimination.

Please click our Announcements tab for current or upcoming events. (For upcoming events visit: Upcoming Events )

These are annual events that the Task Force currently sponsors:

• Martin Luther King Art and Essay Contest – January
• Presentation of Rosa Parks Human Rights Achievement Awards – January
• Human Rights Day at the Moscow Farmer’s Market – September (Visit: HR Day )
• Great Moscow Food Drive – August
• Human Rights Education Programs for Area Schools – throughout the school year

and we encourage you to attend or support us in these events.

Meetings of the Latah County Human Rights Task Force are generally held the second Thursday of each month, and you are welcome to attend.

Please visit our Facebook page: Facebook

If you are interested in joining, volunteering, or attending a meeting, please see our Contact Us page: Contact Us

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Events of 2023

Aleksandra (Sasha) Skochilenko, a 33-year-old artist and musician facing charges of spreading false information about the army after replacing supermarket price tags with slogans protesting Russia’s war in Ukraine reacts during a court hearing in St. Petersbur, Russia on November 16, 2023.

© 2023 Anton Vaganov/REUTERS.

In the second year of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian authorities have further intensified efforts at home to eradicate any dissent about the war or the Kremlin’s domestic policies. They adopted and enforced new, repressive legislation, issued punitively long prison sentences for peaceful anti-war speech, and forcibly closed several prominent human rights groups.

Russia remained the most sanctioned country in the world.

The failed mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group prompted President Vladimir Putin to admit that the group, known for serious human rights abuses in its overseas operations and for recruiting Russian convicts to fight in Ukraine in exchange for amnesty, was fully funded from Russia’s budget.

In March, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Putin and Russian children’s rights commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova for the forcible transfer of Ukrainian children from occupied areas of Ukraine and their unlawful deportation to Russia. In response, in April, Russia adopted a law criminalizing assistance to foreign and international bodies “to which Russia is not a party.” For more information on Russian forces’ violations of the laws of war in Ukraine, including potential war crimes and crimes against humanity, see Ukraine chapter.

New laws imposed extensive limitations on rights and access to state services for perceived draft evaders.

Freedom of Expression

Russian authorities continued to use administrative and criminal charges of “discreditation” and “false information” about Russia’s armed forces to suppress anti-war speech and prosecute and imprison individuals for their lawful, peaceful expression. According to the human rights group OVD-info, in 2023, at least 77 people were convicted and sentenced on “false information” and 52 on “discreditation” charges; as of October 2023, criminal cases have been opened against over 350 people on these charges. Among them were both prominent opposition figures and people with no background in activism.

In December 2022, a Moscow court sentenced political opposition figure Ilya Yashin to eight-and-a-half years in prison on “false information” charges. In April 2023, after a year in pretrial detention, another prominent opposition figure, Vladimir Kara-Murza, received a 25-year sentence in a maximum-security prison on combined charges of treason, “false information,” and involvement with an “undesirable organization.”

In March, a new law extended “discreditation” and “false information” provisions to cover “volunteers” taking part or “assisting” in armed conflicts.

An April law allowed the authorities to strip naturalized Russian nationals of their citizenship, even if this rendered them stateless, and deport them for committing “discreditation” and “false information” offenses.

Authorities increasingly used Russia’s “undesirable organizations” legislation to outlaw exiled independent Russian media, including TV Rain, Meduza, The Project, and Novaya Gazeta Europe. Between 2022 and 2023, at least five people were convicted for reposting publications by “undesirable” media.

Russian authorities also increasingly prosecuted people on bogus treason, confidential cooperation, and espionage charges. In March, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) arrested Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich on espionage charges. At time of writing, he remained in pretrial detention.

In the first half of 2023 alone, the FSB opened more new treason cases, against a variety of individuals, than in all of 2022. An April law increased the penalties for treason and other crimes.

According to Russian human rights group First Department, in 2023, authorities opened at least 21 criminal cases against people who allegedly engaged in “confidential cooperation” with non-Russian nationals under a law reminiscent of the Soviet-era ban on contact with foreigners.

In October, a journalist with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) (a US government- funded media organization), Alsu Kurmasheva, was arrested for failing to register as a foreign agent while allegedly gathering information on the Russian military for foreign sources. This is the first known application of such charges. She faces up to five years in prison. At time of writing, she remained in pretrial detention.

Russian authorities also used legislation against the rehabilitation of Nazism to suppress legitimate free expression. In January, a Russian publishing house censored sections of a book by an American author that compared the Soviet army’s conduct in Poland during World War II to that of Nazi Germany.

In November, Russian authorities opened a criminal case against the local head of an opposition party in Russia’s Kamchatka region for social media posts comparing images of “patriotic” singer Shaman (Yaroslav Dronov) with images of a Nazi youth from the 1972 movie Cabaret . He faces up to four years’ imprisonment for display of Nazi symbols. In June, a court in Blagoveschensk, in Russia’s Far East, fined a former deputy of the local legislative assembly on similar administrative charges for reposting on social media a parody video showing clips from a video by Shaman side by side with a clip from Cabaret . Shaman shot to fame after the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine with a number of “patriotic” music video releases .

Freedom of Assembly

Freedom of assembly remained effectively defunct. Since 2020 Russian authorities have repeatedly used Covid-19 restrictions as a pretext to ban opposition and anti-war protests in the country, despite lifting all other Covid-19 related restrictions and organizing large crowds not adhering to quarantine requirements for pro-Kremlin events, including concerts in support of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In February, authorities in various regions detained and prosecuted individuals who participated in sparse protests on the anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Freedom of Association

Russian authorities again expanded legislation on “foreign agents” and “undesirable organizations.” They added at least 192 individuals and organizations to the “foreign agents” registry , with the total count reaching 707 as of November 3. At least 44 organizations were banned as “undesirable” in 2023; according to a Russian governmental website, which in some countries outside Russia can be accessed only with certain types of VPNs, the cumulative count was 116 organizations as of early November.

A December 2022 law streamlined criminal prosecutions for noncompliance with the “foreign agents” law and drastically increased penalties for creating or participating in “destructive” nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), further increasing avenues for authorities to penalize civic activists. In February, Artiom Vajenkov, coordinator of Russia’s leading independent election watchdog Golos, became the first person accused of revised “foreign agent” charges.

Laws adopted in July and August further harshened the “foreign agents” legislation, outlawed foreign organizations without legal presence in Russia, and criminalized participation in their activities.

In March and April, authorities respectively banned Transparency International and the EU-Russian Civil Society Forum as “ undesirable ."

In August, police detained Grigoriy Melkonyants, the chair of Golos, and raided the apartments of several members and perceived affiliates on allegations of continued participation in the European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations despite Golos’ departure from the network after it was banned as “undesirable” in 2021. At time of writing, Melkonyants remained in pretrial detention.

Attacks on Human Rights Defenders

Russian authorities continued to harass, intimidate, and prosecute human rights defenders and forcibly shut down human rights groups.

In January, a court ordered the shutdown of the Moscow Helsinki Group, Russia’s oldest human rights group.

In March, police raided office spaces affiliated with Memorial, one of Russia’s most prominent human rights groups that was forcibly shut down in 2021, and the homes of nine of its staff and board members. Earlier in January, the prosecutor’s office opened a criminal case against unspecified Memorial members on “justification of Nazism” charges. In October, a court in Moscow sentenced Oleg Orlov, co-chair of Memorial, to a large fine on “discreditation” charges for a November 2022 social media post on the applicability of the term “fascist” to Russia today. The prosecution appealed the verdict, seeking his imprisonment.

In April, the Moscow City Court ruled to liquidate SOVA , a watchdog on Russian extremism, on the pretext of holding activities outside Moscow.

In August, a court ordered the closure of the human rights NGO Chelovek I Zakon (Man and Law) based in the Mari El Republic, following a Justice Ministry lawsuit, on the grounds of operating outside the region where it was registered, non-compliance with “foreign agents” labeling rules, and alleged discrepancies between its activities and aims listed in incorporating documents.

In December 2022, a court fined the Moscow-based Sakharov Center, a human rights group, 5 million rubles (about US$50,000) for violating “foreign agents” labeling requirements. In August 2023, another court ordered its forcible closure following a Justice Ministry lawsuit alleging several violations, including non-compliance with these requirements. In January 2023, authorities banned the US-registered Andrei Sakharov Foundation as “undesirable.”

In July, Russian authorities banned the Human Rights House Foundation, headquartered in Norway, as “undesirable,” making cooperation with it a criminal offence for its Russian partners.

In May, a court sentenced Bakhrom Khamroyev to 14 years in prison on terrorism-related charges reportedly for social media posts and for preparing materials related to Hizb ut-Tahrir (HuT), a pan-Islamist movement that seeks to establish a caliphate but publicly repudiates violence to achieve that goal. Khamroyev was affiliated with Human Rights Center Memorial and in recent years defended the rights of migrant workers from Central Asia.

Ill-Treatment in Custody

Russian authorities subjected at least 40 activists and members of persecuted religious minorities to repeated and extended placement in disciplinary cells, according to a Russian human rights watchdog. They subjected such detainees to other forms of ill-treatment, including incommunicado detention during lengthy transfers from pretrial detention facilities to prisons.

In September, opposition figure Alexei Navalny was subjected to the maximum disciplinary penalty of one year. Following his arrest in January 2021, he had already been placed in a disciplinary cell at least 20 times for various terms. Prison authorities also placed historian and rights advocate Yuri Dmitriyev in a disciplinary cell for 15 days, in spite of his reportedly poor health.

Despite risks to those with known health conditions, Crimean Tatars serving sentences in Russia for alleged involvement with HuT have also repeatedly been placed for prolonged periods in disciplinary cells. One has spent some four months in a row in disciplinary cell, and another has cumulatively spent over two years in disciplinary cells since his conviction in 2019.

In January 2023, Andrey Pivovarov, former executive director of Open Russia, was effectively held in incommunicado detention for a month during his transfer from pretrial detention to a penitentiary. Russian authorities ignored his lawyer’s and family’s inquiries about his whereabouts and well-being, a practice to which the authorities also subjected Vladimir Kara-Murza and numerous others.

Chechen authorities under governor Ramzan Kadyrov continued to eviscerate all forms of dissent, targeting critics and retaliating against their family members, including by forcibly mobilizing men to fight for Russian forces in Ukraine.

In July, armed men in balaclavas violently attacked Elena Milashina, a journalist with Novaya Gazeta , and Alexander Nemov, a human rights lawyer, who arrived in Grozny to attend a court hearing in the politically motivated case against Zarema Mussaeva. Mussaeva was found guilty and sentenced to several years in prison. Milashina and Nemov suffered a severe beating, resulting in multiple traumas, including fractures. The assailants also threatened to kill them. At time of writing, an investigation was ongoing.

In February, Moscow authorities arrested Idris Arsamikov, who had previously been tortured in Chechnya for his presumed sexual orientation, on fabricated fraud charges and transferred him to Chechnya. Police in Chechnya refused to disclose his whereabouts or give his lawyers access. Two videos appeared on Arsamikov’s VKontakte page, showing him at home denouncing efforts to find him and making other statements that appear to have been forcibly extracted.

In August, a video circulated on social media showing Kadyrov’s 15-year-old son beating a suspect detained for destroying the Quran. Kadyrov publicly expressed approval of his son’s actions. In October, the boy received the “Hero of the Chechen Republic” governmental award.

Counterterrorism and Counter-Extremism

In mid-2023, some of Alexei Navalny’s former allies received lengthy sentences on bogus extremism and related charges following closed trials. They included Lilia Chanysheva, who in June was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison in Ufa, Bashkortostan, on extremism and “destructive NGO” charges; her co-defendant, Rustem Muliukov, who was sentenced to 2.5 years for extremism; and Vadim Ostanin, sentenced to 9 years on the same charge in Barnaul. At time of writing, Kseniya Fadeyeva remained on trial in Tomsk on charges of “aggravated extremism” and participation in a “destructive” organization.

In August, a court sentenced Navalny to 19 years in a maximum-security prison on spurious extremism and other charges. His co-defendant, Daniel Kholodny, former technical director of Navalny’s YouTube channel, was sentenced to eight years.

In September, several individuals were arrested on charges of financing an “extremist” organization for donations to the Navalny-affiliated organization “Foundation Against Corruption.”

In October, three of Navalny’s lawyers were detained on extremist charges for allegedly facilitating contact between Navalny and his aides and supporters while he remains in jail. They face up to six years in prison.

In June, six activists with the opposition youth movement “Vesna” (“Spring” in Russian) were detained on various spurious charges, including extremism. In September, authorities listed 21 Vesna members, including the aforementioned 6, in the registry of “extremists” and “terrorists.” In 2022, Russian authorities  opened several criminal cases against Vesna activists for organizing peaceful protests against Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. A court banned Vesna as extremist in December 2022 for its legitimate and peaceful civic activism.

In May, authorities arrested Yevgeniya Berkovich, a theater director, and Svetlana Petriychuk, a playwright, on “justification of terrorism” charges for an award-winning play they worked on together about women who became brides of members of Islamic State (also known as ISIS). At time of writing, both remained in pretrial detention.

Russian authorities opened new criminal cases on charges of justification of terrorism against at least two political prisoners already serving prison sentences, based on their alleged comments to fellow prisoners. In August and October, such cases were opened against Azat Miftakhov and Alexei Gorinov . Miftakhov was due to be released after serving a sentence for alleged attempted arson of an empty office of the ruling United Russia party, and Gorinov is serving a seven-year prison sentence for “false information” about Russian forces and for publicly talking about civilian casualties in Ukraine. The new charges may entail up to five years’ imprisonment.

In September, a court sentenced a Dagestani journalist, Abdulmumin Gadjiyev, to 17 years in a maximum-security prison on 3 spurious terrorism-related charges; his co-defendants received 17.5 and 18 years. Rights organizations assert the charges were in retaliation for his reporting.

Russian authorities also continued to abuse counter-extremism and counterterrorism legislation to persecute religious minorities. Police raided homes and opened new criminal cases against Jehovah’s Witnesses (JWs), banned as “extremist” in Russia since 2017. In 2023, at least 38 JWs were sentenced to up to 7 years in prison and 68 others were sentenced to various penalties not involving imprisonment. Since the 2017 ban, over 410 JWs have spent time behind bars, either awaiting trial or serving a prison sentence.

In 2023, Russian courts continued to issue lengthy prison sentences against people on politically motivated charges of membership in HuT, which was banned as a terrorist organization in Russia in 2003. According to Memorial, as of October 2023, at least 335 people were being prosecuted for alleged HuT affiliation in Russia and occupied Crimea, 115 of whom were sentenced to over 15 years in prison.

Several people were also sentenced , indicted , or detained for their supposed affiliation with Nurdzhular, a group of followers of the late Turkish theologian Said Nursi that Russia banned as extremist in 2008 even though it has no history of incitement or violence.

Russian authorities also continued to expand counter-extremism legislation. Under a June law , possession or distribution of material that falls under the overly broad and vague legal definition of “extremist” can trigger administrative liability, which can then lead to criminal liability for a repeated offence; previously, liability was triggered by possession or dissemination of materials if they were on the authorities’ list of “extremist materials.”

Climate Change, Environment, and Human Rights

Watchdogs continued to report physical attacks, harassment, and prosecution of environmental activists and groups.

Between April and July, authorities banned five environmental groups, including Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund , as “undesirable.”

Massive forest fires raged again in different parts of Russia, but the resources allocated by Russian authorities to manage them reportedly remained insufficient. And local authorities allegedly attempted to underreport the extent of forest fires.

In September, the first-ever “ climate lawsuit ” against the Russian government, demanding a radical reduction of Russia’s greenhouse gas emissions, was submitted to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).

Migrants, Statelessness, and Xenophobia

Russian police continued to racially profile non-Slav migrants and ethnic minorities and subject them to unsubstantiated ID checks and detentions , often prolonged, in inhumane conditions. Some have been physically assault ed .

In July, police raided mosques in Moscow region under the pretext of immigration checks, interrupting worship and physically assaulting and verbally insulting worshippers.

In some cases, during raids, police sought out dual Russian nationals among Central Asian migrants and forcibly delivered them to draft offices. In August, authorities in Kaluga region allegedly refused to accept naturalization applications from migrant workers unless they signed military service contracts.

Since autumn 2022, Russian authorities have been actively recruit ing Central Asian migrants to sign military contracts, including by luring them with cancellation of deportation orders and simplified naturalization processes or by using coercion and deceit . In several cases, officials issued draft notices to Central Asian nationals who do not have Russian passports and cannot be drafted.

In January, a high-ranking official stated that authorities should prioritize sending dual nationals from Central Asian countries to fight in Ukraine. He later also proposed stripping naturalized Russian nationals of their citizenship if they refuse to fight in Ukraine. In August, the head of the Russian Presidential Human Rights Council proposed synchronizing the naturalization procedure with registration at military draft offices.

At time of writing, parliament was considering a bill —whose official version is available on a Russian governmental website, which in some countries outside Russia can be accessed only with certain types of VPNs—that would allow naturalized citizens to be stripped of their Russian nationality for draft evasion, even if that renders them stateless.

Experts reported a rise in xenophobic racist attacks by neo-Nazis in the country and noted a rise in xenophobic anti-migrant rhetoric in parliament , the media, and wider society.

In late October, there were at least four antisemitic incidents in the North Caucasus, including a mob attack in an airport hunting for Israeli passengers. The police detained 201 people for participating in the airport riots and opened a criminal case. However, they have not acknowledged any of the incidents as antisemitic.

Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

Russian authorities intensified their crackdown on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people.

In November, the Russian Supreme Court in a closed hearing deemed the international LGBT movement as an extremist organization and banned it following a lawsuit by the Justice Ministry. The Ministry accused the “LGBT movement” of inciting social and religious discord.

A July law prohibited gender-affirming surgeries and trans health care, dissolved marriages of transgender people, banned changing gender markers in official documents, barred trans people from adopting or taking guardianship of children, and allowed coercive medical interventions on intersex children.

Russia’s media and communications regulator, Roskomnadzor, prosecuted streaming services for movies featuring scenes with LGBT people and ordered blockings of websites featuring any LGBT content. In February 2023, Roskomnadzor developed by-laws outlining criteria for defining “gay propaganda.”

Authorities used “foreign agent” designations against several LGBT organizations, including Centre T, which focuses on the rights and welfare of trans people. They extrajudicially blocked the websites of LGBT rights groups, including Centre T and Delo LGBT+.

In June 2023, Russia’s health minister stated that President Putin instructed the ministry to establish a new psychiatry institute to study the behavior of LGBT people. Human rights defenders are concerned that this could lead to the official introduction of conversion therapy.

Online Censorship, Surveillance, and Privacy

Russian authorities continued to arbitrarily block websites without court orders and further expanded the list of state bodies tasked with doing so. Blocked content included independent media outlets, rights groups, thousands of websites criticizing Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and content about LGBT and gender-affirming care.

Authorities also continued tightening control over internet infrastructure. A July law requires entities providing internet hosting services to enroll in a state registry. In September, another law entered into force requiring internet exchange points and telecom operators to install deep packet inspection (DPI) technology in their networks allowing the state to directly filter and reroute internet traffic.

In April, Moscow officials acknowledged using video surveillance with facial recognition technology to detain alleged draft evaders . Authorities further expanded the use of facial recognition technology, including at border crossing points and schools .

In December 2022, a personal data leak confirmed that the Moscow city government failed to secure sensitive personal data of millions of children and parents. In February, a new law extended compulsory lifetime DNA data collection for millions of people suspected of any crime or convicted of certain misdemeanors. In September, a law entered into force allowing Russian security services live access to taxi ride data.

Key International Actors (see also Ukraine chapter)

In September, Mariana Katzarova, the first United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in Russia, presented her first report to the UN Human Rights Council, outlining the significant deterioration of human rights in Russia since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In October, the UN Human Rights Council voted to extend her mandate for a year.

Throughout the year, UN institutions issued numerous statements on the human rights situation in Russia. The UN high commissioner for human rights expressed serious concern about Navalny’s latest sentence, condemned Kara-Murza’s sentence in April, expressed deep concern about “foreign agent” and anti-LGBT legislation, and the forced closure of human rights groups and independent media.

Likewise, UN special procedures, individually or jointly, called for the immediate release of Kara-Murza and Gershkovich , urged Russia to investigate the attack against Milashina and Nemov, urged Russia to drop criminal charges against Orlov, expressed distress over Navalny’s gravely deteriorating health and raised concerns about three imprisoned Navalny supporters, and expressed alarm at Wagner’s recruitment of inmates and “ over the escalating crackdown against civil society.”

Two UN human rights treaty bodies issued concluding observations on Russia. In April, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination expressed deep concern about the unclear definition of “extremist activity” in Russian law and called on Russia to combat racist hate speech, racial hatred, and discrimination. In November 2022, the UN Human Rights Committee expressed deep concern about rights violations in Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia and about a wide range of other rights issues, many of which were previously outlined in this chapter.

In February, the European Union imposed further sanctions against the Kremlin-sponsored Wagner mercenary group for serious human rights abuses in the Central African Republic and Sudan alongside sanctions on Wagner mercenaries under the EU’s Mali and Ukraine sanctions regimes. In September, the EU condemned Russia’s “elections” in occupied territories of Ukraine as a “violation of international law.”

Throughout 2023, the EU issued numerous statements condemning human rights violations in Russia, including the sentencing of Navalny and Kara-Murza . In July, the EU urged Russia to drop criminal “discreditation” charges against Orlov. In June and July, the EU Council announced human rights sanctions against individuals and entities for Kara-Murza sentencing and Navalny’s detention and other human rights violations.

The EU issued several statements expressing solidarity with Russia’s independent civil society and with those who have been persecuted for criticizing Russia’s war in Ukraine. The European Parliament also adopted several resolutions condemning Russia’s human rights record.

In February, outlining EU priorities in UN human rights fora, the EU Council condemned violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law stemming from Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

In September, the ECtHR handed down a ruling in the case of Maxim Lapunov, the only victim of Chechnya’s 2017 anti-gay purge who dared seek justice despite great personal risk. The court found that Lapunov was “detained and subjected to ill-treatment by State agents,” which “amounted to torture” and was perpetrated “solely on account of his sexual orientation.”

In July, the ECtHR ruled in favor of a Russian national in a case concerning police use of facial recognition technology to prosecute peaceful protesters. The court concluded that using personal data—including from facial recognition technology—to identify and later arrest a protester amounted to an unjustified interference with his private life. It also expressed “strong doubts” as to whether provisions in Russian law provide an appropriate legal basis for processing biometric data.

In October, Russia failed to reclaim a seat on the UN Human Rights Council during a General Assembly election. The General Assembly had suspended Moscow’s membership of the council in 2022 due to its full-scale invasion of Ukraine and reported atrocities and rights record at home.

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Summer Lee, ‘Squad’ Member, Wins Democratic House Primary in Pennsylvania

A first-term representative, Ms. Lee defeated a centrist Democrat in a race that centered on her opposition to the war in Gaza.

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By Anjali Huynh

Reported from Pittsburgh

• April 23, 2024

Representative Summer Lee, a first-term progressive Democrat, won her primary contest in western Pennsylvania on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press, fending off a moderate challenger in a race that centered on her stance on the war in Gaza.

The primary, in Pennsylvania’s 12th District, presented one of this year’s first down-ballot tests of whether left-wing incumbents would be hurt by their opposition to Israel’s military campaign. After Ms. Lee for months faced scrutiny for voting against support for Israel, her victory was partly seen as a reflection of how public, and party , sentiment on the issue has appeared to shift in her favor.

The congresswoman was winning by an overwhelming margin with counting nearly complete late Tuesday, underlining the strength of her position as an incumbent this year after she out-raised her opponent with widespread backing from Democratic officials.

Ms. Lee, who in 2022 was elected the first Black woman to represent Pennsylvania in Congress and later joined the group of left-leaning lawmakers known as the Squad, defeated Bhavini Patel, a city councilwoman in Edgewood, Pa. Ms. Patel ran as a more moderate Democrat and tried to paint Ms. Lee as dismissive of voters who oppose her approach to the conflict in Gaza. The seat is considered safely Democratic in the general election.

A former state representative, Ms. Lee, 36, narrowly won a primary fight in the district two years ago against a centrist opponent favored by the party’s establishment. Her victory was heralded by left-leaning organizations and leaders as a win for the progressive movement.

This year, Ms. Lee, now the incumbent, garnered support across the Democratic spectrum. Her endorsers included Pennsylvania’s senators, House Democratic leaders, labor unions and the Allegheny County Democratic Committee, which opposed her candidacy in 2022. Progressive groups spent large sums on her behalf, and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Democrat of New York, stumped for her in Pittsburgh on Sunday .

With more than 95 percent of the vote counted, she led Ms. Patel by more than 20 points. Ms. Lee played up that success as a testament that “our movement is growing” and denounced those who she said “wanted to make this a referendum on just one issue.”

“Our movement is expansive enough and big enough for each and every one of us, that each and every one of us can lay down our arms and cease fire so that we can have peace from Pittsburgh to Palestine,” she said.

In the fall, after Ms. Lee became one of the first Democrats to call for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, pro-Israel groups expressed interest in backing a challenger. But a serious opponent never materialized. AIPAC, the pro-Israel group that is supporting challenges to some left-wing candidates and that spent heavily against Ms. Lee in 2022, focused its attention elsewhere . Polls have shown that discontent with Israel’s military actions has been growing among Americans in recent months .

Still, Ms. Lee drew criticism in her district from some Jewish voters, who said in the days before the election that they were unhappy with her positions on Israel. Ms. Patel, 30, also tried to cast her opponent as insufficiently supportive of President Biden. Ms. Lee has pledged to rally her coalition to support Mr. Biden this fall in Pennsylvania, a critical swing state.

Ms. Lee and her allies seized on Ms. Patel’s support from Jeff Yass, a prominent Republican donor in Pennsylvania who gave significantly to a super PAC supporting moderate Democrats. The group ran ads on behalf of Ms. Patel, who disavowed Mr. Yass and his support.

Ms. Patel said in a statement on social media that “we did not get the result we wanted tonight, but this race was far from a loss.” “While our campaign may end tonight, our cause continues on,” she added.

During the primary, Ms. Lee often promoted her record in Congress, including having brought federal dollars to the district, and framed her candidacy around supporting a more diverse Democratic Party and fighting Trump-aligned Republicans. She vastly out-raised Ms. Patel. In the last fund-raising quarter, Ms. Lee collected more than three times as much money as Ms. Patel did.

Speaking to an energetic crowd in downtown Pittsburgh on Tuesday night, Ms. Lee also pledged to support her fellow Squad members facing challenges nationwide.

“We’re going to send a message to our Congress, and we’re going to send a message to our nation, that the direction that we want our country to go in — our coalition — is the coalition of now and the coalition of the future,” she said.

Anjali Huynh , a member of the 2023-24 Times Fellowship class based in New York, covers national politics, the 2024 presidential campaign and other elections. More about Anjali Huynh

Our Coverage of the Israel-Hamas War

News and Analysis

Israel has not provided evidence to support its accusations that many employees of the main U.N. agency  for Palestinian refugees are members of terrorist organizations, according to an independent review commissioned by the United Nations.

The United Nations says famine is likely to set in by May in Gaza. For those living under Israel’s attacks and a crippling blockade, every day is a race against time. Here’s how two Palestinian families  try to keep their children alive.

Israel has failed to achieve its two primary goals of the war, while the suffering of Palestinians  erodes support even among its allies. Here’s a look inside the stark reality  of Israel’s fight in Gaza.

The United States is considering imposing sanctions on one or more Israeli battalions accused of human rights violations during operations in the occupied West Bank , according to a person familiar with the deliberations.

PEN America’s Fallout: The free expression group PEN America has canceled its 2024 literary awards ceremony following months of escalating protests over the organization’s response to the war in Gaza , which has been criticized as overly sympathetic to Israel.

Fears Over Iran Buoy Netanyahu: The Israeli prime minister lost considerable support after the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attacks on Israel. Tensions with Iran have helped him claw  some of it back.

A Surprising Rift: The Israel-Hamas war, which has roiled cultural and political institutions far beyond the Middle East, is causing divisions in a prominent Japanese American group .

Mobilizing the American Left: As the death toll in Gaza climbed, the pro-Palestinian movement grew into a powerful, if disjointed, political force in the United States . Democrats are feeling the pressure.

• International edition
• Australia edition
• Europe edition

Russia-Ukraine war: Moscow’s bid to return to UN’s top human rights body fails after vote – as it happened

Albania and Bulgaria receive more votes at general assembly, after Russia was suspended from body last year

• What we know on day 594 of the invasion
• 10 Oct 2023 Closing summary
• 10 Oct 2023 Zelenskiy pledged not to attack nuclear plant in Zaporizhzhia, says IAEA chief
• 10 Oct 2023 Russian bid to return to UN rights body fails after vote
• 10 Oct 2023 Ukrainian frontline town of Avdiivka under 'severe artillery attack', says police officer
• 10 Oct 2023 Finland: Nato ready to assist investigation into pipeline damaged by 'external activity'
• 10 Oct 2023 Two Ukrainian defence ministry officials held on suspicion of embezzlement
• 10 Oct 2023 Russia will resume nuclear tests only if the US does it first, says deputy foreign minister
• 10 Oct 2023 Russia upholds detention of US reporter Evan Gershkovich
• 10 Oct 2023 Summary of the day so far...
• 10 Oct 2023 Ukrainian authorities investigating almost 100,000 war crimes
• 10 Oct 2023 Who decides who joins the UN human rights council?
• 10 Oct 2023 Zelenskiy visiting Romania
• 10 Oct 2023 Russian casualties rise by 450, says Ukraine
• 10 Oct 2023 Russia seeks return to UN human rights council

Two Ukrainian defence ministry officials held on suspicion of embezzlement

Ukraine said on Tuesday that it was holding two senior defence ministry officials on suspicion of embezzling $7m (£5.7m) earmarked for buying bulletproof vests, AFP reports.

The announcements came as Volodymyr Zelenskiy intensifies his anti-corruption drive, firing officials accused of graft in a bid to reassure western allies sending wartime aid.

The state bureau of investigation said the two officials, which it did not name, ordered “low-quality body armour” from abroad.

“This led not only to the loss of 250m hryvnia of budget funds, but also to the undermining of the country’s defence capability and a threat to the lives and health of army personnel,” it said, adding that both were in custody.

In August, Zelenskiy dismissed officials responsible for military conscription in every region of the country, citing corruption allegations that he said could amount to treason.

Investigators believe a subsea gas pipeline connecting Finland and Estonia may have been deliberately damaged, Finnish daily Iltalehti reported on Tuesday, citing Finnish security sources.

Swedish public radio separately reported that the pipeline had been damaged and that the damage did not occur naturally, citing Finnish government sources, according to Reuters.

Uefa has abandoned plans to reinstate Russian U17 teams into next year’s youth European Championships.

BBC News reports :

Last month, European football’s governing body announced it was exploring how to reintegrate the Russian youth team into the international setup, having suspended all Russian teams from Uefa competitions following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 . Now the organisation says that finding a way to reintegrate Russia ’s U17 side has proved too logistically difficult. “No technical solution to allow Russian teams to play could be found,” a Uefa spokesperson said, who added that the “agenda point was withdrawn”. Uefa had argued that boys and girls should not be punished for the actions of adults. But about a dozen national associations, including the English Football Association, publicly expressed their opposition to playing against Russia if drawn against them at either the men’s competition in Cyprus or the women’s in Sweden next year.

Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov , will visit Beijing on 16-18 October and hold talks with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi , Russia’s Tass state news agency cited foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova as saying on Tuesday.

China and Russia announced a “no-limits” partnership shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

China has largely abstained on UN general assembly votes – adopted with overwhelming support among the 193-member body – that demanded Russia stop fighting and immediately and unconditionally withdraw all its troops from Ukraine.

Russia will resume nuclear tests only if the US does it first, says deputy foreign minister

Russia will move to revoke the ratification of a global nuclear test ban to put itself on par with the US, but will resume nuclear tests only if Washington does it first, a senior Russian diplomat has said.

The deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov , told reporters that Moscow would rescind the ratification of the nuclear test ban treaty to “mirror” the action by the US, the Associated Press reports.

He added that if the US conducted a nuclear test “we will be forced to mirror that as well”.

Last week, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin , said Moscow could consider rescinding its decision in 2000 to ratify the bill.

The US signed the comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty in 1996 but the Senate did not ratify it. Successive US administrations, however, have observed a moratorium on testing nuclear weapons.

The speaker of the Russian parliament’s lower house, the state Duma, has indicated that lawmakers could move to rescind ratification of the nuclear test ban.

The chamber’s agenda-setting council on Monday gave the foreign affairs committee 10 days to prepare the issue for the house to consider .

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy , has posted on X to say he has started talks with his Romanian counterpart, Klaus Iohannis , in Bucharest .

Strengthening defence cooperation, working on Black Sea security and forging closer economic ties were topics on the agenda, he wrote.

“Ukraine-Romania partnership is a factor of stability for Europe and beyond,” Zelenskiy said.

The trip is Zelenskiy’s first to the Nato and EU member country since Russia invaded Ukraine last February.

The full-scale Russian invasion has involved frequent reports of airstrikes on Ukrainian grain and port infrastructure, including along the Romanian border.

About 85,000 Ukrainian refugees are registered in Romania, under the EU’s temporary protection scheme.

A pro-Russia Japanese politician left his opposition party on Tuesday after facing criticism for making a surprise visit to Moscow and declaring his support for Russia to win the war in Ukraine .

Muneo Suzuki , a former parliamentary vice-minister of foreign affairs, submitted a letter of resignation to the centre-right opposition Japan Innovation party, the its secretary-general, Fumitake Fujita, said.

The party had been taking steps to expel him over the trip but Suzuki told leaders that he wished to leave of his own accord, Fujita said.

“The party decided to accept his wish,” Fujita told a press conference, without elaborating further.

Suzuki will continue to serve as a member of parliament, with his current term due to end in 2025, Agence France-Presse reports.

He visited Russia for a five-day trip from 1 October to meet various Russian officials, including the deputy foreign minister, Andrey Rudenko. During the visit, he told Russian media he believed Moscow would be victorious.

It was the first known visit by a Japanese lawmaker to Russia since Moscow invaded Ukraine last year .

Japan has sided with its allies the US, the EU and others in imposing sanctions on Moscow over the invasion, and urges its citizens not to visit Russia.

Russia upholds detention of US reporter Evan Gershkovich

A Russian court has dismissed a complaint by the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich against the extension of his pre-trial detention, more than six months after his arrest on spying charges.

Judge Yuri Pasyunin at Moscow city court ruled to “keep the detention without changes” until 30 November, an Agence-France Presse reporter at the court said.

Gershkovich, 31, is the first American journalist to be held in Russia on spying charges since the end of the cold war. He was detained in the Urals city of Ekaterinburg while on a reporting trip at the end of March.

Russia’s FSB security service has claimed he was collecting state secrets about the country’s military-industrial complex. Gershkovich and the Wall Street Journal have denied the charges.

Kira Rudik , a Ukrainian MP and the leader of the liberal Golos party, has said the Kremlin is “actively working to destabilise the Middle East”, with Moscow attempting to undermine “world unity”.

kremlin is actively working to destabilize the Middle East. They are looking for new source of pain and suffering to undermine world unity. We cannot let it happen. — Kira Rudik (@kiraincongress) October 10, 2023

Summary of the day so far...

The National Police of Ukraine has documented nearly 100,000 war crimes committed by Russian forces in Ukraine, according to the head of the body . Speaking to the Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Ivan Vyhovsky said the evidence being gathered would form the basis of future attempts to prosecute the perpetrators.

Russia is unlikely to launch an additional mobilisation drive before the presidential election next year, the UK’s Ministry of Defence has said . In its daily intelligence update, the MoD said Vladimir Putin would “almost certainly” run for re-election in the vote, scheduled to take place on 17 March.

President Zelenskiy has said he has travelled to Bucharest for talks with his Romanian counterpart, Klaus Iohannis . Ukraine’s president said the two would discuss security cooperation, measures to strengthen Ukraine’s air defences and relationships with other partners.

There have been 450 Russian casualties in the past day, bringing the total number since the start of the war to 283,080, according to the Ukrainian defence ministry .

Russia will seek to return to the UN human rights council on Tuesday, just days after a Russian missile attack on the Ukrainian village of Hroza killed more than 50 people. Moscow was suspended from the Geneva-based body after it invaded Ukraine last year but will be considered in a vote by the general assembly for a new seat for the 2024-26 term.

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