Our Clarifying Moment: A Global Call To Action
Support the Russian People and Regional Populations Impacted by the Conflict
As the world mobilizes in response to aggression by the Russian government, the international community must take care to not unjustly target the innocent Russian people, who are far removed from the decision-making processes in the Kremlin and battlefield. Russian President Vladimir Putin is dramatically seeking to increase conscription implicating millions of Russian men, including through a “partial mobilization” in September 2022 and a law passed in April 2023 that streamlines future conscription and bans draftees from leaving the country. In September 2023, Putin called up 130,000 conscripts for military service, as well as raised the age limit of conscripts from 27 to 30. Human rights organizations have also reported that Russia is forcing Ukrainian citizens in occupied regions to serve in the Russian military. Russia has not closed any border crossings following the attempts of many eligible reservists and potential conscripts to flee, but is imposing new measures to identify those seeking to avoid service, including facial recognition technology.
In October 2022, in response to mass arrests and imprisonment of human rights defenders and journalists, the UN”s Human Rights Council appointed a Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Russian Federation—the first such to be established in relation to a permanent member of the UN Security Council. In May 2023, Mariana Katzarova began her work as the Special Rapporteur. In September 2023, the Special Rapporteur submitted her report on the situation of human rights in the Russian Federation. The report observed a widespread pattern of civic and political suppression, including the detainment of more than 20,000 Russians between February 2022 and June 2023 for participating in “largely peaceful” anti-war protests, as well as 600 lawsuits by the Russian government against alleged “anti-war activity.” In October 2023, the UN extended the mandate for another year.
In March 2023, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights highlighted the continued closing of civic space in Russia, troubling legislation affecting the LGBTQ+ community, and the alarming law whereby any person or entity who engages in civic activism can be designated a "foreign agent” and subjected to heavy fines and restricted access to public life. The Kremlin continues to crack down on opposition with new arrests and sentencing of opposition leaders, forced disappearances, and the elimination of independent media.
Russian stability took a surprising turn in June 2023 when the Wagner Group appeared to initiate a rebellion against Putin and his government. Although the Wagner Group turned its march to Moscow around, the events highlighted tensions between Russia and the forces widely responsible for Russia's biggest victories in Ukraine and some of the most egregious atrocities. Additionally, the February 2024 death of the imprisoned Russian dissident Alexei Navalny underscores the dangers facing Russians who speak out against the government’s authoritarian practices.
The Russian people are not the enemy. The conflict presents an opportunity to support Russian actors and organizations working toward democracy, human rights, and nonviolence.
Immediate actions needed:
Governments and civil society must provide clear messaging that the Russian people are not the enemy and donors must fund and support Russian civil society, human rights and anti-war activists, and political dissidents in and outside of Russia in a manner that protects them from “foreign agent” designation and other penalties imposed by the government.
Donors and the private sector should support creative and innovative ways to ensure unsanitized information about the conflict in Ukraine reaches the Russian population, such as the Torrents of Truth Initiative that allows Russian journalists to disseminate reporting on the conflict in Ukraine disguised as pirated movies, TV shows, and other entertainment content. Other initiatives include options to make phone calls or to send emails directly to Russian citizens.
The international community—especially the European Union—should provide coordinated support for human rights defenders and others opposed to the conflict through resettlement and livelihood support, as well as for the communities in which they settle, particularly in countries that have been subject to past Russian aggression, such as Georgia. Donors should support efforts toward dialogue, peacebuilding, and social cohesion to address tensions resulting from the inflows of Russian refugees and historical resentment, injustice, and violence.
UN Member States should elevate, promote, and support through all available means the work of the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Russian Federation, including by assisting with investigations and consultations.
Donors should also support countries in Central Asia and the Caucasus—such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Armenia, and Georgia—now home to large populations of Russian refugees, as well as a return of migrant workers, which could lead to increased tensions, violence (including gender-based violence), and political instability. Although official numbers do not exist, research published in October 2023 estimated that more than 820,000 people have left Russia since the start of the war. The response from countries receiving these individuals has been mixed, ranging from welcoming to hostile.
Governments and multilateral institutions must seek to minimize the impacts of economic sanctions on innocent Russian civilians. In particular, they must work to ensure that sanctions do not adversely affect Russian civil society and activities working to end the conflict and promote democracy within Russia. The international community should amplify the voices of Russians who speak out against Russian aggression, especially Russian artists, athletes, and other prominent leaders.
Donors must also address the regional consequences of sanctions, particularly in countries that are ruble-dependent or inextricably tied to the Russian market, and prepare for potential Russian interference, destabilization, and closing civic space in its sphere of influence. Donors should further support democracy and human rights in these areas to reverse Russia’s influence.
Donors should also urgently scale up support, subsidies, investment in climate-resilient technologies, and other measures to protect countries that rely heavily on Russian and Ukrainian imports to avoid and mitigate food and economic crises in places such as Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and North Africa region, and Asia.