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Almost six years have passed since the Russian parliament enacted legislation requiring any organisation receiving funding from abroad to register as \u2018foreign agents\u2019. In that time, 30 NGOs have shut down permanently, a devastating blow to Russian civil society. On 12 March 2018,\u00a0EHRAC<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Memorial Human Rights Centre<\/a>, alongside a consortium of other NGOs, responded to the Russian Government\u2019s observations defending the Act\u2019s purpose before the\u00a0European Court of Human Rights<\/a>. We represent 18 of the 61 organisations (listed below) that have taken their case to Europe\u2019s highest human rights body. We argue that the Foreign Agents Act interferes with the organisations\u2019 rights to freedom of expression, assembly and association, and that the NGOs on the register are being punished for their human rights activism.<\/p>\n

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What is the Foreign Agents Act?<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n
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In July 2012, the Russian parliament adopted a series of legislative amendments concerning NGOs, which are collectively known as the \u2018Foreign Agents Act\u2019. Russian organisations receiving funding from any foreign donors, or from other Russian organisations receiving foreign funding, \u00a0and which engage in \u2018political activity\u2019 are required to register on a list of so-called \u2018foreign agents\u2019. Any NGO carrying that label is subject to stricter accounting requirements than other NGOs, and must report to the Ministry of Justice more frequently on how they spend their funds. Publications by \u2018foreign agents\u2019 must be labelled as such; failure to comply with this provision, leads to the risk of substantial fines.<\/p>\n

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What effect has it had on civil society?<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n
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According to data from the Ministry of Justice,\u00a0there are currently 76 NGOs on the \u2018foreign agents\u2019 register [June 2018]<\/a>. A\u00a0total of 158 groups<\/a>\u00a0have been designated as \u2018foreign agents\u2019 to date, including 30 which have shut down rather than bear the label, and over 40 which have stopped accepting foreign funding. Other organisations have re-located outside Russia\u2019s borders. Criminal proceedings were initiated against Valentina Cherevatenko, Chair of Women of the Don: she faces up to two years in prison for\u00a0\u201cmalicious evasion of the duty to file the documents required for inclusion in the register of non-profit organizations performing the functions of a foreign agent.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0She was the first and, to date,\u00a0only leader of an NGO charged as an individual<\/a>\u00a0under the Foreign Agents Act, but the case was dropped in July 2017.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Source: Amnesty International, Four years of Putin\u2019s \u2018Foreign Agents\u2019 law to shackle and silence NGOs, November 2016 (Viacheslav Shilov)<\/p><\/div>\n

The law effectively acts as a\u00a0smear campaign<\/a>: the term \u2018foreign agent\u2019 is inextricably linked with spies and illicit activity as a result of the term\u2019s usage during the Soviet era. NGOs are faced with a difficult choice: either receive foreign funding and accept the repercussions of the label; or rely exclusively on Russian sources, including presidential or governmental grants, which may result in a loss of independence and self-censorship.<\/p>\n

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What is the international perspective on the Act?<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n
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The Foreign Agents Act has been widely condemned, including by\u00a0Amnesty International<\/a>, the\u00a0Venice Commission<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0the Commissioner for Human Rights<\/a>\u00a0of the Council of Europe.\u00a0Amnesty noted that:<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\u201cthe Foreign Agents Act had been used to undermine and discredit effective NGOs\u201d<\/em>, and had led to\u00a0\u201can atmosphere of suspicion and intolerance [\u2026] the end result is that many organizations that have made a significant contribution to promotion of human rights, civil society and to the wellbeing of citizens have been forced to close down.\u201d<\/em>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In July 2017,\u00a0Commissioner for Human Rights<\/a>\u00a0intervened in our case before the European Court, as did\u00a0Amnesty International and the International Commission of Jurists<\/a>, as well as\u00a0five Hungarian NGOs. These interventions highlight the concern created by the Foreign Agents Act in European civil society and the strategic relevance of the case across Europe, particularly given the emergence of copycat legislation in Hungary.<\/p>\n

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How can the European Court address the Act?<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n
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All of the 61 NGOs argue before the European Court that their designation as \u2018foreign agents\u2019 contravenes their rights to freedom of expression, assembly and association (Articles 10 and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)). Several of them, including 13 of the NGOs represented by EHRAC and Memorial HRC, further complain that they are subjected to restrictions and excessive reporting obligations while other NGOs are exempt from such duties, in violation of the prohibition of discrimination (Article 14 ECHR), and that their rights have been limited for politically-motivated reasons (Article 18 ECHR).<\/p>\n

In our response to the Russian Government, we argue that the real purpose of the Act was not to increase the transparency of NGOs\u2019 activities \u2013 the official \u2018rationale\u2019 behind the legislation \u2013 but rather to suppress public activity by organisations critical of the Government. We also outline that the repercussions faced by all NGOs included on the Foreign Agents register are exacerbated for NGOs operating in certain fields which cannot get access to funding in Russia as a result of other restrictive legislation, policy or practice, such as NGOs focusing on defending the rights of LGBTI\u00a0 individuals.<\/p>\n

A judgment from the European Court finding these violations will send a strong message to regimes around the world which have, or have planned to introduce, legislation which restricts civil society access to foreign funding, including in\u00a0Hungary<\/a>, Kyrgyzstan and India.<\/p>\n

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Full list of NGOs<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n
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For the individual case details, please see the\u00a0Appendix of the Court\u2019s communication<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Represented by EHRAC and\/or Memorial Human Rights Centre<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Regional Golos<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Golos Association<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Human Rights Centre \u201cMemorial\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Ecodefence<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Public Verdict<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
6.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Movement For Human Rights<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
7.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Citizens\u2019 Watch<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
8.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Civic Assistance Committee<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
9.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Golos Fund<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
10.\u00a0 MASHR<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
11.\u00a0 Committee against Torture<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
12.\u00a0 International Memorial<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
13.\u00a0 Moscow Helsinki Group<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
14.\u00a0 Union \u201cWomen of Don\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
15.\u00a0 Memo.ru<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
16.\u00a0 Yekaterinburg Memorial<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
17.\u00a0 Civil Education Centre<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
18.\u00a0 IEC Memorial<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Other NGOs in this case
\n<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
19.\u00a0 Public Initiatives Support Centre<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
20.\u00a0 Social Policy and Gender Studies Centre<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
21.\u00a0 Agora Association<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
22.\u00a0 Soldiers\u2019 Mothers of St Petersburg<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
23.\u00a0 Freedom of Information Fund<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
24.\u00a0 Partnership for Development<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
25.\u00a0 Regional Press Institute<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
26.\u00a0 Moscow School of Civil Education<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
27.\u00a0 Rakurs<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
28.\u00a0 Krasnodar Organisation of University Graduates<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
29.\u00a0 Sakharov Centre<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
30.\u00a0 Renaissance Centre<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
31.\u00a0 Man and Law<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
32.\u00a0 Youth Centre<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
33.\u00a0 Maximum Centre<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
34.\u00a0 Golos-Povolzhye<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
35.\u00a0 Siberian Environmental Centre<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
36.\u00a0 Mass Media Defence Centre<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
37.\u00a0 Movement \u201cFor Nature\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
38.\u00a0 Foundation \u201cFor Nature\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
39.\u00a0 Humanist Youth Movement<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
40.\u00a0 Ecology and Security Centre<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
41.\u00a0 Migration XXI Century<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
42.\u00a0 Planet of Hopes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
43.\u00a0 Fund 19\/29<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
44.\u00a0 Perm-36<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
45.\u00a0 Sutyazhnik<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
46.\u00a0 Dront Centre<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
47.\u00a0 Centre for Social Studies<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
48.\u00a0 Freeinform<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
49.\u00a0 Komi Human Rights Commission Memorial<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
50.\u00a0 Green World<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
51.\u00a0 Perm Human Rights Centre<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
52.\u00a0 Far East Centre<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
53.\u00a0 Women of Don<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
54.\u00a0 Baykal Wave<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
55.\u00a0 Glasnost Defence Foundation<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
56.\u00a0 Indigenous Peoples\u2019 Centre<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
57.\u00a0 Green World Local<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
58.\u00a0 Gagarin Park<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
59.\u00a0 Democratic Centre<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
60.\u00a0 Anti-Discrimination Centre Memorial<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
61. Coming Out<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Translation(s)<\/h3>\n