Russia withdrew from the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of National Minorities

On October 19, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the law "On the denunciation of the Council of Europe Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities." At the end of September, he submitted a corresponding bill to the State Duma. Thus, the Russian Federation withdrew from the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of National Minorities.

The bill was submitted to the State Duma by Putin at the end of September, adopted in the third and final reading on October 10, and approved by the Federation Council on the 11th.

The explanatory note to the bill states that in September 2022, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe significantly limited the powers of the Russian expert in the committee for monitoring the implementation of obligations by member states under the convention. Russia also lost the right to participate in decision-making and monitor cases of violation of the rights of the Russian-speaking minority abroad. "Termination of participation in this international treaty will avoid discriminatory treatment of the Russian Federation within the framework of this monitoring mechanism of the Council of Europe and will not harm the observance of the rights of national minorities," the legislators believe.

Russia signed the Convention for the Protection of National Minorities on 28 February 1996 in Strasbourg. This document prohibits the assimilation of national minorities against their will and provides for the right of national minorities to freely use their language.

Withdrawal from the Council of Europe Convention was another consequence of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. On 25 February 2022, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe suspended Russian representation in the statutory bodies of the Council, and in March approved a resolution to exclude Russia from the organization. In response, Moscow officially notified the Secretary General of the Council of Europe of its intention to leave the Council of Europe. The Russian Foreign Ministry accused "EU and NATO states unfriendly to Russia" of abusing their absolute majority in the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe and turning "the oldest European organization into another platform for discussions about the superiority of the West and self-admiration." In February 2023, the State Duma of the Russian Federation adopted a law terminating 21 international treaties in relation to Russia, including the human rights convention.

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