On September 22, the Government of the Russian Federation adopted a resolution “About submitting to the President of the Russian Federation a proposal to denounce the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities.” We are talking about one of the fundamental documents of the Council of Europe, which excluded Russia in March 2022 in connection with the war in Ukraine. According to the regulations, in order to abandon the convention, which Russia signed in 1996, Vladimir Putin will have to submit a government proposal to the State Duma and receive its approval. Idel.Realii turned to a lawyer from Kalmykia, Daavr Dorhin, to find out what this convention is about, why Russia plans to denounce it, and what this could mean for the nations of Russia.
— What kind of convention is this, and why is it important?
This is a symbolic departure by Russia from the pan-European legal consensus
— The Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities is one of the conventions operating within the Council of Europe. The general process was as follows: The Council of Europe prepared a draft, which was approved and submitted for signature, ratification and implementation. In 1995, this convention was signed by 22 member states of the Council, and in 1998 it came into force.
As for the content of the convention, the essence is right in the name – in the word “framework”. It establishes an international legal framework that limits the discretion of states regarding their policies on national minority issues. The preamble to the convention states that there have been upheavals in European history that have demonstrated that the protection of minorities is a necessary condition for the peaceful and democratic development of the continent.
The principles laid down by this convention must be taken into account by the states that have signed it when adopting and applying laws in all areas of life. These goals are also determined by individual paragraphs of the document – they are more of an edifying nature: prohibition of discrimination and forced assimilation, freedom of religion, freedom to use and study one’s native language, and so on.
— Why did Russia decide to abandon this convention?
In the very refusal of this convention, I do not see a signal that in Russia they will now begin to systematically oppress national minorities
“I have the impression that Russia is now purposefully getting rid of international treaties that constrained its discretion. For the Russian authorities, the fundamental point is to feel complete freedom of action, to proudly declare that everything is regulated from within, with the help of the Russian constitution, and not on the basis of international documents allegedly imposed by someone from the outside.
I think that the legal department of the Russian Foreign Ministry is now preparing to denounce a large number of international acts because Russia considers itself smart and competent enough to independently make decisions on all issues: tax, financial… Now, it turns out, on the issue of national minorities too.
— Could this affect the life and legal status of non-Russian Russians?
— In the very refusal of this convention, I do not see a signal that in Russia they will now begin to systematically oppress national minorities. Or rather, this is already happening without regard to legal norms. The very fact of withdrawing from one convention is not enough for any serious changes in the centre’s policy. It is significant in another sense – it is a symbolic departure of Russia from the pan-European legal consensus in which it has been since the second half of the 1990s.
In this system, in fact, there is no place for either national or even territorial autonomies
I assume that, regardless of the Framework Convention, Russia will continue its oppressive policy ( policy of oppression – “Idel.Realities” ) towards national minorities and their regions. For Russia, this is a dynamic process, and under the current dictatorship, there are no institutional or any other ways to stop the growing centralization and deprivation of self-government from regions, not to mention the problems of preserving languages and cultures.
We have the example of Tatarstan, where all that remains of the “hyped” independence is the control of local elites over part of the economic assets. Otherwise, it is not much different from other national republics. In Russia, a unified system of public power has been built, which is spoken of in the post-reform constitution, and in this system, in fact, there is no place for either national or even territorial autonomies.
Thus, the withdrawal from the convention itself is unlikely to change anything; it only confirms the previously emerging trend towards a decrease in the international legal protection of Russians, including non-Russians. From this point of view, such a decision by the authorities is sad.
— Are there other documents establishing Russia’s obligation to protect the rights of indigenous peoples and other minorities? Are they observed today?
— The Framework Convention is the main such document in the Council of Europe system. There are other international treaties, declarations and conventions, the signing of which was initiated by other organizations. For example, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Charter. There is a consensus in international law that national minorities should be free from discrimination and state violence and should have at least the same set of rights as the ethnic majority, and possibly a number of additional privileges.
I’m afraid for the future of Russia’s ethnic groups in all their diversity
Moreover, international law implies the right of nations to self-determination – it is enshrined in the UN Charter. This document, created in 1945, was not only signed and ratified by the Soviet Union but also drafted with the participation of its delegates. All countries that sign the treaty are obliged to comply with its articles, and this obligation takes precedence over all other international treaties.
Russia is the legal successor of the USSR, but it is obvious that it has repeatedly violated the basic principles of the Charter. Take any area – from ensuring the opportunity to study minority languages to the required extent of implementing the right to self-determination, there will be violations everywhere.
This, unfortunately, is not such a rare case, especially for autocracies. A more radical form of disregard for international law can be observed in neighbouring Azerbaijan, which right now is denying the right to self-determination of ethnic Armenians – residents of Nagorno-Karabakh (Azerbaijan, for its part, insists that it is restoring the territorial integrity of the country, violated in the 90s of the last century with the support of neighbouring Armenia , offering Karabakh Armenians integration into Azerbaijani society and promises protection of their rights as one of the country’s national minorities – “Idel.Realities” ).
By gradually abandoning international treaties, the Russian Federation is sliding into savagery and in the same way is moving towards even more severe violations of human rights in all spheres, including the national one. This is a very sad trend – I’m afraid for the future of Russia’s ethnic groups in all their diversity.
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