15:00, 7 April 2023

Rights defender who worked in Chechnya appointed UN Human Rights Rapporteur in Russia

Mariana Katsarova. Screenshot of the video on the "Fortanga" YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQ2DqRq2vHg

Mariana Katsarova, a Bulgarian human rights defender, who worked as a journalist in the war zone in Chechnya and also took part in monitoring human rights violations in Northern Caucasus, has been appointed the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Russia.

Katsarova has been appointed by the UN Human Rights Council as Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Russia. The decision was made by a majority of votes: 28 in favour, two (China and Eritrea) against, and 17 abstained, the "Kavkaz.Realii"* project reports.

Mariana Katsarova began her human rights activities as a journalist; she worked in the war zone in Chechnya, and for 10 years participated in monitoring human rights violations in Northern Caucasus. Later, she led human rights monitoring in Ukraine and Belarus, and also founded the NGO "Reach All Women in War" in the UK, which awards the annual Anna Politkovskaya Award.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on November 4, 2022, the UN Human Rights Committee published comments on the state of human rights in Russia, in which it expressed particular concern about violations in Northern Caucasus, including kidnappings and torture.

On January 13, 2023, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) stated that in 2022, Chechen authorities continued their crackdown on the dissent amid the special military operation (SMO) in Ukraine. The report also mentioned the persecution of anti-mobilization protesters in Dagestan.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on April 6, 2023 at 10:24 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Source: Caucasian Knot