Interventions for the 2023 OSCE Warsaw Human Dimension Conference

Protecting and Supporting Democratic Institutions in Armenia 

Warsaw Human Dimension Conference 2023 

Warsaw, Poland 

October 3, 2023 

Plenary Session I: Democratic Institutions

After the peaceful Velvet Revolution of 2018, there was a political consensus in the government and among the public for a robust democratic reform agenda in Armenia. Though Armenia continues to work towards that end, it faces various internal and external challenges that significantly impair its democracy-building efforts. In this challenging environment, Freedom House urges the Armenian government to take advantage of the significant contributions that civil society can make to the reform process, and to create space for the inclusive participation of society in strengthening Armenia’s democratic institutions, which have been weakened by external and internal threats to national security.

Democracy is essential for progress on the issues we care most about – peace, security, human rights, equality, social justice, and poverty. Armenia’s attempts to make progress in its democratic reform agenda have time and again been undermined by the ongoing security crisis, especially after the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war. Outside forces continue to challenge Armenia’s democratization agenda, falsely pitting it against the country’s national security. The current humanitarian crisis following Azerbaijan’s assault on Nagorno-Karabakh, its dubious promise to peacefully integrate Karabakh Armenians into Azerbaijani society, and its threats to Armenia’s sovereignty demand strong democratic institutions and participatory policy-making. Consolidated democracies have proven to be remarkably resilient in the face of serious political, social, and economic pressures. Russia’s ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine has further destabilized the region, and the security of the  South Caucasus continues to bend under the weight of authoritarian regimes. 

These challenges have diverted public and government attention in Armenia away from internal reform processes to strengthen the country’s democratic institutions in search of external partners and institutions that will support both the national security and the ambitions of the Armenian people to live in a free, sovereign, and democratic Armenia. Consequently, civil society has had to shift its priorities and focus efforts on emergency and humanitarian activities. These security challenges impede Armenia’s democratic journey for both the Armenian government and civil society. Under these circumstances, it is essential that OSCE Participating states continue to support their commitments to a comprehensive security that includes the Human Dimension and provide meaningful political and material support to Armenia, its government, its civil society and its public to foster democratic reform as a fundamental component of the country’s security.

The ever-intensifying threat to national security, the fragility of Armenia’s sovereign borders, and the destabilizing role of Russia and other authoritarian countries of the region in Armenia’s internal political situation have exacerbated political polarization within the country, undermined the health of public discourse, and further divided citizens, discouraging their participation in political and civic processes. In this context, trust in democratic institutions has eroded and citizens have become more susceptible to anti-democratic disinformation campaigns and malign influences. A  2021-2022 survey produced by the Caucasus Research Resource Center-Armenia (CRRC-Armenia)  found high levels of distrust in Armenia’s democratic institutions such as the media, the judiciary, and the National Assembly, have persisted over time, with the level of distrust in democratic institutions increasing by over 30 points since 2019. For this reason, the Armenian government must work in close collaboration with local civil society in Armenia to protect and strengthen democratic processes.

Freedom House’s 2023 Nations in Transit Armenia country report noted an increasing level of engagement from civic actors in the country's reform processes. Still, this engagement remains largely non-institutionalized. Given Armenia's external and internal challenges, Freedom House is concerned that the space for constructive policy dialogue and contribution to decision-making is gradually shrinking. We commend the proactive involvement of Armenian civil society in advocating for justice, anti-corruption measures, and human rights reforms. Concurrently, considering the crucial role that media plays in the shaping of democracy, we maintain that experts, journalists and the wider human rights community must take a more active role in advocating for a healthy media landscape and legislation to keep processes transparent, ensuring that the media legislation crafted not only respects the nuances of the Armenian media industry, but also upholds fundamental democratic values.

Finally, democracy – or the voice of the majority – is hollow without the input of the minority, and as the public space for discourse is overtaken by security concerns, advocacy for the rights of marginalized groups like LGBTQI+ communities, ethnic minorities, and women, falls to the wayside. We want to emphasize the state’s role in ensuring and protecting the rights and safety of marginalized communities. We urge the Armenian government to initiate reforms to this end. The support of other advocates, as well as the use of media, can help inform and educate the public, overall shifting their attitudes for the better. 

Ukraine: Condemning the Systematic Mistreatment of Those Held by the Russian Federation 

OSCE Warsaw Human Dimension Conference 2023 

Plenary Session VI: Rule of Law II

Freedom House continues to unambiguously condemn the Russian Federation’s illegal and ongoing full-scale war against Ukraine and its occupation of Ukrainian territories. We firmly stand with Ukraine and its allies in stating that Russia has no legitimate claim to the sovereign Ukrainian territory of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia regions, and Crimea. We condemn, in the strongest terms possible, Russia’s repressive policies to exercise control over Ukrainian territory and suppress Ukrainian culture and identity.

Today, we sound the alarm over the systemic ill treatment, torture, and lack of access to Ukrainians held by the Russian Federation. We urge a more robust international response to the growing number of Ukrainian political prisoners, civilians who have been forcibly disappeared, and prisoners of war (POWs) held by the Russian Federation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine or on the territory of the Russian Federation.

First, on Ukrainian political prisoners held by Russian authorities in Ukraine’s temporarily occupied territories or moved to the Russian Federation, we emphatically state that they must all be immediately and unconditionally released. We consistently hear from Ukrainian partners that Russian prison authorities refuse to provide urgent medical treatment to detained Ukrainians, and that abuse and neglect are commonplace. We call attention to the deaths of two Crimean Tatar political prisoners – Dzhemil Gafarov and Kostiantyn Shyrinh – who both had untreated medical conditions and reportedly were refused medical attention while in Russian custody. The Ukrainian organization, ZMINA Human Rights Centre, estimates that there are at least 45 other political prisoners who have been denied urgent care by the Russian authorities. In addition to denial of medical care, Freedom House is also concerned by the Russian authorities’ tactic of transferring Ukrainian political prisoners to prisons deep within Russian territory, which significantly impedes the prisoners’ right and access to lawyers and family visitation. 

Freedom House emphasizes the ongoing political persecution and imprisonment of Crimean Tatars by occupying Russian authorities. According to Crimean Solidarity, there are 186 political prisoners from Crimea, of whom 116 are Crimean Tatar, as of September 27, 2023. Many of them are independent journalists. One case to highlight is that of Server Mustafayev, a prominent human rights defender and co-founder of Crimean Solidarity, an organization that defends victims of political persecution in Crimea. Like many Crimean Tatars, he was charged with being a member of the nonviolent Islamist movement Hizb ut-Tahrir, which Russia has designated a terrorist group, but which operates legally in Ukraine and many other countries. He was arrested in May 2018 and eventually sentenced to 14 years in a high-security forced labor camp. Mustafayev’s unjust detention is a telling example of the Kremlin’s religious and political repression under the pretense of “fighting terrorism.” We cannot stand for such an egregious violation of human rights.

Second, Freedom House is concerned by credible reports that Russia is forcibly disappearing civilians in Ukraine’s occupied territories. These claims warrant far more international outcry. Civilians typically targeted include public activists, human rights defenders, volunteers, journalists, local politicians, educators, former police officers, veterans, and religious figures. Freedom House’s partner, ZMINA Human Rights Center, refers to this practice as “a policy of suppressing the resistance of the local population in occupied territories.” We wholeheartedly echo their assessment. Russia often holds these civilian prisoners incommunicado without status under Russian law or access to lawyers. The exact figures are unknown, but the Ukrainian government estimates that Russia is holding close to ten thousand civilians  in 125 makeshift detention centers across occupied Ukraine, as well as 37 more in Russia and Belarus. Torture and summary executions are commonplace. We implore democratic governments to bring international attention to what the Associated Press has referred to as “invisible prisoners” and bring their Russian captors to justice. We also condemn the Russian Federation’s ongoing denial of holding these civilians captive.

Third, we are deeply concerned about the treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs), specifically Russia’s practice of criminalizing POWs through bogus accusations and then preventing their right to legal counsel and a fair trial with credible evidence. They are often denied access to lawyers during the pre-trial detention stage, which is where POWs experience the most severe treatment, torture, and are often forced by interrogators to give false confessions. POWs are also frequently denied medical care, and Russia routinely refuses to disclose their location to family members. Freedom House unequivocally condemns this extralegal regime and the fabrication of bogus charges against Ukrainian POWs. We also condemn the fact that the Russian authorities consistently impede the access of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to Ukrainian POWs despite repeated demands as a clear violation of international humanitarian law.  We also reiterate our condemnation of Maksym Butkevych’s unjust treatment and recent sentencing to 13 years’ imprisonment. We demand his immediate release. The systematic mistreatment of those held captive by Russian occupying authorities in Ukraine necessitates further international outcry and condemnation. Freedom House asks OSCE participating States and OSCE institutions to shine further light on these human rights abuses and pursue justice for the victims. In addition, we urge the following actions.