What will Russia lose if it leaves the Council of Europe?
In June of this year, Russia may be expelled from the Council of Europe for non-payment of membership fees. Our country joined this organization in 1996, and two years later it ratified the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, thanks to which a moratorium on the use of the exceptional death penalty was introduced and the jurisdiction of the Strasbourg court was recognized. Are Russians ready to face the domestic justice if they leave the Council of Europe?
The background is briefly as follows. After President Vladimir Putin decided to admit the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol to the Russian Federation, the delegation of our country was deprived of the right to vote in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) as a “punishment”. At the same time, Russia was not released from the obligation to pay membership dues, which make up 10% of the budget of the European organization.
The situation turned out to be unhealthy: to pay for being discriminated against, gives something away from the realm of political masochism. Two years ago, Moscow made a decision in principle to stop paying membership dues to this international structure. Since there were no constructive changes, the Russian side directly warned of the possibility of leaving PACE.
Our country may leave the close ranks of the Council of Europe already in June, since PACE has the right to expel it for non-payment of contributions for two years. Probably, if a fundamental decision is made, then you should leave yourself. Member of the Federation Council Aleksey Pushkov said that it makes no sense to remain in the role of wordless whipping boys in PACE:
Indeed, why not beautifully slam the door loudly? However, there is one big “but.” Then automatically exit from the Convention on Human Rights. Human rights activist Alexander Brod explains:
Indeed, with all the love for our big country, we must admit that sometimes the law here turns "like a drawbar." Sometimes, only the distant and alien Strasbourg can become the last council for domestic “justice”, which is justified, unfortunately, not always. The scale of the problem is evidenced by the figures: last year, 12 150 appeals from Russia were received by the European court, which is two more than three years earlier. The Russians turned to Strasbourg regarding the use of torture, inhuman and degrading treatment by representatives of the authorities and the ineffective investigation of such cases.
Someone may say that there is nothing for Europeans to poke their nose into our torture, they say, we torture whom we need, and we shouldn’t take dirty linen out of our hut, we will figure it out for ourselves. But maybe it's still worth it?
The background is briefly as follows. After President Vladimir Putin decided to admit the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol to the Russian Federation, the delegation of our country was deprived of the right to vote in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) as a “punishment”. At the same time, Russia was not released from the obligation to pay membership dues, which make up 10% of the budget of the European organization.
The situation turned out to be unhealthy: to pay for being discriminated against, gives something away from the realm of political masochism. Two years ago, Moscow made a decision in principle to stop paying membership dues to this international structure. Since there were no constructive changes, the Russian side directly warned of the possibility of leaving PACE.
Our country may leave the close ranks of the Council of Europe already in June, since PACE has the right to expel it for non-payment of contributions for two years. Probably, if a fundamental decision is made, then you should leave yourself. Member of the Federation Council Aleksey Pushkov said that it makes no sense to remain in the role of wordless whipping boys in PACE:
These will be meaningless rhetoric exercises in a tertiary European organization.
Indeed, why not beautifully slam the door loudly? However, there is one big “but.” Then automatically exit from the Convention on Human Rights. Human rights activist Alexander Brod explains:
The convention is a very important mechanism. The European Court of Human Rights often becomes the authority that allows Russian citizens to seek law and justice.
Indeed, with all the love for our big country, we must admit that sometimes the law here turns "like a drawbar." Sometimes, only the distant and alien Strasbourg can become the last council for domestic “justice”, which is justified, unfortunately, not always. The scale of the problem is evidenced by the figures: last year, 12 150 appeals from Russia were received by the European court, which is two more than three years earlier. The Russians turned to Strasbourg regarding the use of torture, inhuman and degrading treatment by representatives of the authorities and the ineffective investigation of such cases.
Someone may say that there is nothing for Europeans to poke their nose into our torture, they say, we torture whom we need, and we shouldn’t take dirty linen out of our hut, we will figure it out for ourselves. But maybe it's still worth it?
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