UNGA81 Third Committee Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Russian Federation Ms. Mariana Katzarova
Statement delivered by Ms. Mia Hallén, Head of Department for International Law and Human Rights at the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs
on behalf of the Nordic Baltic countries:
Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden
New York, 26 October 2026
We thank the Special Rapporteur for her report on the human rights situation in the Russian Federation and warmly welcome the extension of her mandate.
We remain gravely concerned about the continuing, dramatic erosion of human rights in Russia. As the Special Rapporteur’s report highlights, we continue to see a tightening repression, consolidation of authoritarian control and militarisation of society. Repression is described as widespread, systematic and part of a government strategy.
Repression in Russia is concerning in its own right, but it also has repercussions abroad. Domestic repression feeds external aggression. As the Special Rapporteur finds in her report – repression at home has dismantled the constraints on aggression abroad. In turn, the war against Ukraine is now used to justify deeper repression at home.
The report underlines the need for continued international attention to the human rights situation in Russia and the importance of the Special Rapporteur’s mandate.
The Russian Federation must respect its obligations under international human rights law and cooperate with all UN human rights mechanisms, including the Special Rapporteur. It is unacceptable that the Russian Federation continues to deny her unhindered access to its territory and has still made no attempt to implement recommendations from earlier reports.
We also urge the Russian Federation to immediately and unconditionally release the thousands who remain arbitrarily detained, including deported and unlawfully transferred Ukrainian civilians, among them children, in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and within the Russian Federation.
Madame Special Rapporteur,
Which issues do you consider most urgent during your extended mandate?
Thank you.