In Russia, the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities has ceased to be in effect. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the country officially withdrew from the convention on August 1.
The convention was signed on February 28, 1996, in Strasbourg and ratified on June 18, 1998. It prohibits discrimination and forced assimilation of national minorities and guarantees their freedom of religion, expression, and communication in their native language. Besides Russia, all Council of Europe member states signed the convention except Andorra, Monaco, Turkey, and France—totaling 39 countries. However, it has not yet been ratified by Belgium, Greece, Iceland, and Luxembourg.
The Russian government proposed denouncing the convention on September 22, 2023. Later that month, President Vladimir Putin submitted a federal law project to the State Duma. The decision was explained as a response to "discriminatory attitudes towards Russia."
Putin claimed that following the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the European Union significantly restricted the powers of Russian experts in the advisory committee on compliance with the convention, and the country lost some of its ability to monitor the rights of Russian-speaking people abroad.
On October 10, the State Duma approved the denunciation of the convention, and just nine days later, Putin signed the law.
Following the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the EU voted to exclude Russia from the Council of Europe. Moscow decided to preemptively withdraw from the organization, where it had been a member for 26 years. Subsequently, the State Duma passed a bill on non-compliance with decisions of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) made after March 15, 2022.
On September 16, Russia exited the European Convention on Human Rights. Now, residents can only file complaints with UN committees, which do not award specific compensation, leaving this to the discretion of the authorities.
In February 2023, Russia officially withdrew from all European conventions. The country's adherence to the Council of Europe Charter, the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the European Social Charter, and 18 other documents ceased.
