Human Rights
Saturday 1 September 2018
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Commenting on the chemical attack that allegedly took place on Syrian territory, Lavrov noted that ‘such situations have happened in the past -- 2016, Khan-Sheikhoun, 2017, East Ghouta.’ As the minister recalled, in the first case Russia insisted on an OPCW inspection, but ‘Western colleagues blocked the inspectors’ way’."
It was not the Western countries that tried to block OPCW inspections in Syria. Rather, Russia and the Syrian government have tried to block such inspections, and Russia has used its veto power on the U.N. Security Council to impede investigations into the use of chemical weapons in Syria. -
“Russian Defence Ministry: English-speaking ‘foreign specialists’ have arrived in #Syria to attempt staging chlorine chemical attack early this week. Latest intel indicates the hoax is planned to take place in the village of Kafr Zita (Hama province) #HoaxAlert”
The photograph is of the set of a Syrian government film. No evidence has ever been provided showing that rebels or their supporters staged a chemical attack anywhere in Syria. -
"We noted the participation of the United Nations Office (UNO) in the evacuation of the White Helmets, the UNO confirmed their involvement in these events. The UNHCR thereby supports the disinformation campaign [in Syria], arranged by these ‘fearless humanitarian workers.’ This is at the very least a big mistake."
The disinformation campaign about the White Helmets led by the Russia and Assad calls the White Helmets “terrorist collaborators,” without providing any proof. In fact, the volunteers work under the 1949 Geneva Convention to protect civilians in the Syria conflict zones. -
“Legal religious activities are not only allowed in any region of China, but also well protected. However in an attempt to divide China's national unity, many Western forces have repeatedly made an issue of the country's religious freedom, making groundless claims that religious groups are suppressed in China.”
A human rights organization and the media cite evidence from inside China and eyewitnesses that members of Muslim minorities are subject to surveillance, arrest, and “reeducation camps” due to their religious affiliation. -
“The head of the Russian Lower House Committee for Eurasian Integration says the recent proposal to split Russia into several parts, voiced by a Latvian MP, is proof of NATO’s hostile plans.”
The “proposal” was only a tweet by a minority party Latvian MP who claimed that Russia would be at peace with its neighbors if it was divided along ethnic lines. He did not suggest that NATO or any outside force should do this. -
"A quarter-final is a pretty good result for us, if we analyze the performances."
Hardly anyone expected the Russian team to advance as far as the quarterfinals. So it’s entirely true the results on the field for the FIFA World Cup host were “surprisingly successful.” -
“It’s unacceptable to impose on #children ideology of #nationalism, to teach them false history and values. They should not be discriminated on national origin or be denied the right to learn in native language. We’ll continue to draw intl [international] attention to such violations in some States”
The Mission does not name individual countries or violations. And Russia routinely subjects young children to militaristic “patriotic” indoctrination and false historical narratives, and it also suppresses the use of non-Russian languages in schools. -
"The issue of migration to the United States is not so acute. The outflow of Mexicans to their homeland is now higher than the influx into the States. The number illegally arriving in the country has also decreased.”
While Dmitry Mikheyev and RT find a kernel of truth in the U.S. immigration issue, the Russian government media agency promotes a narrative that ignores the complexity of the illegal migration to the U.S. and the context of the political debate. -
“I received an official response from the leadership of the FSIN (Russia’s correctional service) that since she (Denisova) is a citizen of another state, and he (Sentsov) is a citizen of Russia, she cannot yet be allowed in.”
Oleh Sentsov is a citizen of Ukraine, not Russia, and the Russian prison authorities themselves have said so. The Russian human rights commissioner denied Ukraine access to Senstov based on the false claim. -
“We understand that Russia could definitely be behind this (I cannot say 100%). The Russians are always trying to play with international issues.”
The SBU chief claimed a deadly attack on a Roma camp may have been organized by Russia, noting that the organization responsible uses the Russian social network VK. However, other Ukrainian local far-right groups responsible for earlier attacks also have pages on VK, and these groups have not been accused of being agents of Russia. -
"Some of the people, supposedly repressed for political reasons, whose release Washington is calling for, have been convicted of grave crimes such as terrorism and murder. Their guilt has been completely and exhaustively proven."
The three men named in the article have been convicted based on extremely dubious evidence, hence the accusation that their incarceration is politically motivated. -
“The three southwest Kansas men recently convicted in a militia plot to bomb Somali immigrants may have been motivated by Russian manipulation of U.S. social media, a terrorism expert says.”
While the three men convicted of planning a terrorist attack on Somali refugees were extremely active on Facebook, it is not clear if they saw or shared any of the Russian Facebook ads with anti-Muslim or anti-immigrant rhetoric.