AGENTS OF THE PEOPLE FOUR YEARS OF “FOREIGN AGENTS” LAW IN RUSSIA: CONSEQUENCES FOR THE SOCIETY INTRODUCTION In July 2012, the Russian President signed into law a piece of legislation with a long and rather innocuous title: “On entering amendments to individual legislative acts of the Russian Federation in the part regulating the activities of non-commercial organizations performing the functions of a foreign agent (N 121-FZ)”. 1 This briefing examines the devastating consequences of this law for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) the length and breadth of Russia. According to the law, any NGO that is registered in Russia and received funding from abroad will be labelled a “foreign agent” if they are engaged in what is vaguely defined as “political activity”. Such NGOs must be listed on the “foreign agents” register, which is administered by the Ministry of Justice. Conjuring up memories of the Stalinist repression and purges of the 1930s - early 1950s and Cold War era propaganda, the “foreign agent” label has a negative connotation of “spies” and “traitors”. It fits well within the discourse promoted on TV screens and in the government-controlled media evoking distrust in “foreign” connections and ideas. By appealing to vivid memories of the “turbulent 1990s”, to the image of Russia as a besieged fortress, deeply entrenched in the nation’s psyche, and to more recent events in Ukraine, the authorities have succeeded in making the majority of Russians believe and accept this discourse without too much questioning. Few have voiced concerns as one after another organizations working to defend the human rights of citizens, including protecting them from abuse by government officials, have been declared “foreign agents”. In reply to criticisms of the chilling effect on civil society of the 2012 law, the Russian authorities have repeatedly claimed that inclusion on the list is a “mere formality” and will not have any negative effect on NGOs.2 The reality for NGOs is, however, very different. Every organization interviewed by Amnesty International gave numerous examples of the detrimental effect of the “foreign agent” label on their work. 1 Federal law №121-FZ of 20 July 2012 «О внесении изменений в отдельные законодательные акты российской федерации в части регулирования деятельности некоммерческих организаций, выполняющих функции иностранного агента» (“Foreign agents’ law”), was published in “Rossiiskaya Gazeta” on 23 July 2012. See https://rg.ru/2012/07/23/nko-dok.html. For subsequent changes to the law go to: http://www.consultant.ru/document/cons_doc_LAW_132900/, accessed on 10 October 2016 2 See, for example: Медведев: В слове «агент» нет ничего плохого, [Medvedev: There is nothing bad in the word “agent”], 07 December 2012, http://www.vedomosti.ru/politics/articles/2012/12/07/medvedev_v_slove_agent_net_nichego_plohogo, accessed on 4 October 2016. NGOs play an important role in protecting the rights of ordinary people, raising a whole range of topics where engagement and debate are vital to ensure that people’s needs are addressed by those in power. In many cases NGOs provide services that the state has for one reason or another failed to provide, such as legal representation or psychological support for victims of discrimination or violence. These vital contributions to the wellbeing of Russia’s citizens are now either blocked or under threat because they risk being - or have already been - considered to engage in “political activity” and labelled “foreign agents” under the 2012 law. Since the law came into force in 2012, a wide range of organizations -- from those working to eradicate torture in places of detention to a photo club; from environmental NGOs to those implementing prevention measures against HIV/AIDS epidemics -- have been declared “foreign agents”.3 Many have been issued with enormous fines that threaten their continued existence and survival. Some have had to close down because they refuse to accept a label that they feel undermines and denigrates them. The Human Rights Resource Centre in St Petersburg has compiled an impressive list of so-called “political activities”;4 the list is not exhaustive as more NGOs continue to be included on the “foreign agents” register on various grounds. Examples of activities deemed by the authorities to constitute “political activity” include the donation of books to a library and participation in a charity bike ride. In the original July 2012 law on “foreign agents” political activity was vaguely defined as “participation, including by financing, in organization and conducting of political actions in order to influence decisions by government bodies aimed at changing state policies, as well as influencing public opinion with such aims.”5 In June 2016, President Putin signed into law an amendment to the definition of “political activity” which essentially codified the dubious reasoning employed by the Ministry of Justice and Prosecutors of designating NGOs as “foreign agents”. The amendment to Item 6 of Article 2 of the law “On Non- commercial organizations” now includes commentary on vast swathes of public life and almost any form of participation in it.6 3 The Russian government created a website showing the list of NGOs labelled “foreign agents”: Сведения реестра НКО, выполняющих функции иностранного агента [Information on the Register of NGOs performing functions of foreign agents], (“Foreign agents” Register), http://unro.minjust.ru/NKOForeignAgent.aspx, accessed on 4 October 2016. 4 The Human Rights Resource Centre, «Иностранные агенты»: мифические враги и реальные потери российского общества, [“Foreign agents”: mythical enemies and real losses of the Russian society], 2015, http://www.hrrcenter.ru/awstats/HRRC_report%20on%20FA%20NGO-1.pdf accessed on 4 October 2016 5 Federal law №121-FZ of 20 July 2012 «О внесении изменений в отдельные законодательные акты российской федерации в части регулирования деятельности некоммерческих организаций, выполняющих функции иностранного агента» (“Foreign agents’ law”), was published in “Rossiiskaya Gazeta” on 23 July 2012. See https://rg.ru/2012/07/23/nko-dok.html accessed on 01 November 2016. 6 Item 6 of Article 2 of the “Foreign agents” law, http://www.consultant.ru/cons/cgi/online.cgi?req=doc&base=LAW&n=198862&fld=134&dst=100012&rnd=214990.6533 39439526806& accessed on 4 October 2016 Although the law excludes activities in the areas of science, culture, art, health care, social support and environmental protection from the list of “political activities”,7 this has not stopped officials from insisting that organizations active in these areas register as “foreign agents”. The law is being implemented in such a way that almost any NGO that receives funds from abroad is likely to be placed on the register of “foreign agents”, irrespective of the nature of its activities. The amount of funding and whether it was received directly as a grant from a foreign foundation or indirectly as a contribution from another Russian NGO which has (or has had) foreign funding are irrelevant. NGOs face a difficult choice: to continue to accept funds from abroad and, therefore, be labelled “foreign agents” or refuse foreign funding and rely exclusively on Russian sources, including Presidential grants or grants from the local authorities. Most of those who spoke to Amnesty International said they would only be too happy to accept domestic funding, but this was often not possible due to the nature of their work. Some had unsuccessfully applied for a presidential grant. As of 11 October 2016, there were 226,995 non-commercial organizations in Russia registered with the Ministry of Justice.8 Apart from human rights NGOs, this figure includes a wide range of organizations, including veterans’ societies, societies of people with disabilities, societies of shareholders, dacha owners, farmers, lawyers and various other non-commercial organizations and partnerships. It is not possible, nor is it desirable, for public funding to cover all these activities. Domestic private funding is limited, and little of it makes its way to human rights organisations. Indeed, accessing private funding in Russia has got even harder given the aggressive demonising of human rights NGOs in the Russian media. The effect of the “foreign agents” law has been to make funding from abroad a high- risk activity. The authorities have basically signalled to NGOs that they can use foreign funds, but it will cost them dear in terms of their legal situation and reputation. This is entirely inconsistent and incompatible with Russia’s international human rights obligations and commitments, including to support human rights defenders and promote human rights and particularly the obligations to promote, respect and protect the rights of civil society organizations and human rights defenders to solicit, receive and utilize resources articulated in the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders9. Some human rights defenders believe that “it was the plan from the very beginning - to cut off foreign 7 Item 6 of Article 2 of the “Foreign agents” law 8 Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation, О деятельностиии некоммерческих организаций. Информационный портал Министерства юстиции Российской Федерации. Информация о зарегистрированных некоммерческих организациях. [On activities of non-commercial organizations. Information resource of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation. Information on registered non-commercial organizations]. http://unro.minjust.ru/NKOs.aspx accessed on 24 October