1. Anti-Discrimination Centre (ADC) Memorial1 and International Committee of Indigenous Peoples of Russia,2 with the support of the Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion (ISI),3 and the European Network on Statelessness (ENS)4 made this joint submission in relation to the problem of racism and discrimination in Russia: the report focuses on discrimination based on ethnicity, religious affiliation, migration / nationality status. 2. In the previous UPR cycle (2018), in terms of the issues raised by ADC Memorial and its partners in their reports, Russia supported or noted recommendations related to overcoming racism and discrimination based on racial or ethnic ground, including a number of recommendations related to the situation of indigenous peoples (inter alia, on joining the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and implementation of its principles in national legislation; and on ratification of the ILO Convention 169 – which hadn’t been implemented). Russia also supported recommendations on protection of the Roma population from discrimination; on integration of migrants. 3. Of particular concern is Russia’s failure to adopt recommendations connected with acknowledging that the persecution of Muslims in Crimea and Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia is a violation of the right to freedom of conscience and amounts to religious discrimination. The double discrimination of the Crimean Tatar people— both ethnic and religious, which is multiplied by political persecution that also affects Ukrainians—remains an acute human rights problem that the government refuses to acknowledge or overcome. 4. Regarding the problem of statelessness, in the previous UPR cycle (2018), the Russian government supported the following recommendations: Consider ratifying the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons as well as the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness (Burkina Faso); Take additional measures to decrease statelessness among representatives of minority groups (Serbia); Strengthen the implementation of policies to reduce the number of unregistered persons, specially statelessness persons, refugees, holders of temporary residence permit and individuals belonging to certain minority groups (Angola); Step up efforts to end statelessness, especially by establishing safeguards to guarantee birth registration to all children born in the country, including stateless children and those belonging to minority groups (Thailand). Some positive legislative measures have been taken regarding the documentation of stateless people; however, the situation of stateless people hasn’t changed radically, and the number of stateless persons remains high. Russia has not ratifies the Conventions of 1954 and 1961. 5. While retaining its responsibilities under the main UN Conventions, due to the war against Ukraine and the general deterioration of the human rights situation in 2022, Russia was excluded from the Council of Europe, which means the termination of obligations under a number of European Conventions and instruments, first of all the European Convention on Human Rights and jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights (since September 16, 2022). 1 Anti-Discrimination Centre (ADC) Memorial is a Human Rights NGO defending the rights of vulnerable groups (such as representatives of ethnic minorities and indigenous peoples, migrants, stateless persons, LGBTI and others) in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, through national and international advocacy, strategic litigation and education/information work (see more: https://adcmemorial.org/). 2 International Committee of Indigenous Peoples of Russia (ICIPR) is an informal group of representatives of indigenous peoples who had to flee Russia due to political persecutions. In 2022-2023, the ICIPR made a number of public statements related to the war of Russia against Ukraine and the disastrous effect of it on the indigenous communities living in Russia. Contact: icipr@protonmail.com . 3 ISI is an independent non-profit organisation committed to an integrated, human rights based response to the injustice of statelessness and exclusion through a combination of research, education, partnerships and advocacy. Established in August 2014, it is the first and only global centre committed to promoting the human rights of stateless persons and ending statelessness. Over the past two years, the Institute has made over 20 country specific UPR submissions on the human rights of stateless persons, and also compiled summaries of the key human rights challenges related to statelessness in all countries under review under the 23rd to the 28th UPR Sessions. For more information on the Institute’s UPR advocacy, see http://www.statelessnessandhumanrights.org/upr-universal-periodic-review/resources-database. 4 The European Network on Statelessness (ENS) is a civil society alliance of NGOs, lawyers, academics, and other independent experts committed to addressing statelessness in Europe. Based in London, it currently has over 100 members in 40 European countries. ENS organises its work around three pillars – law and policy development, awareness raising and capacity-building. ENS provides expert advice and support to a range of stakeholders, including governments. For more information about ENS, please visit its website: www.statelessness.eu 2