IN GENEVA THE 54-TH SESSION OF THE UN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION BEGAN ITS WORK. AMONG OTHER PROBLEMS IT WILL DISCUSS THE SITUATION OF CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS IN RUSSIA

Moscow - Geneva, March 19, 1998. On Monday, March 16, the 54-th session of the UN Human Rights Commission began its work in Geneva. Among many other points of its agenda for the first time there is a discussion of the situation of conscientious objectors in the Russian Federation.

The transnational Radical Party (NGO with category 1 consultative status at the UN) together with its branch organization - the Antimilitarist Radical Association (ARA) prepared a 4-page report "Conscientious objection in the Russian Federation". Since yesterday this document is an official document of the Human Rights Commission. It describes the present-day situation of the Russian conscientious objectors from the legislative point of view. In fact, while the Russian Constitution guarantees the right to conscientious objection, the State Duma has been discussing the corresponding Federal Law for five years. The report also gives several characteristic examples of how the Russian authorities violate the rights of conscientious objectors, guaranteed by both the Russian Constitution and the international legal commitments of Russia.

On April 16 at the Palace of Nations in Geneva the transnational Radical Party will hold its briefing where Nikolay Khramov, ARA Secretary and coordinator of the TRP for Russia, will describe the situation of the Russian conscientious objectors.

Transnational Radical Party