By Alexandra Sandacz
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MOSCOW, Russia – On Friday, the United States released 18 Russian official names that will experience visa and financial sanctions under the Magnitsky Act. The Act punishes individuals who are involved with human rights abuses.

The Magnitsky Act legislation required the White House to publish the list within 120 days of the enactment of the law. Therefore, US President Barack Obama’s administration was required to publish the Magnitsky List by Saturday. Obama’s administration held off on fulfilling that requirement until the final day before the deadline.

US Representative, James McGovern, submitted 280 names to the White House to publish on the Magnitsky List.

The List includes individuals, such as, Chechen President, Ramzan Kadyrov, Russian Investigative Committee head, Alexander Bastrykin, Interior Ministry investigators, Pavel Karpov and Artyom Kuznetsov, tax official, Olga Stepanova, and Yelena Stashina, the judge who Magntisky’s supporters accuse of illegally holding Magnitsky in a pretrial detention facility.

However, the List does not contain any officials who are part of Russian President, Vladimir Putin’s, inner circle.

US Representative, James McGovern, co-author of the legislation, stated the List is “an important first step toward holding egregious human rights violators accountable. While the list is timid and features more significant omissions than names, I was assured by administration officials today that the investigation is ongoing, and further additions will be made to the list as new evidence comes to light. The fact that a name is not on the list does not mean that person is innocent.”

Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, believes the timing of the publication is extremely poor because of US National Security Adviser, Thomas Donilon’s, future visit. Lavrov stated Russia will react accordingly.

Lavrov stated, “In our response we will abide by the rules of parity. We will not publish anything substantially different in terms of the numbers [of names] published by the American side.”

Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, spoke out to say, “The appearance of any lists will doubtless have a very negative effect on bilateral Russian-American relations. At the same time, these bilateral relations are very multifaceted, and even under the burden of such possible negative manifestations … they still have many prospects for further development and growth.”

For further information, please see:

Russian Legal Information Agency – US Releases Names of Russian Officials on Magnitsky List — 12 April 2013

Reuters – Russia Warns US on Human Rights Law, Seeks to Limit Damage – 12 April 2013

RiaNovosti – US Set to Publish Magnitsky List with Deadline Ticking – 12 April 2013

RT – US Publishes 18 Names on Magnitsky List as Moscow Warns of Response – 12 April 2013

By Alexandra Sandacz
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MADRID, Spain – On Sunday, Spanish youths, frustrated by a lack of opportunities in Spain, protested in various cities against high unemployment and poor working conditions, which force them to move abroad to find work.

Hundreds of youths marched in Madrid behind a large black and white banner that stated, “We are not leaving, they are throwing us out.” Furthermore, the youth chanted, “We don’t want to go!”.

In addition to the protests in Madrid, numerous other smaller protests took place in Barcelona, Zaragoza and over 30 other cities around the world.

Mikel Revuelta, a spokesman for a grass-roots group called, Youth without a Future, stated, “We want to denounce the forced exile which young Spaniards are experiencing due to a lack of job opportunities.”

Currently, Spain is experiencing a recession that was caused by the collapse of a decade-long building boom in 2008. The employment rate reached 55 percent among 16 to 26 year-olds.

Unfortunately, the unemployment growth shows no sign of slowing.

However, last month, Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy’s conservative government introduced a 3.5 billion-euro plan to boost hiring of young people and help them start businesses. This particular plan includes reductions in social security payments for the self-employed and for companies hiring workers under 30 and training for young people who did not finish high school.

Furthermore, on Friday, the Spanish government stated it would invest 2.4 billion euros over the next three years to help rental housing and renovate buildings.

Unemployment caused tens of thousand of young Spaniards to look for job opportunities in other countries. Last year, more than 280,000 youths left Spain last year to find jobs in countries, such as Germany, Britain, Argentina and Venezuela.

David Garcia Jurado, a young Spaniard, stated, “It’s frustrating. It’s boring when you wake up every morning and you don’t know what to do. You try to study a little bit, study languages or try to learn how to use new IT programs, but you know that the next day is going to be the same.”

Jurado also stated he started to doubt himself and feels “useless”. “If you have an opportunity, in my case, you are lucky. Just an opportunity, just to have a door open. I just want to have the opportunity to demonstrate my capacities, my skills, my hard work. But now there are no opportunities in Spain. This is the only thing that I want, an opportunity. And Canada, for me, means opportunities.”

For further information, please see:

PressTV – Youth Spaniards Hold Job-Related Rallies – 8 April 2013

TengriNews – Spanish Youth Protest Around the World Against Unemployment – 8 April 2013

Aljazeera – Spain’s Youth Rally Against Unemployment – 7 April 2013

Deutsche Welle – Unemployed Yoth Turn Their Backs on Spain – 1 April 2013

By Madeline Schiesser
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

HANNOVER, Germany – During Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the opening of the Hannover Industry Trade Fair, the world’s biggest industry show, on Sunday, the Chancellor called on Moscow to give non-governmental organizations (NGOs) “a good chance in Russia.”

In a speech to the trade fair in Hannover, Merkel said in front of Putin that while Germany wants to encourage Russian economic diversity and innovation, NGOs are a healthy component of that plan.  “We believe this can happen most successfully when there is an active civil society,” she said, “We must intensify these discussions, develop our ideas, and we must give the NGOs, who we know as a motor for innovation, a good chance in Russia.”

Throughout Putin’s visit, protestors rallied against his recent policies.  Outside the trade fair, some protestors showed their support for NGOs, while others carried Syrian flags or wore devil masks, waving images of Putin dressed in a prisoner’s striped uniform. One banner read, “Stop political terror.”

President Putin defended the ongoing Russian investigations into NGOs on German television, claiming Russians had a right to know which NGOs were receiving foreign funds “and for what”.

Russian authorities have conducted a storm of unannounced inspections of NGOs in Russia, which appear intended to intimidate these groups.  In the last weeks, more than 200 Russian NGOs, as well as foreign organizations, including Amnesty International, Transparency International, and at least two German political foundations, have received surprise inspections by Russian police, tax inspectors, and prosecutors.  The crackdown on Russian civil society has drawn widespread international criticism.

The two German NGOs: the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS) in St Petersburg and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES) in Moscow, are of significant political importance to Germany’s political parties because the KAS think tank is linked to Chancellor Merkel’s Christian Democrats, while the FES is particularly close to the main German opposition, the Social Democrats.

While Germany has maintained a close relationship with Russia in many areas, including business and trade, foreign investment, energy security, and cultural issues, Chancellor Merkel has previously emphasized the importance of human rights and the rule of law.  She has furthermore come under pressure to address her concerns to Putin, not only on the NGO inspections, but also regarding Syria and Russia’s criticism of the German-orchestrated financial bailout of Cyprus.  As explained by Human Rights watch, Russia’s domestic repression of NGOs erodes the foundations of its foreign relationships.

“Trade fairs are about doing business, but Merkel should make clear to Putin that it cannot be business as usual for Germany’s relations with Russia until the attacks on civil society stop,” said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

President Putin is also scheduled to visit Amsterdam on Monday.  Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has also been called upon to demand Putin halt the NGO inspections.  Germany and the Netherlands are Russia’s biggest trading partners.

Williamson further said, “This is the worst crackdown in Russia in 20 years. It is admirable to promote deeper understanding between Russia and the Netherlands, but this has very little meaning if vital parts of Russian society cannot express themselves freely.”

For further information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Merkel Chides Putin Over NGO Inspections – 7 April 2013

BBC News – Angela Merkel Tells Vladimir Putin – Russia Needs NGOs – 7 April 2013

Returns – Russia Needs Active Civil Society, Merkel Tells Putin – 7 April 213

The Local – Merkel ‘Should Push Putin for Reforms’ – 6 April 2013

HRW – Russia: Merkel, Rutte Should Press Putin on Rights – 4 April 2013

By Madeline Schiesser
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

BRUSSELS, Belgium – On Tuesday, E.U.-brokered normalization talks in Brussels between leaders from Serbia and Kosovo broke down early after a final 12-hour negotiation session.  Although many countries have recognized Kosovo, a former Serbian province, since its declaration of independence in 2008, Serbia has refused.  As both sides failed to come to an agreement, mediator and E.U. foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, released a statement saying that the gap between the two was “very narrow, but deep.”

Tuesday’s session concluded the eighth in several EU-guided rounds of talks since October 2012. Both Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic and Kosovar Prime Minister Hashim Thaci intended to return home and consult with colleagues about what further steps could be taken.

Serbian Prime Minister Dacic explained to the Serbian media, “Despite all these long meetings, we do not have an agreement at this moment.”

The critical sticking point between Serbia and Kosovo is the political status of ethnic Serbs in Northern Kosovo.  Kosovo’s proposals, in accordance with its laws and constitution, were aimed at integrating all citizens, including ethnic Serbs, into Kosovo.

However, according to Kosovo’s Prime Minister Thaci, Serbia was not ready to agree upon this term and requested more time. “Unfortunately from the Serbians, we still have hesitation and stances which are not based on principles,” Thaci said. “They have asked for additional time and additional consultations which is within their autonomous authority.”

However, after a meeting of the Serbian leadership, Serbian Presidential adviser Marko Djuric said that it was the ethnic Albanian officials from Kosovo who rejected the Serb proposals during the Brussels negotiations.

Serbian officials desire a high level of political autonomy for Kosovo’s Serbs, including police and judicial authorities particular to the Northern Serbs.  However, Kosovo would consider this arrangement to be an unacceptable de facto partition of the country, which would risk the North eventually breaking away.

Even so, Kosovo’s government in Pristina already has a tense relation with its ethnic northern Serbs.  Some 50,000 people in and around the divided city of Mitrovica identified ethnically as Serbian, do not follow the authority of Pristina and instead have created parallel institutions, e.g., hospitals and schools, which are financed and supported by Serbia’s capital, Belgrade.  The tension in this region has led to violence in recent years, particularly along the border shared with Serbia.

The E.U. has attempted to mitigate conflict in the region by playing a supervisory role through its Eulex rule-of-law mission.  Furthermore, soldiers from E.U. states have been deployed in Kosovo as part of the K-For peacekeeping mission.

The ultimate success of the normalization talks is particularly important to Serbia because in order for Serbia to join the E.U. it must normalize relations with its neighbors, including Kosovo.  Normalization includes not only resolving issues such as trade and border control, but also establishing the status of northern Kosovo and acknowledging whether or not the region will be under the authority of the government of Kosovo in Pristina

There is still hope that an agreement may be reached within the next days.  Nevertheless, mediator Catherine Ashton said last Tuesday was the last formal meeting she would call between the parties.

“They will now both go back and consult with their colleagues in their capitals and will let me know in the next few days of their decision,” She said in a statement.

If an agreement is to be reached, it will need to be arrived at by April 9.  Apparently, the E.U. in Brussels has suggested a compromise to the countries, but this proposal has not been disclosed to the public.  However, speculation from a Serbian newspaper is that the compromise would be based on the 1995 Erdut Agreement with an interim E.U. administration for the northern region.  However, if accurate, the result of such an agreement would be that the northern region of Kosovo would temporarily have a different status in the community of Serb municipalities in Kosovo until it accepted Pristina’s authority.

For further information, please see:

b92 – Belgrade to decide on EU’s offer by April 9 – 4 April 2013

RFE/RL – Serbia Blames Kosovo For Failed Talks – 4 April 2013

RFE/RL – Serbia-Kosovo Talks End Without Deal – 4 April 2013

Al Jazeera – Serbia-Kosovo Talks End Without Accord – 2 April 2013

BBC News – Serbia-Kosovo Talks Fail to Reach Accord in Brussels – 2 April 2013

RFE/RL – Serbia, Kosovo Resume Normalization Talks – 2 April 2013

By Alexandra Sandacz
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MOSCOW, Russia – Russian President, Vladmir Putin, ordered a ban on foreign adoptions to homosexual couples.

The issue of same-sex couples adopting sparked in Russia when the French National Assembly approved a bill that legalized marriage and adoption by same-sex couples. As a result, Pavel Astakhov, a Russian children’s rights ombudsman, declared he believes Russian orphans should only be placed with heterosexual couples.

However, despite this movement, Nikolay Alekseyev, a Russian gay rights activist, believes Putin’s and Astakhov’s new ban will be unsuccessful. He states, “It’s purely a political move aimed to show that the government is consistent in its decisions.”

The Russian Foreign Ministry declared a planned to verify the possible “psychological damage” inflicted on Russian orphan, Yegor Shabatalov. An American woman, who lived in a same-sex marriage, adopted Yegor Shabatalov.

Russian Foreign Ministry’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Konstantin Dolgov, believes that after the two women split, the son was drawn into a bitter dispute and the relationship is “rather questionable from the point of view of morality.”

Nadezhda Khramova, head of the ‘All-Russian Parents’ Assembly’ movement, says there should be a complete ban of foreign adoptions, as “it is technically difficult to verify the adoptive parents’ sexual orientation and their legal status can be a marriage of convenience”.

This recent foreign adoption ban accompanies an already implemented law that makes it illegal for Russian children to be adopted by Americans, regardless of sexual orientation.

However, although many Russians are opposed to the American ban, Russians hold a firm stance against homosexual behavior. For example, last August, Moscow’s highest court upheld the city’s ban on homosexual pride parades.

Public polls from 2010 showed that 38% of Russians believed that homosexuality is a “bad habit” and 36% said it was “a sickness or result of a psychological trauma.” Nevertheless, 41% of Russians believe that laws should not “discriminate” against homosexuals.

Putin’s recent bans on foreign homosexuals from adopting Russian children has sparked various reactions.

One commenter stated, “I challenge anyone on here to cite a single scientific study that shows that gay adoption has any negative effects compared to straight adoption, and no, the Bible doesn’t count, because we don’t live in a theocracy. Go to Saudi Arabia if that’s what you want.”

Another stated, “This is best for the children. They must be kept safe even if it hurts some feelings. Putin is smart.”

The Ministry of Education and Science, which deals with issues concerning orphans and adoptions, will fulfill the adoption ban. However, the ministry has not received instructions.

For further information, please see:

RFE/RL – Russians March Against Foreign Adoptions – 4 April 2013

The Advocate – Putin Wants to Stop Foreign Gay Couples From Adopting Russian Children – 1 April 2013

Christian News – Russian President Orders Ban on Foreign Adoptions to Homosexuals – 30 March 2013

RT – Putin Orders Ban on Adoptions By Foreign Same-Sex Couples – 28 March 2013