Russian Mission to UN in Geneva

09/09/2026

🎙️ Statement by the Special Representative of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation for International Cooperation in Ensuring the Right to Freedom of Religion, Mr. Mikhail Melekh at the 63rd session of the UN Human Rights Council during the dialogue with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights:

📍 September 8, 2026, Geneva

👉 We thank the High Commissioner for his assessment. For our part, we would like to draw attention to the situation regarding religion in Ukraine.

☦️ The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation recently presented a report "Unlawful actions by the Kiev regime targeting the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), its clergy and parishioners (https://t.me/RussiaGeneva/5711)". It details the facts and the methodology behind the Ukrainian authorities' campaign to destroy the country's principal religious denomination.

📑 This is corroborated by the numerous testimonies (https://t.me/RussiaGeneva/5721) of discrimination presented in the report – including the enactment of discriminatory legislation, the seizure of thousands of churches, the forced mobilization and abduction of priests, illegal arrests and physical and psychological pressure on them.

❗️ These processes are accompanied by violations of virtually all fundamental human rights and freedoms enshrined in core international human rights instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenants on Human Rights, and the Convention against Torture.

☝️ We urge you to carefully examine the report (https://mid.ru/ru/foreign_policy/doklady/2134826/?lang=en), which serves to once again witness the mass violations of the right to freedom of religion – and the associated violations of other human rights and freedoms – taking place in Ukraine.



📄 FULL REPORT: https://tinyurl.com/ye4m44bd
PDF: https://tinyurl.com/ak675aex

08/09/2026

07/09/2026

🎙 Statement by а Russian representative at the 63rd session of the UN Human Rights Council during the dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan:

📍 September 7, 2026, Geneva

👉 We are closely monitoring the situation in Afghanistan. Recognizing the distinctiveness of the Afghan people and the uniqueness of their religious and ethnic traditions, in our contacts with government officials, we call on them to fulfill their previously assumed obligations to ensure the basic rights and freedoms of the population, to develop an inclusive system of governance that takes into account the interests of key ethnopolitical groups, and to combat terrorism and drug trafficking.

❗️ We consider unacceptable the policy of "double standards" of Western countries, which block Afghan assets while unjustifiably demanding decisive action from the Afghan authorities to ensure human rights. We believe it is unacceptable to place any conditions on humanitarian support for the population of a country whose dire situation is the responsibility of Westerners themselves, following their failed 20-year experiment in building a democracy in Afghanistan based on their own model. It is essential that the international community remember the war crimes committed by NATO and other allied forces during their 20-year presence in Afghanistan. Some of these crimes still have not received due legal recognition.

🕊 It is clear that the current Afghan government has found itself in a difficult situation and lacks the resources to normalize the country's socioeconomic situation. Therefore, we call on international donors to increase their assistance to the Afghan people, strictly adhering to the principles of neutrality, impartiality, and independence.

07/09/2026

🇺🇳 📆 From September 7 to October 7, Geneva will host the 63rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council.

The Session (https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/hrc/regular-sessions/session63/regular-session) is expected to address a broad range of issues on the international human rights agenda, including:

• protection and promotion of economic, social and cultural rights,
• ensuring the right to development,
• protection of children,
• combating discrimination against women,
• advancing the interests of indigenous peoples,
• preventing the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights, as well as other thematic issues.

At Russia’s initiative, a high-level thematic discussion will be held to mark the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the International Covenants on Human Rights.

The Council will adopt the outcomes of the Universal Periodic Review of the national reports of Belgium, Denmark, Latvia, Namibia, Niger, Nicaragua, Mozambique, Palau, Paraguay, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, Singapore, Somalia, Sierra Leone and Estonia.

At the initiative of the EU, the Council will once again consider a politicised and highly confrontational draft resolution on the human rights situation in Russia, aimed at extending for another year the mandate of the relevant HRC Special Rapporteur, Mariana Katzarova (https://www.ohchr.org/en/specialprocedures/sr-russian-federation/mariana-katzarova)of Bulgaria.

❗️ Russia’s stance on this matter remains unchanged: we do not recognise the mandate of this illegitimate special procedure, and any form of interaction with it is unacceptable to us.

The Russian delegation, which will participate in the Session as an observer, intends, as before, to make active use of all available opportunities to overcome confrontation and promote a unifying agenda, as well as to foster among international partners an understanding of the importance of establishing constructive international dialogue on the promotion and protection of human rights, with due respect for the national, religious, cultural and historical characteristics of every state.

A number of special side events will be organised to present Russia’s approaches to the most pressing issues on the session’s agenda to the international community.

🔗 https://mid.ru/ru/foreign_policy/news/2138787/

02/09/2026

📃 Following the meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the Bishkek Declaration on the 25th Anniversary of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation was signed (Bishkek, September 1, 2026)

🤝 We, the Leaders of the Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation ( ), gathered for a regular meeting of the Council of Heads of State and marking the 25th anniversary of the SCO, reaffirm our firm commitment to the goals and principles enshrined in the SCO Charter, as well as to further strengthening good-neighbourliness, friendship and effective multifaceted cooperation, and declare:

Since its establishment, the Organisation has successfully passed through a historic stage of institutional and conceptual development and established itself as a widely recognised and dynamically developing multilateral association, the role of which in international and regional affairs continues to grow steadily.

Over the past quarter-century, a solid legal foundation for the SCO’s activities and effective mechanisms of cooperation have been established, while strategic directions for its further development have been defined.

The Member States will continue their efforts to further consolidate the SCO in implementing the tasks and achieving the goals set out in the SCO Development Strategy until 2035.

***

Key provisions:

✍️ The Member States

• Reaffirm their unwavering commitment to the universal norms and principles of international law enshrined in the UN Charter and stress the need to strengthen the UN’s role as a guarantor of international peace and security, sustainable development, and the establishment of a representative, democratic and just . They are making a growing contribution to collective efforts to improve the global system of governance.

• Advocate ensuring sustainable international peace and call for joint efforts to counter traditional and emerging security challenges and threats.

• Expressing concern over growing information security risks, strongly oppose the militarisation of the information and communications technology (ICT) sphere and the creation of threats to critical information infrastructure.

• Reaffirm the need to ensure the safe and responsible use of artificial intelligence technologies, including the inadmissibility of their use to deliberately cause harm to human life and health, as well as to the national security, territorial integrity and sovereignty of states.

• Oppose unilateral coercive measures that run counter to the UN Charter and other norms of international law, as well as the rules and principles of the World Trade Organization, and which undermine international security interests, including food, energy and humanitarian security, and adversely affect the global economy.

• Support reform of the international financial architecture aimed at increasing the representation and strengthening the role of developing countries in the governing bodies of international financial institutions, including the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Monetary Fund.

• Underscoring the significance of the 200th anniversary of Leo Tolstoy’s birth and the 100th anniversary of Chingiz Aitmatov’s birth, support initiatives to hold SCO events in 2028 dedicated to the memory of these outstanding writers, who made an invaluable contribution to world literature, the advancement of humanistic values and the strengthening of cultural and humanitarian ties between peoples.

🇧🇾, 🇨🇳, 🇮🇳, 🇮🇷, 🇰🇿, 🇰🇬, 🇵🇰, 🇷🇺, 🇹🇯, 🇺🇿

Read in full: shorturl.at/7gQ1R

02/09/2026

🤝 On September 1, 2026, Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Office in Geneva, Ambassador Gennady Gatilov met with the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety Jean Todt.

🔹 Gennady Gatilov congratulated the Special Envoy on the successful convening (https://t.me/russiaun/7283)of the The Second High-Level Meeting of the UN General Assembly on Road Safety, held in New York on 20–21 July this year, and the adoption of a political declaration following the meeting, which, in particular, reaffirmed the significance of the First Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety, held in Moscow on November 19–20, 2009.

🔹 Gennady Gatilov emphasized that improving road safety remains one of Russia’s consistent priorities, noting the adoption in November 2025 of the relevant national Strategy (http://en.kremlin.ru/acts/news/78465), which aims to reduce road traffic fatalities by 1.5 times by 2030 and by 2 times by 2036, compared with the 2023 level.

🔹 Jean Todt welcomed Russia's important contribution to international efforts to improve road safety, including its support for the UN Road Safety Fund, which was established with the help and active participation of our country.

🔹 The Special Envoy commended the steady decline in fatalities on Russian roads, noting that Russia is among the world’s top ten countries in terms of the rate of reduction in road traffic fatalities. Jean Todt expressed hope for further strengthening cooperation with the Russian side.

🔹 Among the priorities of his work, the Special Envoy highlighted expanding the use of motorcycle helmets worldwide, as well as promoting international standards for regulating the use of electric scooters on public roads.