BJCMUN 2024

UNHCR
The Russian Federation
AGENDA: Legal Status and Protections of Environmental Refugees.

Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and

North Asia. It is the largest country in the world by area, extending across
eleven time zones and sharing land borders with fourteen countries. It is the
world's ninth-most populous country and Europe's most populous country.
Russia is a highly urbanised country including 16 population centres with over a
million inhabitants. Its capital as well as its largest city is Moscow. Saint
Petersburg is Russia's second-largest city and its cultural capital.

The East Slavs emerged as a recognised group in Europe between the 3rd and
8th centuries CE. The first East Slavic state, Kievan Rus', arose in the 9th
century, and in 988, it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine
Empire. Rus' ultimately disintegrated, with the Grand Duchy of Moscow
growing to become the Tsardom of Russia. By the early 18th century, Russia
had vastly expanded through conquest, annexation, and the efforts of Russian
explorers, developing into the Russian Empire, which remains the third-largest
empire in history. However, with the Russian Revolution in 1917, Russia's
monarchic rule was abolished and eventually replaced by the Russian
SFSR—the world's first constitutionally socialist state. Following the Russian
Civil War, the Russian SFSR established the Soviet Union with three other
Soviet republics, within which it was the largest and principal constituent. At
the expense of millions of lives, the Soviet Union underwent rapid
industrialisation in the 1930s and later played a decisive role for the Allies in
World War II by leading large-scale efforts on the Eastern Front. With the onset
of the Cold War, it competed with the United States for global ideological
influence. The Soviet era of the 20th century saw some of the most significant
Russian technological achievements, including the first human-made satellite
and the first human expedition into outer space.

In 1991, the Russian SFSR emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union as
the independent Russian Federation. A new constitution was adopted, which
established a federal semi-presidential system. Since the turn of the century,
Russia's political system has been dominated by Vladimir Putin, under whom
the country has experienced democratic backsliding and a shift towards
authoritarianism. Russia has been militarily involved in a number of conflicts in
former Soviet states and other countries, including its war with Georgia in 2008
and annexation of Crimea in 2014 from neighbouring Ukraine, followed by the
further annexation of four other regions in 2022 during an ongoing invasion.

Internationally, Russia ranks among the lowest in measurements of democracy,

human rights and freedom of the press; the country also has high levels of
perceived corruption. Russia's advanced economy ranks among the largest in the
world, relying on its vast mineral and energy resources; the world's second
largest for oil production and natural gas production. Russia possesses the
largest stockpile of nuclear weapons and has the third-highest military
expenditure. The country is a permanent member of the United Nations Security
Council; a member state of the G20, SCO, BRICS, APEC, OSCE, and WTO;
and the leading member state of post-Soviet organisations such as CIS, CSTO,
and EAEU/EEU. Russia is home to 30 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Russia is one of the world's most sparsely populated and urbanised countries,
with the vast majority of its population concentrated within its western part. It
had a population of 142.8 million according to the 2010 census,which rose to
144.7 million as of the 2021 census (excluding Crimea and Sevastopol).Russia
is the most populous country in Europe, and the world's ninth most populous
country, with a population density of 8 inhabitants per square kilometre (21
inhabitants/sq mi).
Russia is a secular state by constitution, and its largest religion is Eastern
Orthodox Christianity, chiefly represented by the Russian Orthodox Church.
Orthodox Christianity, together with Islam, Buddhism, and Paganism (either
preserved or revived), are recognised by Russian law as the traditional religions
of the country, part of its "historical heritage".

Islam is the second-largest religion in Russia, and is the traditional religion

among the majority of the peoples of the North Caucasus, and among some
Turkic peoples scattered along the Volga-Ural region. Large populations of
Buddhists are found in Kalmykia, Buryatia, Zabaykalsky Krai, and they are the
vast majority of the population in Tuva. Many Russians practise other religions,
including Rodnovery (Slavic Neopaganism),Assianism (Scythian
Neopaganism), other ethnic Paganisms, and inter-Pagan movements such as
Ringing Cedars' Anastasia Nism, various movements of Hinduism, Siberian
shamanism and Tengrism, various Neo-Theosophical movements such as
Roerichism, and other faiths. Some religious minorities have faced oppression
and some have been banned in the country;notably, in 2017 the Jehovah's
Witnesses were outlawed in Russia, facing persecution ever since, after having
been declared an "extremist" and "nontraditional" faith.

Russia, by 1993 constitution, is a symmetric federal republic with a

semi-presidential system, wherein the president is the head of state, and the

prime minister is the head of government. It is structured as a multi-party

representative democracy, with the federal government composed of three

branches:

● Legislative: The bicameral Federal Assembly of Russia, made up of

the 450-member State Duma and the 170-member Federation

Council, adopts federal law, declares war, approves treaties, has the

power of the purse and the power of impeachment of the president.

● Executive: The president is the commander-in-chief of the Armed

Forces, and appoints the Government of Russia (Cabinet) and other

officers, who administer and enforce federal laws and policies. The

president may issue decrees of unlimited scope, so long as they do

not contradict the constitution or federal law.

● Judiciary: The Constitutional Court, Supreme Court and lower

federal courts, whose judges are appointed by the Federation

 Council on the recommendation of the president, interpret laws and

can overturn laws they deem unconstitutional.

The president is elected by popular vote for a six-year term and may be

elected no more than twice. Ministries of the government are composed of the

premier and his deputies, ministers, and selected other individuals; all are

appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister

(whereas the appointment of the latter requires the consent of the State

Duma). United Russia is the dominant political party in Russia, and has been

described as "big tent" and the "party of power". Under the administrations of

Vladimir Putin, Russia has experienced democratic backsliding, and has

become an authoritarian state under a dictatorship, with Putin's policies being

referred to as Putinism.

Political divisions

Main article: Political divisions of Russia

Russia, by 1993 constitution, is a symmetric (with the possibility of an

asymmetric configuration) federation. Unlike the Soviet asymmetric model of

the RSFSR, where only republics were "subjects of the federation", the

current constitution raised the status of other regions to the level of republics

and made all regions equal with the title "subject of the federation". The

regions of Russia have reserved areas of competence, but no regions have

sovereignty, do not have the status of a sovereign state, do not have the right

to indicate any sovereignty in their constitutions and do not have the right to

secede from the country. The laws of the regions cannot contradict federal

laws.

The federal subjects have equal representation—two delegates each—in the

Federation Council, the upper house of the Federal Assembly. They do,

however, differ in the degree of autonomy they enjoy. The federal districts of

Russia were established by Putin in 2000 to facilitate central government

control of the federal subjects. Originally seven, currently there are eight

federal districts, each headed by an envoy appointed by the president.

THE RUSSO-UKRAINE WAR:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17840134

2021 saw an unprecedented crackdown on independent and opposition

media and journalists, with the increased use of controversial "foreign

agent" and extremism laws, forcing journalists to leave the country.

Also that year, the Kremlin-linked insurance firm Sogaz and Gazprom-Media

took control of the digital giant VK, which runs Russia's most popular social

network.
The Kremlin's control over mass media in Russia, including online media, is

near complete, and war and other foreign news-related content on popular

Russian online platforms is broadly in line with the state's messaging.

There were 124 million internet users by July 2022, 85% of the

population (Worldinternetstats.com).

Top state-controlled domestic TV channels have cleared their schedules for

current affairs programmes spreading anti-Ukrainian, anti-Western material.

There appears to have been a halt to TV's long-term decline as Russians'

most-preferred source of news

New laws have brought in terms of up to 15 years in prison for spreading

"knowingly false" reports about the "special military operation" and the

foreign activities of Russian state bodies

Meta was designated an "extremist organisation" and outlawed; the use of

Meta-owned Facebook and Instagram is now permitted only if the user is not

engaged in illegal activity.

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/06/russia-ukraine-icc-arrest-war

rants-for-senior-russian-officials-a-crucial-step-towards-justice/

Responding to the International Criminal Court (ICC) issuing arrest warrants

against Sergei Shoigu and Valery Gerasimov for their alleged responsibility
for the war crimes of directing attacks at civilian objects and causing

excessive incidental harm to civilians or damage to civilian objects, as well as

the crime against humanity of ‘inhumane acts’, Veronika Velch, Director of

Amnesty International Ukraine, said:

“As Russia continues to conduct missile strikes that are crippling Ukraine’s

critical civilian infrastructure, the ICC has once again displayed its

willingness to bring the most senior alleged perpetrators to justice.

“These ICC warrants mark another crucial step towards justice. Their

issuance helps rebuild trust in international law and the institutions that

uphold it. It gives hope to victims of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine that

those responsible will be held accountable, no matter how high ranking. We

will work to ensure that all those indicted by the ICC are arrested as soon as

possible and that justice is done and is victim-focused.

According to a press release from the International Criminal Court, there

are “reasonable grounds to believe that the two suspects bear responsibility

for missile strikes carried out by the forces under their command against the

Ukrainian energy infrastructure from at least 10 October 2022 until at least 9

March 2023. During this timeframe, there was an alleged campaign of strikes

against numerous electric power plants and substations, which were carried

out by the Russian armed forces in multiple locations in Ukraine.”

Sergei Shoigu and Valery Gerasimov were Minister of Defence of the Russian

Federation and Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian

Federation and First Deputy Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation,

respectively, at the relevant time.

There are currently 124 states parties to the Rome Statute, and the ICC’s

arrest warrants are binding in 125 states (124 states parties plus Ukraine,

which granted the ICC jurisdiction over its territory for crimes committed

there since 2014). On 20 October 2022, Amnesty International noted that

Russian attacks seriously damaged about 40% of the country’s energy

facilities and amounted to war crimes.

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/03/russia-ukraine-a-decade-of-s

uppressing-non-russian-identities-in-occupied-crimea/

Since the occupation of Crimea 10 years ago, Russia has sought to change the
peninsula’s ethnic makeup and suppress the Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar
communities, Amnesty International said today in a new publication, on the
tenth anniversary of the illegal annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula by Russia.

“Russia has attempted to legitimize its occupation and illegal annexation of

Crimea by introducing policies that aim to suppress non-Russian identities
throughout the peninsula.
Immediately after the annexation, Russia imposed its own school curriculum in
Crimea resulting in indoctrination and threats of reprisals against teachers,
students and parents who objected. At the same time the Russian authorities
have been systematically dismantling Ukrainian language education. This has
come on top of the illegal imposition of Russian laws and practices, including
suppression of the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, and of
cultural events and religious practices.

https://tass.com/politics/1812139

The main Haiti-bound arms trafficking route goes via the United States, but
Washington is doing nothing to cut it in an apparent attempt to influence the
situation in the country, Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily
Nebenzya said.

"According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, the main route for arms
smuggling runs from Florida by water and small aircrafts. At the same time, we
do not see the current embargo doing anything to prevent the flow of arms from
the United States," the Russian diplomat told the UNSC briefing on the situation
in Haiti. "Washington could have tackled the problem long ago, if it really
wanted to. Instead, it seem that our United States colleagues prefer to use illegal
arms shipments, on which US arms dealers make money, as leverage to
influence the situation."

In his words, "local gangs currently hold at least 500,000 units of firearms,
including grenade launchers and sniper rifles." "The leaders of these gangs are
disseminating videos on different social networks showing how they are arming
entire private armies ‘to the teeth,’" he added.

The security and humanitarian situation deteriorated in Haiti after the

assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021 and was exacerbated when an
earthquake killed more than 2,200 people later the same year. On March 1, an
agreement was signed to send a Kenyan peacekeeping force of 1,000 police
officers to Haiti to crack down on crime.

Afterwards, reports came out that some criminal groups in Haiti were planning
to overthrow the government headed by Prime Minister Ariel Henry. On March
3, the Haitian authorities decided to impose a state of emergency and curfew
throughout the Ouest department, extending it for a month in Port-au-Prince
because of the confrontation between armed gangs and law enforcement
agencies. Henry announced on March 11 that the government will step down
after a presidential transitional council is established.

According to the Russian Embassy in Venezuela and Haiti, gangs now control
up to 90% of the capital city.

https://tass.com/politics/1811129

Moscow’s special military operation will end in 2024 and the enemy can sense
that the end is near, Major General Apty Alaudinov, deputy chief of the Russian
Armed Forces’ Main Military-Political Department and commander of the
Akhmat special forces commando unit, said.

"We intend to end the special military operation this year. <...> I am pretty sure
that we will end it this fall. I said this in 2022, 2023 and 2024. Our enemy can
already sense this," Alaudinov told Channel One.

Alaudinov pointed out that Vladimir Zelensky’s wife Yelena had spent war
"earnings" on a luxury car, which, however, "will in no way help them."

https://tass.com/defense/1812259

"Maintaining security in the member countries and along the organization’s

external borders has certainly been one of the SCO’s priorities. That is why today,
a decision was made to turn the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure into a
universal center tasked with responding to the entire range of security threats, as
well as to establish an anti-drug center in [the Tajik capital of Dushanbe]," the
Russian president said at a meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of State in
Kazakhstan’s capital of Astana.

In addition, Putin emphasized that a special cooperation program approved at the

Astana summit would facilitate the fight against separatism and extremism in the
SCO countries.
Furthermore, the Russian leader also praised cooperation between businesses from
SCO nations.

"The organisation’s Business Council remains operational, providing our countries’

business circles with the opportunity to join mutually beneficial projects. Besides,
the Shanghai Organization Interbank Consortium actively works to provide
funding to such projects,".

https://tass.com/politics/1812515

According to Putin, Moscow and Tehran "are united by the aspiration to create a
multipolar world order, to respect all norms of international law, and to preserve
the central role of the United Nations."

Putin asked Mokhber to "pass along his wishes for good health and prosperity to
Iran's Supreme Leader" Ali Khamenei.

https://climateactiontracker.org/countries/russian-federation/

LAWS IN RUSSIA:

1. This Doctrine represents an overview of the goal, principles, substance, and

ways of implementation of a unified public policy of the Russian Federation,
both within its borders and in the international arena, on the issues related to
climate change and its consequences (hereafter referred to as climate policy).
Taking into consideration the strategic guidelines of the Russian Federation, this
Doctrine serves as a foundation for the development and implementation of
climate policy.
2. The legal basis of this Doctrine includes the Constitution of the Russian
Federation, federal laws, standard legal acts issued by the President of the
Russian Federation and the Government of the Russian Federation, the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change of May 9, 1992, and other
international treaties the Russian Federation is signatory to, including those on
environmental issues and sustainable development.

3. This Doctrine is based on fundamental and applied scientific knowledge in

the field of climate and in related areas, including:

the assessment of the past and current state of the climate system; the
assessment of the impact of human activities on climate;

the forecast of climate change and its impact on the quality of life of the
population in the Russian Federation and in other regions of the world;

the assessment of the security and vulnerability of ecological systems, economy,

population, government institutions and infrastructure against climate change,
and existing means to adapt to it;

the assessment of means to mitigate the man-made impact on climate.

4. This Doctrine is based on the analysis of results of the studies carried out in
the Russian Federation and in other regions of the world concerning climate
change and the impact on various economic sectors, population and
environment taking into consideration the results of research related to the
practical use of climate information by public authorities.

The scientific justification of this Doctrine includes the recognition of the fact
that the anthropogenic factor may have an effect on the climate system
triggering an important reaction which is adverse and dangerous, first of all, for
human beings and the environment.

The specific feature of the climate reaction to the anthropogenic impact as well
as to the anthropogenic impact mitigation measures consists in its delayed
response to this impact. In the framework of the climate policy this specific
feature predetermines the important role of timely adaptation to climate change
in the coming decades.

5. This Doctrine as a political document recognizes that the problems

concerning climate change, in particular the balance between economic
efficiency and social justice, the elimination of potential conflicts of interests
related to the extreme climate change consequences (heat waves, floods,
draughts and other phenomena) cannot be resolved with scientific methods only.
The search for balance in such situations is a matter of political choice.

The interests of the Russian Federation concerning climate change are not
limited to its territory and have a global nature. This situation can be explained
by the global nature of climate change as well as by the need to take into
consideration in the area of international relations the diverse impacts on the
climate and the consequences of climate change in various parts of the world.
While developing the climate policy it is necessary to take into consideration
the direct as well as indirect and long-term impact of climate change on
environment, economy, population and its different social groups.

The indirect impact of climate change includes its influence on migration

processes resulting from the global redistribution of natural resources, including
food and water, and decrease of relative quality of living conditions in some
regions of the Russian Federation and abroad.
Immigration to Russia is shaped by two types of population flows. The first
is the mass arrival of Russians returning to their homeland from other
post-Soviet republics. In the 1990s, ethnic Russians accounted for 81% of
total immigration. In the following years, this percentage decreased
significantly, down to 32% in 2007. Initially ethnic return waves were behind
immigration, and since the beginning of the twenty-first century, economic
migration. At that time, the growing Russian economy began to attract
foreign migrants, often not of Russian origin, from other parts of the
post-Soviet space, especially from the less developed countries of Central
Asia, namely Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
Currently, they represent the main group of economic migrants in the
Russian Federation. Of all immigrants, only a small percentage are
short-term migrants. In particular, this group includes entrepreneurs and
managers working on fixed-term contracts for transnational companies.
This is due to the changing nature of the purpose of coming to Russia.

In addition, three other types of migration should also be distinguished

when assessing the characteristics of immigration to Russia. Over the past
twenty years, in addition to economic migrants, Russia has also received
many refugees. At the beginning of the 1990s, after the conflict in
Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenians and Azerbaijanis left for Russia. Similarly,
Meskhetian Turks have been displaced in large numbers from Uzbekistan
because of ethnic violence. Tajik citizens left their home country because of
the civil war and settled in Russia and other post-Soviet republics.

However, it is impossible to give the actual number of refugees who arrived

in the Russian Federation in the 1990s. Still, we can say that the number of
ethnic conflicts in Central Asia was the reason for their high inflow. The
Andijan massacre in 2005 also caused the arrival of many refugees.
Currently, many people from countries such as Afghanistan, Syria, Angola,
Ethiopia and Somalia are seeking asylum in Russia.

It should also be borne in mind that the Russian Federation is a transit

country for migration. Migrants from Afghanistan, China, Angola, Pakistan,
Sri Lanka, Turkey, and Ethiopia pass through Russian territory to reach
Western Europe. Often, instead of moving on to their destination, they
decide to stay in Russia.

The large number of stateless persons living in the Russian Federation

remains an important issue. Although it fell significantly, from 429,891 in
2002 to 178,245 in 2010, it is still relatively high. This phenomenon is
witnessed in many countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, a large number of people lost their
citizenship because they were unable to confirm or to acquire the
citizenship of any of the newly formed states. This was due to the complex
legal requirements adopted in the new countries.

Over time, and also thanks to the interest and assistance of several human
rights organisations, some regulatory procedures and legislative
modifications have been put in place, making it easier for these people to
acquire citizenship. However, the issue of stateless persons remains a
serious problem.I

n addition, the Russian Federation faces a number of social problems

which make it difficult to achieve positive results in terms of demography.
Russia has a very high abortion rate and a high mortality rate among men,
often of working age. The widespread phenomenon of alcoholism, which
often causes the premature death of relatively young people, is also a
serious problem. Although Russia is a highly feminised country and the
number of women per 1000 men (especially in the 50-60 age group) is
about 1100, there is currently a high drop in the number of women in the
20-30 age group due to an altered demographic pyramid as a result of
World War II. Decrease in the number of women of childbearing age,
increased stress levels in a changing society and a falling standard of
living.

The trend of negative natural growth has been slightly reversed in recent
years. In 2012, for the first time since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the
number of births exceeded the number of deaths. There has been a
significant increase in life expectancy, an increase in the birth rate and a
reduction in mortality. However, population growth is largely due to the
influx of migrants, particularly from the countries of Central Asia. Secondly,
the 1990s generation is too small to maintain the birth rate at a high level,
and the mortality rate will increase as mortality among the generations born
in the 1940s and early 1950s will naturally rise.

According to the calculations of the Russian Statistical Office, taking into

account the results of censuses and demographic dynamics in recent
years, Russia’s population at the beginning of 2025 will be about 145.7
million.

Due to these negative demographic forecasts, the Russian authorities have

taken steps to prevent these problems. The measures taken have primarily
been aimed at increasing the birth rate, reducing mortality and improving
the quality of healthcare (including measures to reduce smoking and
alcohol consumption among the Russian population). These actions have
had a positive impact.
Above all, the negative birth rate increased to a positive level in 2013-2014,
but this does not solve the problem. The loss in the Russian population is
too great and the birth rate is still too low. It is also worth noting that
positive natural growth can be observed mainly in large cities, especially
those in the west of the country. The issue still remains a problem in the
Far East, which is becoming more and more depopulated.
Being aware of the demographic challenges, the Russian authorities have
begun to take a more comprehensive approach to the issue of immigration.
One of the first documents raising the issue was the Russian Federation’s
demographic development concept until 2015, which pointed to the
necessity of attracting immigrants from CIS countries to Russia as one of
the priorities in the field of migration. In June 2012, the president of the
Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, approved a document entitled The
Concept of State Migration Policy of the Russian Federation until 2025.

This document covers all types of migration: academic mobility, temporary

migration, long-term and short-term migration, permanent migration, illegal
migration, educational (school) migration, economic migration, and
seasonal labour migration. It does not introduce any significant changes,
nor does it contain any specific declarations.

However, due to economic issues, significant migrant inflows and

demographic problems in Russia, it was adopted to highlight the readiness
of the Russian authorities to increase supervision and make migrant flows
more orderly. The document also mentions the need to implement
structured measures to attract foreign workers. One of the ways of
increasing the population of the country is to give migrants permanent
residence permits, as well as to attract highly qualified foreign workers,
which, due to the needs of the Russian economy, is essential for its further
development.

Although the state migration policy concept pointed to attracting foreigners

as well as legalising their stay as a way of solving Russia’s demographic
and economic problems, political actions and public opinion were actually
in favour of pushing out migrants, especially those from Central Asian
countries.

Other approaches were based on drawing a clear distinction between

migrants temporarily residing in the Russian Federation and those
permanently residing in Russia with the prospect of acquiring Russian
citizenship. Another direction in migration policy was to set up social
integration mechanisms. The above shows that despite the significant
evolution of immigration policy in Russia, there are still discrepancies
between conceptualisation and implementation.

At the same time, it should be stressed that migrants will not be able to fully
compensate for the decrease in Russia’s population. If trends in Russian
demography continue, some forecasts suggest that Russia’s population will
shrink to 112 million in 2050. The result will be a shortage of labour, a drop
in the number of military recruits, schoolchildren, students, and a rapidly
ageing population. Russia’s openness to immigrants is essential in order to
counteract the effects of the demographic crisis.

The inflow of foreigners is currently the most important compensating factor

for the shortage of people. In the Russian Federation, many sectors of the
economy could not function smoothly without employing foreigners. The
management of migration processes has thus become one of the main
demographic policy tools. However, those admitted into Russia need to
undergo thorough verification. It is important for immigrants to be legally
resident in Russia. A big advantage would also be to encourage young
people (e.g. students) to move to Russia, so that later on young educated
people can fill positions where highly qualified staff is needed.

As of 31 December 2021, 331 refugees, 10581 temporary asylum status holders

and 540 asylum-seekers from 70 countries were registered by the Russian Ministry

of the Interior. Most people of concern were coming from Ukraine, Afghanistan and

Syria. Nearly 600 temporary IDs for stateless persons have been issued since

August 2021, when a respective law came into effect. According to the Ministry of

the Interior, at least 4,500 stateless persons are expected to benefit from the

documentation procedure.

UNHCR in the Russian Federation has operated through its Representation in

Moscow since 1992. The primary goal of the UN Refugee Agency is to support and

complement the efforts of the Russian government to develop a fair and effective

asylum system under international standards and prevent and reduce the

incidence of statelessness. UNHCR strives to promote tolerance towards refugees

and other persons of concern to the Agency through various public information

and awareness-raising activities.