Protecting Human Rights Defenders in the North Caucasus: Reflections on Developments from 2009 to the Present

Since the end of the second Chechen conflict,(1) Russian authorities have struggled to contain the spread of Islamic extremism across Russia's entire North Caucasus region, especially in Chechnya, Ingushetia, Dagestan and Kabardino - Balkaria. Grave human rights violations in the course of counter-terrorism operations in these regions have been widely documented during the second Chechen conflict and its aftermath.(2) While international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and intergovernmental bodies have long been concerned about the level of impunity for human rights violations in the North Caucasus, the murder of a well-known Chechen human rights activist in July 2009 prompted an equally strong focus on the security of human rights defenders (HRDs) working in this region. This paper first discusses several issues related to the protection of HRDs, specifically: the provision of security trainings; the application of the term 'HRD'; the adoption of 'tracking' technology; the need for an integrated understanding of 'security'; the importance of recognizing threats by non-state actors; the specific needs of women HRDs; and the effectiveness of evacuation. Finally, this paper presents questions on the sustainability of the one security model implemented thus far in a situation in which human rights work is simply too risky for local defenders to undertake.