HRC63 – Iceland GC – A/HRC/63/L.12: Situation of human rights in the Russian Federation

Human Rights Council – 63rd session
General Comment during adoption of draft resolution A/HRC/63/L.12
Situation of human rights in the Russian Federation
Statement by Iceland
6 October 2026

President,

As a longstanding cosponsor of this draft resolution, Iceland thanks the core group for its careful work and inclusive process throughout the session.

Iceland notes with appreciation that the text remains closely grounded in the Special Rapporteur’s findings and in other independent sources. Further, Iceland is concerned by the Special Rapporteur’s reporting on transnational repression, which is becoming an increasingly common method to silence critics and human rights defenders in exile.

With effective domestic remedies largely unavailable, following the Russian Federation’s withdrawal from the European Court of Human Rights, the mandate of the Special Rapporteur remains one of the few procedures through which victims can be heard. It is a lifeline that the Council must keep open.

Sovereignty and non-interference do not release States from their obligations under international human rights law. We call on the Russian Federation to engage constructively with human rights mechanisms this Council has created, including by granting the Special Rapporteur access.

Iceland supports the renewal of this mandate, and should it be put to a vote, we will vote in favour of it and urge other members of the Council to do the same.

Thank you.