The United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Russian Federation, Mariana Katzarova, has presented a pivotal report to the Human Rights Council. She highlighted the operations of Russian security services allegedly involved in assassinating or attempting to assassinate dissidents across Europe, including suspected poisonings as a part of a systematic campaign to silence critics abroad. This drew attention to what Katzarova describes as a “dangerous protection gap,” prompting her call for a binding United Nations convention addressing transnational repression (Jurist).
Katzarova’s report, “Nowhere is safe,” utilizes a database of nearly 400 documented cases, indicating a sharp increase in such activities following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The aftermath saw an exodus estimated between 650,000 to 900,000 people, marking the largest such wave in over a century. Civil society data underscores this spike, showing an eightfold rise in incidents from 2022 to 2024 compared to the period from 2014 to 2021.
Highlighted in the report are instances such as the 2019 murder of Zelimkhan Khangoshvili in Berlin by a Federal Security Service operative and the assassination of defected military pilot Maxim Kuzminov in Spain in 2024, which Spanish authorities deemed a targeted attack. The dossier also reviews cases of forced returns, blacklisting, and abuse of INTERPOL mechanisms, such as the politically driven Red Notice against businessman Igor Pestrikov.
The consequences extend further, with in absentia sentences for critics abroad rising significantly from four in 2022 to 157 by 2025. Russia’s list, red-flagged by banks globally, now encompasses 21,541 individuals, impacting many in terrorism-related cases, including former political prisoner Vladimir Kara-Murza.
In August 2026, Russia enacted Federal Law No. 284-FZ, which places restrictions akin to de facto statelessness on Russians abroad convicted of crimes or designated under “foreign agent” provisions. The law includes asset freezes and passport revocations.
The UN report underscores Russia’s non-cooperation, as Katzarova was denied entry and information access throughout her mandate. This call follows earlier UN criticism regarding Russia’s internal crackdown on civil society, now seemingly extended internationally through similar designations.
No treaty currently targets transnational repression explicitly, although existing conventions address some related abuses. Katzarova recommends drafting a specific treaty with preventive and accountability measures for states, alongside regional standards and a suspension of Russia’s INTERPOL rights.
While negotiations and adoptions of such a treaty remain pending, the Human Rights Council’s 63rd session extends through October 7, offering a platform for continued advocacy and discussion on the issue.