Official position/function in relation to the conflict

Moscow Helsinki Group (MHG) is the oldest operating and one of the most reputable and influential independent human rights organizations in the territory of the former USSR. It was formed in 1976 as an initiative dissident group and was originally called the “Public Group for Assistance to the Implementation of the Helsinki Agreements in the USSR.” It is part of the international network of Helsinki organizations (see, for example, the Ukrainian Helsinki Group).

The MHG has condemned Russian aggression against Ukraine, criticizes the actions of the Russian authorities in Crimea, as well as the escalation of the conflict in Donbas.

Actions in relation to the conflict region

The MHG employees took part in monitoring missions in the armed conflict area in 2014-2015. The MHG publishes annual reports “Human Rights in the Russian Federation in 2014,” which published data on human rights violations during the conflict, and described cases of attacks on journalists trying to report the deaths of Russian military servants in Donbas.

MHG employees are members of the Human Rights Council under the President of the Russian Federation. In 2014-2015, they initiated a discussion of the human rights situation in the conflict region.

Regarding Crimea: MHG members initiated the creation of the Crimean Field Mission for Human Rights that collected information on human rights violations on the territory of the annexed peninsula. On the basis of the information collected, the Field Mission updated Russian and international structures in the field of human rights.