Pavel Sulyandziga – President of the International Indigenous Fund for Development and Solidarity “Batani,” and member of the International Committee of Indigenous Peoples of Russia (ICIPR).
First. Yesterday and today (24 April 2025), many representatives of RAIPON (the Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North, Siberia, and the Far East – editor’s note: iR) have spoken here. I would like to once again emphasize that this organization is entirely controlled by the Government of the Russian Federation and does not represent the voices of Indigenous Peoples, but rather the views of the Russian government.
Let me give you one example. Tomorrow, RAIPON will hold a congress where a new leader of the organization will be “elected.” We already know — and everyone in Russia knows — who this leader will be. In fact, we knew two months ago. The reason is simple: tomorrow’s “election” will not be a real election. Two months ago, the Russian government decided who would head the organization. The RAIPON congress itself will last only two and a half hours.
Many of you here in this room, especially from international organizations, have attended RAIPON congresses in the past — before the government seized full control over the organization. Back then, congresses lasted three days, and the election process alone took a full day.
Now, the entire congress — including elections, reports, and presentations — will be confined to just two and a half hours. Why? Because there is nothing to elect. The government has already appointed the person who will tomorrow assume the role of RAIPON’s leader.
So, I ask you: what kind of genuine representation of Indigenous Peoples can RAIPON claim to provide?
Second. Now I turn directly to the UN bodies.
It is with great regret that I must point out that neither the Permanent Forum nor the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) have responded to what happened last year. In July, the Russian government designated 55 Indigenous organizations as “extremist.” And in January of this year, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) declared 172 Indigenous organizations to be “terrorist” groups — simply because we speak out and demand our rights.
Therefore, I strongly urge both the Permanent Forum and the Expert Mechanism to pay close attention to what the Russian Federation is doing today — how it is persecuting Indigenous human rights defenders and independent Indigenous leaders.
Thank you.
Source iRussia