Russia signals exit from European anti-torture pact

Russia is moving to quit Europe’s anti-torture treaty, a step Ukraine condemned as proof of systematic abuse and an attempt to escape accountability. According to Politico, a decree signed by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin on Aug. 23 asked President Vladimir Putin to forward the withdrawal proposal to the State Duma, Russia’s lower chamber.

The decision would still require approval from parliament and Putin before taking effect, according to Reuters.

The convention, created in 1987, gives European monitors the authority to inspect detention centers in order to prevent abuse. Russia ratified the treaty in 1996 but lost membership in the Council of Europe in 2022, weeks after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Human rights organizations have long accused Moscow of using torture against political opponents, citing cases such as the 2024 death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny in an Arctic penal colony.

How has Ukraine responded?

Ukraine’s foreign ministry condemned the move, calling it “an admission of guilt — acknowledgment of Russia’s systemic practice of torture and its attempt to avoid accountability for gross violations of human rights.”

The criticism follows a United Nations commission report in March that found Russia’s “widespread and systematic” use of disappearances and torture against Ukrainians amounted to crimes against humanity.

What does this mean for rights oversight?

If approved, Russia’s withdrawal would cut one of its last formal ties to Europe’s human rights framework. For Ukraine and its allies, it signals Russia’s continued refusal to face scrutiny over how detainees and civilians are treated in occupied areas.

In recent months, the Netherlands and 40 other members of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe have pressed for an independent investigation into allegations of Russian mistreatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war.