Russia's Recruitment of Foreigners to Fight in Ukraine Amounts to Human Trafficking
- On Thursday, Amnesty International released a report alleging Russia uses deceptive and coercive practices to recruit foreign nationals from low-income countries into its Armed Forces, concluding these actions amount to human trafficking under the UN's Palermo Protocol.
- Recruiters lure individuals with false promises of lucrative civilian employment in sectors like IT or security, while local agents and misleading online advertisements exploit the precarious status of migrants and refugees already in Russia.
- Upon signing contracts—often in languages recruits do not understand—they face restricted movement and threats of imprisonment or death, with many reporting passports and mobile phones confiscated before deployment to combat zones after just two weeks of preparation.
- Researchers interviewed 15 captured third-country nationals from Brazil, Colombia, and Sri Lanka; while one prisoner recounted 58 others on his trip, only three recruits told researchers they knew they had signed a military contract.
- Amnesty called on Russia to immediately end these practices, urging other states to take proactive measures to combat this human trafficking while emphasizing the need for full accountability for all complicit parties, including private recruiters and military commanders.
23 Articles
23 Articles
According to the human rights organisation, recruitment involves means such as coercion, fraud, deception or the exploitation of an economic weakness.
“If you try to escape, you will either end up in prison or we will kill you,” Pedro from Brazil was told after being forcibly recruited into Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. He is just one of many examples documented by Amnesty International in a new report.
Amnesty International is calling on governments to take action against Russian deceptive recruitment practices. That country recruits foreigners for its army “in deceptive, coercive and exploitative ways,” the organization reports in a study published on Thursday. According to Amnesty, in many cases this involves human trafficking.
For more than four and a half years, the Russian war against Ukraine has lasted. Both recruit soldiers also abroad. Human rights activists are now making serious accusations against Russia.
saarbruecker-zeitung.de
For more than four and a half years, the Russian war against Ukraine has lasted. Both recruit soldiers also abroad. Human rights activists are now making serious accusations against Russia.
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- 40% of the sources are Center, 40% of the sources lean Right
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