UN Commissioner: tough antiterrorist measures worsened situation in Northern Caucasus

The tough methods used in the past in Northern Caucasus to fight terrorism had only worsened the situation in the region, said Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, at a today's press conference.

"The impunity of power agents for their actions made the situation in Northern Caucasus even more strained," she said.

Ms Pillay also noted that counterterrorist measures should be carried out while respecting human rights. In her view, lack of accountability of power bodies remains the main problem in Northern Caucasus.

Along with that, the UN Commissioner has condemned the recent terror act at the "Domodedovo" Airport and any other acts of terrorism, the RIA "Novosti" reports.

Besides, Ms Pillay has called, in the course of her meeting with members of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, to strengthen measures aimed to ensure safety of human rights defenders, journalists and lawyers in Russia. According to her story, "it is also crucial to liberalize the legislation, which restricts the activities of Russian rights defenders," the ITAR-TASS reports.

The "Caucasian Knot" has also reported that today the European Parliament has adopted a tough resolution on situation with human rights in Russia. In particular, the document says about human rights violations in Northern Caucasus. The document lists murders of Russian journalist and human rights defenders, including Natalia Estemirova, Zarema Sadulayeva, Alik Dzhabrailov, Maksharip Aushev, Stanislav Markelov, Anastasia Baburova and Anna Politkovskaya.