In Sochi, HRW experts fix human rights violations in preparation for the Olympics

Experts of the Human Rights Watch (HRW) have noted violations of migrant workers' rights; these migrants are engaged in preparing Sochi for the 2014 Winter Olympics. They also fixed violations related to alienation of land plots and resettlement for construction of Olympic objects and infrastructure, violations of the freedom of speech, and pressure on journalists and civil activists.

Within a week, the situation with human rights in Sochi in the course of Olympic preparations was studied by Jane Buchanan, a senior researcher of the HRW for Europe and Central Asia, and her colleague from Moscow Yulia Gorbunova.

Ms Buchanan told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that it was nor her first visit to Sochi – she keeps visiting the city for three years, continuing to study the situation with the rights of migrant workers and resettlers, restriction of the freedom of speech and pressure on civil society activists.

"Our work is to interview victims; and on the basis of these interviews we write our reports, where describe the situation and fix violations. It's supposed that governments, corporations and others should react," said the researcher Jane Buchanan.

The researchers met migrant workers who work on construction of Olympic objects. "Eight people from Tajikistan and Uzbekistan came to meet us. Here, they found work and faced very difficult situations," said Jane Buchanan.

Apart from non-observance of migrants' rights, the HRW experts fixed violations related to the system of alienation of land plots and resettlement of residents for the purpose of building Olympic facilities and infrastructure, violations of the freedom of speech and facts of pressure on journalists and civil activists.

During this trip, the human rights defenders did not meet any state officials or bosses of the companies involved in Olympic construction; however, they collected materials to further draft and submit recommendations on how to improve the situation in the Olympic Sochi.