 9 May 2017, 06:15 PM - 07:30 PMLocation: Roberts Building G06 Sir Ambrose Fleming LT, Torrington Place, WC1E 7JE, London Natalya Taubina is director of the Moscow-based NGO, Public Verdict Foundation The event is open to all, but to avoid disappointment, please Register. In the past few years, the Russian Federation has adopted a number of laws significantly restricting fundamental rights and freedoms. Some of these new laws undermine the guarantees of the right to freedom of association—in particular, by introducing concepts such as ‘non-profit organisations performing the functions of a foreign agent’ and ‘undesirable international and foreign non-governmental organisations’. Being branded a ‘foreign agent’ or ‘undesirable organisation’ leads to substantial restrictions or, in certain cases, a total ban on activities, heavy fines, and potential criminal charges. Russian civil society organisations are in a constant struggle for the right to freely operate and continue their important work in the interest of Russian society. Faced with state restrictions, they are elaborating new strategies to ensure the sustainability of their activities. About the speaker: Ms. Taubina has been working in the field of human rights since 1992. From the very beginning, she was involved in the work of the Russian Research Center for Human Rights. From 1997 to 2011, she was a director of the Foundation for Civil Society, and since 2004 she has been the director of the Public Verdict Foundation. Her expertise is international human rights standards and mechanisms, human rights in the work of law enforcement bodies, development of civil society organizations, NGO management, and evaluation. Ms. Taubina has been participating in the development and conduct of dozens of research projects and publications on a wide range of human rights issues and on different aspects of NGO activities. She has been invited as an expert by different charitable foundations (Eurasia Foundation, International Fellowship Program of the Ford Foundation, Fulcrum Foundation, Charities Aid Foundation) for elaborating and carrying out analytical surveys, evaluations, and research projects. Ms. Taubina was a member of the Expert Council under the Ombudsman in the Russian Federation in 2004-2016. In 2013, she became a recipient of the Human Rights Watch’s Alison Des Forges Award. Ms. Taubina is laureate of the 2015 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award. In 1993 she graduated from Faculty of Cybernetics of the Moscow Physics-Engineering Institute. [Read more] |
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