Russia has used deceptive, coercive and exploitative practices to recruit foreign nationals into its military forces and send them to fight in Ukraine, Amnesty International said in a new briefing published today. In many cases this amounts to the human rights violation and crime of human trafficking, which remains widespread in Russia and which the international community should urgently address.
The research details how recruiters have lured individuals from abroad into the Russian Armed Forces under false pretences and exploited the precarious circumstances of migrants and refugees already present in Russia. Those targeted are primarily from low-income countries in the Global South.
“Amnesty’s research demonstrates how Russia’s Armed Forces are bolstering their ranks with economically vulnerable foreign nationals and using them as cannon fodder in the war of aggression against Ukraine. The level of exploitation and coercion involved led us to conclude that in many cases this amounts to human trafficking, as defined under the UN’s Palermo Protocol,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General.
“Building on pre-existing exploitative migration pathways and abusive practices towards migrants and refugees in Russia, recruiters have developed a system of coercion, fraud and deception, including false promises of civilian or non-combat employment, to enlist foreigners in the military. Once victims sign the paperwork, often in a language they do not understand, military commanders restrict their movements, deploy them to the front lines with minimal preparation, and threaten those who seek a way out.”
