Russian Federation
Practice Relating to Rule 129. The Act of Displacement
The Russian Federation’s Regulations on the Application of IHL (2001) states: “Deportation of the civilian population from the occupied territory to the territory of another state shall be prohibited.”
With regard to internal armed conflict, the Regulations states:
The displacement of the civilian population shall not be ordered for reasons related to the conflict unless the security of the civilians involved or imperative military reasons so demand. Civilians shall not be compelled to leave their own territory for reasons connected with the conflict.
Under the Russian Federation’s Criminal Code (1996), “deportation of the civilian population” is a crime against the peace and security of mankind.
In its judgment in the
Situation in Chechnya case in 1995, the Russian Constitutional Court held that several orders and decrees issued by the Russian Government in 1994 which provided for the eviction of “persons posing threats to public security and to the personal safety of citizens out of the territory of the Chechen Republic” were unconstitutional.
In 1995, during a debate in the UN Security Council, Russia condemned the forced displacement in the former Yugoslavia.
According to the Report on the Practice of the Russian Federation, the Russian Federation considers forced displacement of the civilian population to be an “international crime”.
The Russian Federation’s Regulations on the Application of IHL (2001) states:
Deportation of the civilian population from the occupied territory to the territory of another state shall be prohibited. Temporary evacuation of civilians deep into the occupied territory may be permitted if the security of the population or imperative military reasons so demand, except for cases when this is not possible.
With regard to internal armed conflict, the Regulations states: “The displacement of the civilian population shall not be ordered for reasons related to the conflict unless the security of the civilians involved or imperative military reasons so demand.”