Statement during the General Debate on the protection of human rights, UNHRC 58th Session

Statement by a Russian representative during the General Debate on the protection of human rights, 58th Session of the UN Human Rights Council

(March 17, 2025, Geneva)

Once again, I would like to draw attention to the issue of the suppression of freedom of speech and access to information as a result of the unprecedented anti-Russian campaign launched by the “collective West”. The systematic practice of restricting and banning Russian news outlets on foreign media platforms demonstrates these countries’ dishonest use of selective approaches and "double standards".

The list of Russian media and information resources that have been blocked or stripped of their rights is growing exponentially. In all cases of this blatant, primitive censorship, the Western "beacons of democracy" do not even bother to justify their actions, having arbitrarily labeled Russian media as "propaganda disseminators and threats to their own security".

This crackdown on alternative opinions is further reinforced by the Western-controlled private sector. The nontransparent policies of social media platforms have actively played into the hands of their governments, censoring content on their platforms and thus manipulating public opinion. At the same time, the same social media platforms are being used by Western curators for disinformation, propaganda, and public opinion manipulation.

We firmly believe that politically motivated restrictions on access to objective information and the prohibition of alternative viewpoints are absolutely unacceptable and should be classified as the most egregious violations of freedom of speech and thought.