Central Asian labor migrants in Russia have been experiencing increased xenophobic harassment, hate speech, and violence since the deadly attack attributed to Central Asians on Moscow’s Crocus City Hall on March 22, 2024. Human Rights Watch said in a released report «Living in Fear and Humiliation: Rising Xenophobic Harassment and Violence towards Central Asian Migrants in Russia».
As the organization noted, the report documents that Central Asian migrants, mostly from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan working in Russia face ethnic profiling, arbitrary arrests, and harassment by police and private actors, including far-right nationalist groups.
«Migrants are also subject to new, often abusive administrative restrictions. Following the attack, Russian officials doubled down, fanning the fire of racist and anti-migrant public sentiments,» the report says.
Human Rights Watch presented its research findings to appropriate authorities in Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Russia. The government of Kyrgyzstan is the only one that responded.
Human rights activists believe that Russian authorities should adopt and enforce a zero-tolerance policy for anti-migrant hate speech, effectively address xenophobic violence experienced by migrants, and retract abusive legislation that significantly curtails migrant rights.
The United Nations and its member-states should work with governments in Central Asia to make a strong call on Russia to protect migrants’ rights, HRW added.
Recall, a terrorist attack was committed in the Crocus City Hall near Moscow on March 22. Thousands of people came to a concert of a musical band. It was reported that four unknown individuals in camouflage without masks entered the building and began shooting people at point-blank range. According to the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, 145 people were killed in the terrorist attack.
According to the data of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, announced at the beginning of this year, if 650,000 migrants from Kyrgyzstan were registered in Russia in 2023, then at the end of 2024 their number decreased to 350,000.
