Interregional Environmental and Human Rights Public Organization “Environmental Watch in the North Caucasus”

“Environmental Watch in the North Caucasus” is an interregional non-profit organization established in 1997. Its mission is to preserve wildlife and a favorable environment in the North Caucasus in the context of connection of the environmental problems of the North Caucasus with the environmental problems of the Black Sea and Caspian regions.

At various times, the organization’s activists have conducted a large number of public campaigns aimed at drawing attention to the problems of environmental protection. Among them, there are the campaign to protect the Sochi National Park (1997), the campaign to protect the wildlife of the Bolshoy Thach Mountain area (1997), the campaign against the construction of the Lago-Naki-Dagomys highway through the territory of the Caucasian Reserve (1999), the campaign against the sale of vast territories in the mountainous part of the Abinsky district in the vicinity of the villages of Shapsug and Erivan for the development of quarries for the extraction of cement raw materials (2013). "

Name

Field of activity

Environmental protection

Status

“Foreign agent” (NGO)

Reason for recognition

According to the information from the registry of Ministry of Justice, the Environmental Watch received funds from the National Foundation for support of Democracy which was designated as “undesirable” in Russia in 2015. The Environmental Watch coordinator Andrey Rudomakha stated that foreign funds were transferred to his deputy’s personal account and were not spent on the needs of the organization.

Year of recognition

2016

Status description

Since 2012, such status can be obtained by non-profit organizations registered in Russia, and from 2020 unregistered public associations, which, according to the Russian government: a) receive foreign funding, b) participate in “political activity,” which is understood as any public activity. Who recognizes: Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation. Responsibilities: NPO-"foreign agents” are required to provide a report on their activities, audit reports, and data on the organization’s personnel. In addition, they must submit to the Ministry of Justice a report on the goals and actual spending of funds, including those received from foreign sources. Unregistered public associations must provide the Ministry of Justice with a notice on receipt of funds from foreign sources and participation in political activities, as well as with a report on the funds received, purposes, and their actual use. Administrative liability: mentioning an NGO-"foreign agent” and an unregistered public association-foreign agent on the Internet or in the media—a fine of up to 50 thousand rubles. (Article 13.15 of the Code of Administrative Offences). failure to submit or untimely submission of reports—a fine of up to 300 thousand rubles for an NCO-foreign agent (Article 19.7.5-2 of the Code of Administrative Offences) and up to 30 thousand rubles for unregistered public associations (Article 19.7.5-3 of the Code of Administrative Offences). if the association produces or distributes materials without specifying that such association is a foreign agent—a fine of up to 300 thousand rubles, for unregistered public associations (Article 19.7.5-3 of the Code of Administrative Offences) and up to 500 thousand rubles for an NGO-foreign agent (Article 19.34 of the Code of Administrative Offences). if an employee, but not an association as a whole, distributes any materials and does not indicate that he/she is an employee of an NGO-foreign agent—a fine of five thousand rubles and for unregistered public associations (Article 19.7.5-3 of the Code of Administrative Offences), and for NGOs (Article 19.34 of the Code of Administrative Offences). if the organization operates but does not enter itself in the register of foreign agents—a fine of up to 500 thousand rubles for non-profit organizations (Article 19.34 of the Code of Administrative Offences). if the activities of the organization are suspended, but it continues to function—a fine for an unregistered public association for organizers up to two thousand rubles, and for participants—up to one thousand rubles, for an NGO-foreign agent—a fine of up to 50 thousand rubles for organizers and up to five thousand rubles for participants (Article 20.28 of the Code of Administrative Offences). Criminal liability: malicious evasion of reporting by registered NGOs and unregistered public associations recognized as foreign agents—a fine of up to 300 thousand rubles or imprisonment for up to two years (par.1 article 330.1 of the Criminal Code).

Ecologists and environmental organizations