In a stark rebuke, UN specialists have spotlighted systemic trafficking and forced labour of migrant women in Moscow’s Golyanovo district, primarily affecting Uzbek and Kazakh nationals over several decades.

Victims were lured under pretenses, only to endure confiscation of documents, brutal conditions, sexual violence, and forced abortions, while working up to 20 hours daily without pay.

The experts decry Russia’s institutional failures, highlighting a chronic lack of effective investigations and a legal framework that criminalizes aid to undocumented migrants, deterring victims from seeking help. Repeated complaints since the 1990s have been met with indifference or outright dismissal, often under the false guise of “consent.”

The European Court of Human Rights recently condemned Russia for breaching its obligations in the case of F.M. and Others v. Russia.

The UN calls on Moscow to promptly investigate, cooperate with Central Asian states, and deliver justice, urging that victims should never be punished for acts committed under coercion.

The experts remain engaged with Russian authorities amid ongoing concerns of entrenched exploitation.

Source: Special Procedures/UN/Human Rights Council.