The following organizations has signed the resolution: Centre de la Protection Internationale (France and Russia), Memorial Human Rights Center (Russia), Stichting Russian Justice Initiative (Netherlands and Russia), Interregional Committee Against Torture (Russia), The Society of Russian-Chechen Friendship (Finland), Norwegian Helsinki Committee, Human Rights Watch, Civil Rights Defenders and International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH). The Documentation Center will store and systematize information on violations of human rights, humanitarian law and international criminal law relevant to the on-going human rights crisis in the North Caucasus region of the Russian Federation.
The Center’s objective is to collect material relevant to a process of transitional justice in order to put an end to the climate of impunity in the region and help preserve an accurate historical memory. The Documentation Center will cooperate with relevant organizations, institutions and individuals seeking information about the North Caucasus crisis.
The name was chosen in order to honor our close colleague and friend Natalia Estemirova of Memorial Human Rights Center, who was abducted in Chechnya and brazenly killed on 15 July 2009. Natalia gave her life in the struggle for truth and justice, and by establishing the Natalia Estemirova Documentation Center in Oslo, the signatory organizations aspire to honor her commitment and to protect and promote her legacy.