Fighting back against transnational repression
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly
debate on 25 June 2026 (26th sitting) (see Doc. 16421, report of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human
Rights, rapporteur: Mr Constantinos Efstathiou). Text adopted by the Assembly on
25 June 2026 (26th sitting).See also Recommendation 2309 (2026).
1. The plight of exiled political
dissidents, journalists and human rights defenders does not end
once they have escaped from the oppressive systems of their home
States. As instances of foreign interference have increased in frequency
and severity, authoritarian regimes have found new ways to subjugate
their opponents beyond their borders. Such cases of transnational
repression, whether involving the use of violence or the misuse
of legitimate international co-operation tools, violate the rule
of law and State sovereignty, infringe the human rights of the individuals
targeted and pose a serious threat to national security.
2. The seriousness of the issue of transnational repression is
clearly illustrated by Freedom House, one of the most prominent
United States of America-based non-governmental organisations, which
has documented 1 375 instances of physical transnational repression
since 2014, perpetrated by 54 origin States, affecting 107 host
States. Freedom House lists the 10 most frequent perpetrators of
physical transnational repression as China, Türkiye, the Russian
Federation, Tajikistan, Egypt, Turkmenistan, Cambodia, Uzbekistan,
Iran and Belarus.
3. The Parliamentary Assembly condemns all forms of transnational
repression. It reiterates that acts of transnational repression
perpetrated by member States and those that occur or have effects
in their territories undermine the values and principles of the
Council of Europe and are incompatible with the European Convention
on Human Rights (ETS No. 5).
4. Because of the lack of a tailored legal framework, including
the absence of a common definition of transnational repression,
many cases remain unidentified, and the true scale of this phenomenon
may be even greater. Despite attempts to define the term in various
domestic legal instruments and by civil society organisations, no
universally agreed definition currently exists.
5. Consequently, the Assembly holds that the term “transnational
repression” should be understood as a form of foreign interference
by a State, its organs, proxies and/or persons whose actions can
be attributed to that State, employed to intimidate, silence, harass,
coerce, abduct, harm or kill individuals beyond the State’s borders,
including political dissidents, activists, human rights defenders,
journalists, political opponents, members of minority religious
or ethnic groups, academics, members of diaspora and exile communities
and/or their relatives, regardless of their nationality. Transnational
repression methods include, but are not limited to:
5.1 murder and the threat or use
of violence;
5.2 unlawful rendition and/or abduction;
5.3 unlawful electronic or in-person surveillance;
5.4 harassment or unlawful detention of family members in
the origin State;
5.5 misuse of legitimate international legal co-operation
mechanisms, such as the International Criminal Police Organization
(INTERPOL) notice system, extradition requests, mutual legal assistance frameworks
and anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing measures;
5.6 doxing (publicly and unlawfully disclosing personally
identifiable information about an individual or organisation with
the intention of harassing or causing distress) and the release
of sensitive personal information;
5.7 unwarranted designation as a terrorist or extremist;
5.8 mobility restrictions, including through passport cancellation
and denial of consular services;
5.9 recourse to strategic lawsuits against public participation
(SLAPPs);
5.10 arbitrary prevention of renunciation of citizenship;
5.11 financial repression, including the denial of access to
banking and financial services, account freezes, de-banking and
other measures aimed at restricting the economic activities, livelihoods
or financial participation of targeted individuals and entities.
6. The Assembly considers that, under certain circumstances,
victims of transnational repression who are detained pursuant to
an abusive INTERPOL Red Notice or extradition request may fulfil
the criteria for a political prisoner, as listed in
Resolution 1900 (2012) “The
definition of political prisoner”. Accordingly, States that refuse
to consider the political motivation behind such requests should
be regarded as facilitators of transnational repression, thus sharing
the responsibility for the human rights violations committed against
its victims. The Assembly reminds member States that mutual legal
assistance under international treaties and co-operation mechanisms
should be carried out in full compliance with international human
rights law, including their obligations under the European Convention
on Human Rights, which transcend national borders. Member States
should therefore pay particular attention to specific and credible
allegations of transnational repression and political persecution
when examining international co-operation requests, especially those
that could result in an individual’s arrest and detention.
7. The Assembly is further concerned by repeated allegations
that anti-money laundering and anti-corruption measures are being
misused for the purpose of transnational repression. It calls on
national law-enforcement authorities to ensure that any such proceedings
respect the right to a fair trial and the presumption of innocence,
in accordance with Article 6 of the European Convention on Human
Rights.
8. The Assembly welcomes the fact that, since the adoption of
its
Resolution 2509 (2023) “Transnational repression
as a growing threat to the rule of law and human rights”, attempts
to combat transnational repression have been undertaken through
several international and domestic initiatives. In particular, during the
2025 Group of Seven (G7) Summit in Canada, leaders committed to
countering the threat of transnational repression by fostering a
common understanding of the phenomenon, raising awareness and promoting accountability.
The European Parliament adopted a resolution on addressing transnational
repression of human rights defenders and several domestic legislative
or other measures were taken by States such as France, Germany,
the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Canada and the
United States of America.
9. The Assembly believes that only a co-ordinated international
response can adequately counter the threat to national security,
human rights and the rule of law posed by transnational repression.
The Council of Europe possesses both the necessary expertise and
the international outreach to lead these efforts.
10. Reiterating its support for the Secretary General’s initiative
to establish the New Democratic Pact for Europe, the Assembly believes
that properly addressing the phenomenon of transnational repression
will increase European democratic security and strengthen the international
rules-based order, including through co-operation between member
and observer States.
11. Accordingly, the Assembly calls on all member and observer
States, as well as States whose parliament enjoys observer or partner
for democracy status with the Assembly, to:
11.1 enact legislation or introduce other equivalent instruments
aimed at preventing and combating transnational repression, including
through the criminalisation of these methods and adoption of a definition
of transnational repression;
11.2 prosecute perpetrators of transnational repression to
the fullest extent of the law, including through relevant international
criminal justice mechanisms where acts of transnational repression
may amount to international crimes falling within their jurisdiction;
11.3 treat transnational repression as an aggravating factor
when prosecuting crimes committed within such a context;
11.4 apply targeted sanctions against foreign officials, individuals
and entities involved in acts of transnational repression, using
Magnitsky-type legislation or similar instruments;
11.5 apply all available legal measures against foreign diplomats,
consuls and other foreign officials involved in transnational repression,
including by declaring them personae
non gratae and imposing visa restrictions upon them;
11.6 designate a relevant domestic focal point responsible
for shaping and co-ordinating State policy to counter transnational
repression, including through monitoring, awareness raising, community outreach,
regular reporting and international co-operation;
11.7 set up dedicated reporting avenues, allowing victims of
transnational repression to alert relevant authorities, and ensure
staffing by adequately trained officials, appropriate follow-up
and sufficient resources;
11.8 create training programmes for law-enforcement authorities
focused on preventing, identifying, investigating and responding
to transnational repression;
11.9 make available accessible resources for vulnerable groups
and possible targets of transnational repression, providing information
on its potential forms, reporting avenues and support, in relevant languages
and subject to regular review and update;
11.10 establish outreach programmes aimed at building trust
and effective co-operation with communities exposed to the risk
of transnational repression, such as diaspora groups, political dissidents,
exiled journalists and human rights defenders;
11.11 work closely with like-minded countries, affected communities
and civil society actors in shaping transnational repression prevention
and response mechanisms;
11.12 regularly exchange information on transnational repression
trends, both bilaterally and within multilateral fora, including
the Council of Europe, the European Union, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO), the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
(OSCE) and the United Nations, and strengthen institutional co-operation
between the Council of Europe, the European Union and the European
External Action Service with a view to developing common standards,
early-warning mechanisms and best practices for preventing and responding
to transnational repression;
11.13 co-ordinate efforts aimed at increasing the level of transparency
within INTERPOL, in particular by championing reforms enabling the
disclosure of information on identified attempts to misuse the INTERPOL
notice system and the publication of decisions of the Commission
for the Control of INTERPOL’s Files;
11.14 have regard to the analysis and proposals set forth in
the February 2026 report of the European Criminal Bar Association
“Safeguarding INTERPOL’s systems: recommendations for reform”, including concerns
as to the lack of transparency in INTERPOL’s ongoing reform processes
and proposals aimed at upholding public confidence in the Commission
for the Control of INTERPOL’s Files and ensuring equality of arms
and effective remedies for victims of transnational repression;
11.15 regularly inform INTERPOL about the outcomes of domestic
extradition proceedings, especially in cases concluding with a refusal
to extradite the individual sought;
11.16 consider new processes whereby member States can alert
their own citizens should they become aware of any of their own
citizens being targeted with a malign Red Notice issued by States
seeking to abuse the Red Notice system;
11.17 increase funding for the INTERPOL bodies responsible for
preventing the misuse of its system, including the Notices and Diffusions
Task Force and the Commission for the Control of INTERPOL’s Files;
11.18 take into account States’ transnational repression records
when considering extradition requests and other forms of mutual
legal assistance;
11.19 consider introducing mechanisms to facilitate the issuance
of relevant identity and/or travel documents for victims of transnational
repression who are affected by mobility restrictions and are legally resident
within the territory of the State concerned. This would apply to
cases where the State of origin refuses to issue or renew such documents
in order to coerce these individuals into returning to their homeland
where they would risk being subjected to further politically motivated
persecution;
11.20 enable easier access to courts and introduce effective
legal remedies for victims of transnational repression, including
those who are denied access to financial or digital services based
on an abusive designation as a terrorist or extremist, and proactively
monitor the credibility of such foreign designations, and establish
mechanisms ensuring guaranteed access to basic banking services
for persons denied access to financial services as a result of transnational
repression, enabling them to receive income, make payments and meet
their daily needs;
11.21 investigate possible transnational-repression angles when
processing asylum applications, particularly in cases involving
individuals seeking refuge from States known for misusing counter-terrorist
tools against political opponents;
11.22 promote and protect access to secure digital communications,
including end-to-end encrypted communication services, for individuals
and communities exposed to transnational repression, and refrain
from measures that would undermine the security, confidentiality
or integrity of such communications.
12. The Assembly is deeply concerned that corrective measures
applied to the Russian Federation – one of the world’s largest perpetrators
of transnational repression – have been partially lifted by INTERPOL’s Executive
Committee. It notes that such a relaxation would significantly weaken
the safeguards designed to protect the INTERPOL system from misuse.
13. Referring to the European Parliament Resolution of 13 November 2025
on addressing transnational repression of human rights defenders
(2025/2048(INI)), the Assembly calls on the European Union and the European
External Action Service to integrate measures aimed at combating
all forms of transnational repression in their sanctions regimes,
human rights protection clauses (such as in trade agreements or
other instruments), external policy and dialogue.
14. The Assembly further calls on the Financial Action Task Force
(FATF) and the Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money
Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (MONEYVAL) to
treat the misuse of FATF recommendations and anti-money laundering
and counter-terrorist financing methods for the purpose of transnational
repression as grounds for finding a State to be non-compliant with
these recommendations and subject to grey listing.
15. The Assembly invites the European Court of Human Rights to
consider instructing respondent States, when indicating interim
measures or adopting judgments in removal cases bearing signs of
possible transnational repression, to inform INTERPOL about such
decisions and personal details of the applicant, in order to prevent
a possible future misuse of its system.
16. The Assembly calls upon INTERPOL to strengthen the filtering,
oversight and independent review mechanisms applicable to notices
and diffusions submitted by member States, with particular attention
to requests emanating from States with a high case count of abusive
submissions, and to ensure that its Commission for the Control of
INTERPOL’s Files operates with full independence, adequate resources
and transparent procedures that meet international human rights
standards, including effective and timely access to the review process
for affected individuals and their legal representatives.
17. The Assembly further calls upon INTERPOL to ensure that any
corrective or supervisory measures applied to National Central Bureaus
with a documented record of submitting non-compliant, politically motivated
or abusive notices and diffusions remain in force in the absence
of demonstrated, sustained and independently verified compliance
with INTERPOL’s rules and international human rights standards,
so as to ensure that the diffusion system cannot be instrumentalised
as a vector for transnational repression.
18. The Assembly calls on its General Rapporteur on political
prisoners in Europe and its General Rapporteur on the situation
of human rights defenders and whistle-blowers to pay particular
attention to cases of transnational repression when carrying out
their respective mandates.
