The bill on the ban on “inciting hatred” educational activities was adopted in the third reading

The law "On education" will introduce the concept of "educational activity", as well as a ban on its use for "inciting hatred" and inciting illegal actions.

On March 16, 2021, the State Duma adopted amendments to the federal law "On Education" in the third reading. The bill was submitted to parliament on November 18 by a group of five senators led by Andrey Klimov and ten deputies. On December 23, 2020, it was approved in the first reading, and on March 9, 2021 - in the second .

The authors of the draft law define educational activities as “ activities carried out outside the framework of educational programs aimed at disseminating knowledge, skills, values, experience and competence for the intellectual, spiritual, moral, creative, physical and (or) professional development of a person, satisfying his educational needs and interests, and affecting relations regulated by this Federal Law and other legislative acts of the Russian Federation ".

The approved version of the amendments states that " enlightenment activities are carried out by state authorities, other state bodies, local self-government bodies, organizations authorized by them , and are also entitled to be carried out by individuals, individual entrepreneurs and (or) legal entities ", provided that they comply with legal requirements, as well as the procedure, conditions and forms of conducting such activities, which are determined by the government.

In the fragment on restrictions on educational activities, a ban is prescribed on " the use of educational activities to incite social, racial, national or religious hatred, for agitation promoting the exclusivity, superiority or inferiority of citizens on the basis of social, racial, national, religious or linguistic affiliation, their relationship to religion, including by reporting false information about the historical, national, religious and cultural traditions of peoples, as well as to induce actions that are contrary to the Constitution of the Russian Federation ."

Recall that a similar ban is contained in the current version of the law "On Education", but applies only to teaching activities.

The draft law contains a proposal to attribute to the powers of federal government bodies the coordination of the participation of educational organizations in international cooperation. According to the amendments, educational organizations should sign international cooperation agreements only if there is a conclusion of the ministry (Ministry of Education or Ministry of Education).

The bill also contains proposals to tighten state control in the field of scientific and methodological support of educational activities. The amendments are scheduled to come into force on June 1, 2021.

According to a statement on the website of the State Duma, these amendments are designed to "protect Russian citizens, primarily schoolchildren and students, from anti-Russian propaganda presented under the guise of educational activities."

From our point of view, the wording proposed in the draft law and already used in the law "On Education", in particular, about "reporting false information about the historical, national, religious and cultural traditions of peoples", does not exclude the possibility of their use to limit historical discussion and unreasonable restriction of freedom of speech in general.

Sources

• Bill No. 1057895-7 "On Amendments to the Federal Law "On Education in the Russian Federation"" // CREATION GAS "Lawmaking". 2021. March 16.
• What will be the new law on educational activities? // State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation. February 16, 2021