Russia
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Ombudsman of Russian Federation
The activities in the first half of 1999
1. May the 22nd, 1999, marked a year since the date that the State Duma of the Russian Federation appointed Doctor of legal sciences, Professor Oleg O. Mironov, to the post of the Commissioner on Human Rights in the Russian Federation.
During a relatively short period of time an institution which is new for Russia has been created, the main directions of its activities have been defined. In order to ensure the activities of the Commissioner a working staff, comprising by the middle of May 120 members, has been established. It includes the press office, several branch departments (on constitutional and administrative law, on civil law and housing legislation, on land disputes, on labor legislation, on criminal law, on veterans’ issues, on complaints of the military men, on the examination of the complaints of the refugees), the department on the contacts with federal subjects and human rights organizations, the international department and the department of analysis and information, as well as administrative and technical services.
The Council of Experts under the auspices of the Commissioner on Human Rights in the Russian Federation has been created. It provides the possibility for authoritative specialists in legal sciences and human rights activists to contribute to the activities of the Commissioner, by providing expertise, information and analytical services.
For the first time the annual report of the Commissioner on Human Rights in the Russian Federation, provided for by the appropriate provision of the Federal Constitutional Law, has been published. It contains detailed information on all of the most important activities of the Commissioner in 1998.
2. According to the law the main direction of the activities of the Commissioner is the examination of the complaints of the citizens of the Russian Federation and the aliens and people without citizenship residing in the territory of the Russian Federation. The amount of complaints is growing rapidly: during the first half of this year every month about fifteen hundred appeals were received.
In the course of the examination of the complaints and based on its results the main attention is being paid to the restoration of the infringed rights, to the perfection of the laws of the Russian Federation on human and civil rights, bringing them into line with the universally recognized principles and norms of international law.
Based on the results of the examination of the complaints of citizens the Commissioner often approached the federal agencies and courts in order to get the appropriate explanations and to provide for the undertaking of concrete measures.
For instance, reacting to the appeals of the citizens of the Russian Federation residing in the town of Baykonur (located in the Republic of Kazakhstan), the Commissioner sent a letter to the State Duma remarking that the agreements between Russia and Kazakhstan on the status of Baykonur contain provisions that can be regarded as amending some of the norms of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, and thus create the possibility of mass violations of civil rights and liberties. He proposed to the Duma to undertake steps in order to send to the Constitutional Court an inquiry on the interpretation of the appropriate provisions of the Constitution.
In the framework of the examination of the compliance of Russian legislation to the international legal obligations of the Russian Federation the Commissioner scrutinized the Federal law “On Freedom of Conscience and on Religious Associations” and published in the mass media his conclusion on non-conformance of some of the provisions of the law to the international treaties that the Russian Federation is a party to, inter alia, to the International Pact on Civil and Political Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
The Commissioner’s recommendation to make the appropriate amendments and additions to the Federal law was sent to Mr. V.I. Zorkaltsev, the Chairman of the Committee on Public and Religious Associations of the State Duma. This recommendation attained a generally positive response. It was supported by the Permanent Chamber on Human Rights of the Political Consultative Council of the President of the Russian Federation.
The conclusion of the Commissioner on non-conformance of the provisions of the Law “On Militia” allowing the use of force to Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms was also published.
His recommendation to make amendments to this law aimed at preventing the instances of inhuman and degrading treatment of citizens by the officials of law-enforcement authorities is now being studied by the Committee on Legislation and Legal Reform of the State Duma.
3. A number of measures focused on the development and diversification of the international contacts of the Commissioner and his staff have been introduced.
On February 15-21 a group of staff members participated in the seminar “Human Rights Monitoring”, organized in Poland by the Helsinki Human Rights Foundation. On March 23-28 several officers of the Criminal law department were invited to the seminar of the organization “International Penal Reform", held in Warsaw.
On March 7-14 on the invitation of the Ombudsman of Peru Mr. Jorge Santistevan de Noriega Oleg O. Mironov paid an official visit to Peru. The Commissioner on Human Rights in the Russian Federation familiarized himself with the experience of his Peruvian colleague and had meetings with the Chairman of the Congress, the Minister for foreign affairs, the Chairman of the Constitutional Court and other officials. Oleg O. Mironov read a lecture at the Papal Catholic University on “Democratic reforms and the Constitution: the Russian experience”.
In the course of the visit a bilateral interagency agreement on cooperation was signed that envisages close contacts between the Russian and the Peruvian ombudsmen, as well a constant exchange of information on the situation in the human rights area and corresponding activities.
On March 22-26 the first official visit to Moscow of the Ukrainian delegation headed by the Commissioner on Human Rights of the Supreme Rada of Ukraine Nina I. Karpacheva took place. During this visit a Treaty on cooperation, fixing the achieved level of relations and aiming at new frontiers of cooperation between the ombudsmen of the two countries, was signed. Oleg O. Mironov and Nina I. Karpacheva issued a joint statement strongly condemning the armed methods of resolution of the conflict in Yugoslavia and calling to an end to violations of the fundamental human right – the right to life.
On March 29-31 the visit to Moscow of the Commissioner on Human Rights of Poland Dr. A. Zielinski took place. Underlining the closeness of basic approaches to the resolution of outstanding problems in the area of human rights and fundamental freedoms, the ombudsmen of both countries noted the importance of continuing personal contacts, that help to promote a better understanding of the human rights situation and the exchange of experience gained by the human rights institutions of Russia and of Poland.
The contacts with the international organizations dealing with human rights issues – e.g., the Council of Europe, the United Nations Development Program, the European Ombudsman Institute, were continue. Proposals to develop dialogue and exchange of experience have been sent to the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the OSCE and to the International Ombudsman Institute
Newsletter No. 18
Ombudsman of Russian Federation
The activities in the first half of 1999
1. May the 22nd, 1999, marked a year since the date that the State Duma of the Russian Federation appointed Doctor of legal sciences, Professor Oleg O. Mironov, to the post of the Commissioner on Human Rights in the Russian Federation.
During a relatively short period of time an institution which is new for Russia has been created, the main directions of its activities have been defined. In order to ensure the activities of the Commissioner a working staff, comprising by the middle of May 120 members, has been established. It includes the press office, several branch departments (on constitutional and administrative law, on civil law and housing legislation, on land disputes, on labor legislation, on criminal law, on veterans’ issues, on complaints of the military men, on the examination of the complaints of the refugees), the department on the contacts with federal subjects and human rights organizations, the international department and the department of analysis and information, as well as administrative and technical services.
The Council of Experts under the auspices of the Commissioner on Human Rights in the Russian Federation has been created. It provides the possibility for authoritative specialists in legal sciences and human rights activists to contribute to the activities of the Commissioner, by providing expertise, information and analytical services.
For the first time the annual report of the Commissioner on Human Rights in the Russian Federation, provided for by the appropriate provision of the Federal Constitutional Law, has been published. It contains detailed information on all of the most important activities of the Commissioner in 1998.
2. According to the law the main direction of the activities of the Commissioner is the examination of the complaints of the citizens of the Russian Federation and the aliens and people without citizenship residing in the territory of the Russian Federation. The amount of complaints is growing rapidly: during the first half of this year every month about fifteen hundred appeals were received.
In the course of the examination of the complaints and based on its results the main attention is being paid to the restoration of the infringed rights, to the perfection of the laws of the Russian Federation on human and civil rights, bringing them into line with the universally recognized principles and norms of international law.
Based on the results of the examination of the complaints of citizens the Commissioner often approached the federal agencies and courts in order to get the appropriate explanations and to provide for the undertaking of concrete measures.
For instance, reacting to the appeals of the citizens of the Russian Federation residing in the town of Baykonur (located in the Republic of Kazakhstan), the Commissioner sent a letter to the State Duma remarking that the agreements between Russia and Kazakhstan on the status of Baykonur contain provisions that can be regarded as amending some of the norms of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, and thus create the possibility of mass violations of civil rights and liberties. He proposed to the Duma to undertake steps in order to send to the Constitutional Court an inquiry on the interpretation of the appropriate provisions of the Constitution.
In the framework of the examination of the compliance of Russian legislation to the international legal obligations of the Russian Federation the Commissioner scrutinized the Federal law “On Freedom of Conscience and on Religious Associations” and published in the mass media his conclusion on non-conformance of some of the provisions of the law to the international treaties that the Russian Federation is a party to, inter alia, to the International Pact on Civil and Political Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
The Commissioner’s recommendation to make the appropriate amendments and additions to the Federal law was sent to Mr. V.I. Zorkaltsev, the Chairman of the Committee on Public and Religious Associations of the State Duma. This recommendation attained a generally positive response. It was supported by the Permanent Chamber on Human Rights of the Political Consultative Council of the President of the Russian Federation.
The conclusion of the Commissioner on non-conformance of the provisions of the Law “On Militia” allowing the use of force to Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms was also published.
His recommendation to make amendments to this law aimed at preventing the instances of inhuman and degrading treatment of citizens by the officials of law-enforcement authorities is now being studied by the Committee on Legislation and Legal Reform of the State Duma.
3. A number of measures focused on the development and diversification of the international contacts of the Commissioner and his staff have been introduced.
On February 15-21 a group of staff members participated in the seminar “Human Rights Monitoring”, organized in Poland by the Helsinki Human Rights Foundation. On March 23-28 several officers of the Criminal law department were invited to the seminar of the organization “International Penal Reform", held in Warsaw.
On March 7-14 on the invitation of the Ombudsman of Peru Mr. Jorge Santistevan de Noriega Oleg O. Mironov paid an official visit to Peru. The Commissioner on Human Rights in the Russian Federation familiarized himself with the experience of his Peruvian colleague and had meetings with the Chairman of the Congress, the Minister for foreign affairs, the Chairman of the Constitutional Court and other officials. Oleg O. Mironov read a lecture at the Papal Catholic University on “Democratic reforms and the Constitution: the Russian experience”.
In the course of the visit a bilateral interagency agreement on cooperation was signed that envisages close contacts between the Russian and the Peruvian ombudsmen, as well a constant exchange of information on the situation in the human rights area and corresponding activities.
On March 22-26 the first official visit to Moscow of the Ukrainian delegation headed by the Commissioner on Human Rights of the Supreme Rada of Ukraine Nina I. Karpacheva took place. During this visit a Treaty on cooperation, fixing the achieved level of relations and aiming at new frontiers of cooperation between the ombudsmen of the two countries, was signed. Oleg O. Mironov and Nina I. Karpacheva issued a joint statement strongly condemning the armed methods of resolution of the conflict in Yugoslavia and calling to an end to violations of the fundamental human right – the right to life.
On March 29-31 the visit to Moscow of the Commissioner on Human Rights of Poland Dr. A. Zielinski took place. Underlining the closeness of basic approaches to the resolution of outstanding problems in the area of human rights and fundamental freedoms, the ombudsmen of both countries noted the importance of continuing personal contacts, that help to promote a better understanding of the human rights situation and the exchange of experience gained by the human rights institutions of Russia and of Poland.
The contacts with the international organizations dealing with human rights issues – e.g., the Council of Europe, the United Nations Development Program, the European Ombudsman Institute, were continue. Proposals to develop dialogue and exchange of experience have been sent to the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the OSCE and to the International Ombudsman Institute
