Participants discussed the challenges and perspectives of the development of public control in prisons, detention centers, psycho neurological hospitals, childcare institutions and military units.

The participants highlighted that the main problems public inspectors use to face are lack of finance, regional isolation, insufficient awareness of rights and duties of public inspectors, legislative gaps, lack of support of regional authorities, and ignorance of the officials of the Committees. Most of representatives of Public Supervising Committees highlighted that physical conditions, including food supply, state of buildings improved significantly for the recent years. 

The agenda also included such aspects as presentations of best practices of public control, reports on progress and difficulties in work of Public Supervising Committees, analysis of situation in colonies for juveniles. The meeting was attended by Ombudsman of Sverdlovsk region Tatiana Merzljakova, Ombudsman of Chelyabinsk region, representatives of local Prosecution Department Office, etc.

With the aim to improve methods of work in closed establishments and raise of effectiveness of public control the participants worked out a set of recommendations to provide them to relevant public authorities to promote amendments of the related legislation. The recommendations include such issues as establishment of Ombudsman Institution in the regions which lack such an institute, prepare a draft of a decree on establishment of a Patients’ Service on Human Rights Protection for people with mental disorders, work out special forms for keeping information collected by public inspectors, criminalize tortures in Russian legislation, strengthen cooperation with the Presidential Council on Human Rights.