The Russian Ombudsman Vladimir Lukin (picture) and the Human Rights Commissioner of the Council of Europe Alvaro Hil-Robles came with the official visit to Krasnodar on the 23 of July. Kuban is the fifth region chosen by European ombudsman as the strategically important and indicative for studying all processes connected with observance of the rights and freedom of the person in the Russian Federation. (03-AUG-04)

Alvaro Hil-Robles has designated the purpose of the visit to Sverdlovsk area. Now he is engaged in preparation of the report on a situation with observance of human rights in the Russian Federation and he is going to finish this work to the beginning of 2005. In this report he is going to mention judicial and penitentiary reform, positions with the right of national minorities, mass-media freedoms, observance of human rights by law enforcement bodies, positions of the most vulnerable groups of the population (children, women, elderly people), situations with human rights in armed forces, refugee problems and migrants, ombudsmen activities, relations of authorities with corrective bodies.

During their stay in Irkutsk Vladimir Lukin and Alvaro Hil-Robles will also visit the institutions of the penitentiary system stationed in Irkutsk region.

As a part of the official visit to the Russian Federation the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe as well as Irkutsk region will visit Sverdlovsk region, Khabarovsk and Krasnodar Territories and Tatarstan.

During the negotiations it was decided that Russia’s first human rights institute will be founded in Sverdlovsk Region. Alvaro Hil-Robles has highly estimated this initiative and has assured that he would supply legal information to the newly-founded institute. On the basis of the received information, at the Institute would develop the laws protecting human rights. Besides Alvaro Hil-Robles has suggested to found the grant allowing Russian students to be trained in the Human Rights Commissioner of the Council of Europe Bureau.

Photo: www.hro.org