Russia, Belarus set up human rights commission :: Charter'97 :: News

A public Russian-Belarussian human rights commission has been set up in the Russian presidential council for developing institutes of civil society and human rights.

The commission will promote human rights for Russian citizens in Belarus and Belarussians in Russia, and ensure that authorities observe human rights and freedoms, including the freedoms of speech and the press.

According to the presidential council`s press center, Sergei Karaganov and Gen. Valery Pavlov, the coordinator of ties between Belarussian democratic movements and Russia, will be co-chairing the commission.

The Russian members of the commission will include human rights champion Vladimir Lukin, journalist Vladimir Pozner, who is also a member of the council for developing civil society institutes and human rights, Director of the Human Rights Institute Valentin Gefter, head of the Channel One (ORT) special projects department Pavel Sheremet and author of an information and analytical program Zerkalo Nikolai Svanidze.

Political scientist and chairman of the Belarussian Helsinki Committee Andrei Suzdaltsev, Editor of the Narodnaya Volya newspaper Svetlana Kalinkina and chair of the Innovation Department of the Legal Technologies Foundation Yelena Tonkacheva are the Belarussian members of the commission.

The decision to set up the commission was adopted at the June 1 meeting of Belarussian and Russian human rights advocates, public figures and journalists in Moscow. When considering the prospects of the union state, the forum participants emphasized the need to step up contacts between the two countries` NGOs to develop civil society and human rights in the future union state.