According to the Council’s Statute, the Chairman of the Council submits to the President a list of its potential members. It was decided to test a new procedure for approving the Council’s membership.
The candidacies of the members responsible for specific areas of human rights protection could be proposed by the Council’s members, regional ombudsmen and non-profit organisations specialising in those fields for at least five years. The lists of candidates were then discussed by the public and opinion polls were held online on September 1–15.
The President has put forward several proposals on the Council’s membership and its activities, in particular, to increase the number of its members, to create the Council Presidium and rotate its members. According to Vladimir Putin, it would make the Council’s work more meaningful, professional and far-reaching. Vladimir Putin will make the final decision on the composition of the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights in the near future.
Mikhail Fedotov also informed the President that the Council held 48 meetings in the past three years.
