Mr Lukin informed the President that the number of complaints of human rights violations lodged since December last year has increased by more than 10 percent and suggested that this could be connected to the economic crisis. The biggest increase concerns complaints about violations of children’s rights. The number of complaints about violations of housing and employment rights has also risen noticeably. Mr Medvedev said that the rising number of complaints points to greater public confidence in the institution of the human rights ombudsman.
Mr Lukin also raised the issue of the legislative status of a number of international documents in Russia. In particular, he mentioned the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, and a number of other documents. The Ombudsman asked Mr Medvedev to help speed up the process of getting these documents examined.
The meeting took place on the eve of International Human Rights Day, observed on December 10.