Excerpts from transcript of meeting of Council for Civil Society and Human Rights
President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, colleagues,
I am delighted to see you. Greetings on International Human Rights Day, which we mark today, on December 10. I would like to address those who are engaged in this noble and important activity in the regions and at the federal level – human rights commissioners, volunteers, active members of NPOs, and media professionals.
You are well aware of the people’s concerns and needs, you maintain constant direct contact with them, while support, assistance and engagement with the people’s problems remain an unconditional priority.
I know that it is sometimes very difficult to ensure a just solution to the problems people bring to you, yet you manage this in most cases, always trying to do as much as you can. Of great importance for the effectiveness of your activities are your prestige and the trust people have placed in you thanks to your hard daily efforts, as well as your persistence and ability to uphold your views, convincing others and finding mutually acceptable solutions and compromises.
The main thing is that you are always on the side of truth, on the side of the interests of a person and a citizen. There is a powerful word in Russian, zastupnichestvo (advocacy), which certainly describes your efforts. I would like to express my gratitude to you for your unwavering responsiveness to the needs of our citizens, for your compassion and generosity of spirit.
I would like to welcome new members to our Council: Rector of the Higher School of Economics Nikita Anisimov, Chair of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia Sergei Chernogayev, and journalist and member of the St Petersburg Legislative Assembly Alexander Malkevich. You all have a wealth of experience in your fields, and I am confident that the Council will benefit from such outstanding professionals and active citizens as you.
Today, people need your assistance and support in dealing with concrete problems, primarily in the realisation of their rights to housing, work, leisure and a decent pay and pension. The social dimension has been a major focus for the Council for many years.
I would like to mention at the outset that you are actively involved in helping the participants in the special military operation and their families. It is very important that in doing so, you closely collaborate with the Civic Chamber, volunteer organisations and the Defenders of the Fatherland Foundation.
Members of the Council are helping residents in the areas that are under enemy fire. They are working extensively to provide our heroes on the frontline with all they need, including with the so-called people’s defence industry products. I have mentioned earlier that this is a real industry, and we need to actively utilise its resources.
You regularly visit our historical territories of Donbass and Novorossiya, and you know the needs of their residents. We will certainly discuss all of these matters today. I would like to emphasise the importance of your efforts in documenting human rights violations by the Kiev regime, as well as its war crimes. You keep the international community informed about this.
Colleagues,
I would like to emphasise that despite the well-known external restrictions and the challenges we face, our country and our state are meeting all their social commitments. For instance, in the next three years, we plan to allocate a quarter of all budget spending for this purpose. Though, 'investment' would be a more appropriate term here instead of ‘spending.’ When we spend money on wages and pensions, on healthcare, education, culture, and sports, we are, in fact, investing in human capital and the preservation of our nation.
Ensuring that people live more active, healthier and longer lives is of fundamental importance – this is the name of one of our national projects. We have recently discussed the work to be done to implement these projects and to achieve national goals at the meeting of the Council for Strategic Development.
National projects are centred around the individual, the interests of Russian families, and concern almost every aspect of society. They constitute a programme of action for the entire country, for our entire society until 2030. I believe that our Council will also decide on its hands-on participation in implementing these ambitious plans.
One of the most important tasks is, as I said before, to preserve lives and keep people healthy, which implies the smooth operation of primary healthcare, the development of high-tech medicine, and the provision of medicines. All this should be available in every region of Russia. The Council always keeps this under review. If you have any proposals, I am ready to listen and discuss them with my colleagues in the Government. I know that there are always numerous issues in these areas.
You remain engaged in subjects pertaining to education, including general school, working together with the Ministry of Education, regional authorities, as well as teachers’ and parents’ communities. Much has been done to promote the prestige of the teaching profession. The teacher’s personality, outlook, ability to uncover talent and support students’ aspirations for growth are of great importance today. All of this is closely aligned with the realisation of the child’s and the teacher’s rights.
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Alexander Ionov: Russia is the leader in upholding the citizens’ legitimate interests and rights. Our country has established and successfully operates both public and civil society human rights protection institutions.
Unfortunately, for a long time, biased organisations operated in our country, which were funded from abroad and used by the United States as a tool in waging a global hybrid war. Today, however, new human rights NGOs are emerging, which are setting clear and fair objectives of supporting and assisting various groups of the population.
Mr President, renowned Russian human rights advocates and activists, members of the Council for Civil Society and Human Rights and the Civic Chamber, have decided to establish an autonomous nonprofit organisation called National Human Rights Committee.
The information policy of unfriendly countries towards Russia and our allies remains well-coordinated, well-funded, and includes the blocking of Russian information resources. However, the global human rights architecture is now shifting towards the world majority.
The standards imposed by the collective West erode cultural identity and destroy traditional values. Unfortunately, international organisations that are controlled by and depend on their sponsors fail to report horrific human rights violations in Ukraine, where thousands of individuals accused of ties to Russia remain behind bars and are subjected to torture.
This is not limited to Ukraine. Simply having connections to Russia can lead to imprisonment or placement on an international wanted list at the request of the United States. Cases involving activists such as Omali Yeshitela, Dimitri Simes, and Scott Ritter prove this. Unfortunately, I myself am also on an international wanted list at the request of the United States.
In order to further advance the international human rights efforts, I would like to ask you to support the creation of an international nongovernmental organisation within BRICS with an eye towards establishing a new global humanitarian architecture. Under the auspices of this organisation, a multilingual human rights monitoring portal will operate, providing publicly accessible information about reports on human rights compliance across various regions.
Vladimir Putin: Regarding the new organisation, the new centre, I fully agree with you and your assessments of what the situation was like before. Truth be told, many people in the previous system did honest work and tried to address issues inside the country as best they could, but we both know that he who pays the piper calls the tune.
When we talk about funding human rights activities, we need to create a mechanism for using funds allocated either by the state or public organisations or our companies. This mechanism should draw a line between the use of funds and the source of funds. We need to establish a mechanism or a system that would use the resources independently.
I understand that this is no easy task, but something we must strive for. No matter how much we anathematise things that happen with human rights abroad – let’s face it, we do need to do that, because this is also part of the information confrontation that we cannot avoid, so we must respond to that. However, our main objective is to ensure the protection of human rights in our own country.
This, I believe, is my mission as well, and my key responsibility as the head of state. This responsibility is shared by the Presidential Executive Office, the judiciary, and the Prosecutor’s Office. Yet, no matter how hard these official bodies may try to address these issues, a significant and meaningful portion of this work lies with nongovernmental organisations, because they operate outside the rigid confines of official standards, requirements, and regulations. They act with genuine intent. People feel it and respond positively to NGO activities.
Ultimately, the shared goal of NGOs and government bodies is to meet the needs of the people. This is our common mission. So, the main focus of our work should be serving the people of the Russian Federation. Let’s put our heads together and think about it, alright? Of course, we are willing to support your efforts and will do everything necessary to make sure that the new National Human Rights Centre operates effectively.
You mentioned that you are, unfortunately, on a wanted list at the request of the United States, but you should not regret it. We all live and work here. Let them figure things out among themselves first. Next thing you know, they will be putting each other on wanted lists. However, that is their problems, and we will focus on addressing ours.
To be continued.