The Presidential Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights is a consultative body to the President of the Russian Federation, tasked with assisting him in guaranteeing and protecting human rights and freedoms in Russia.[1] Since October 21, 2019, the chairman of the Council has been Valery Fadeyev.[2][3]
Совет при Президенте Российской Федерации по развитию гражданского общества и правам человека | |
![]() | |
Agency overview | |
---|---|
Formed | 6 November 2004 |
Preceding agency |
|
Headquarters | 4 Staraya Square, Moscow |
Agency executive |
|
Website | president-sovet.ru |
The Council was created in 2004 by reorganizing the Commission on human rights, which existed since November 1993.
The Council currently consists of 47 people, including political scientist Sergey Karaganov, filmmaker Alexander Sokurov, journalist Kirill Vyshinsky and entrepreneur Igor Ashmanov.[4]
In previous years, the Council has included retired judge of the Constitutional Court of Russia Tamara Morshchakova, political scientist Ekaterina Schulmann, lawyer Pavel Chikov, journalist Nikolai Svanidze and economist Yevgeny Yasin.
Chairmen
editChair | Took office | Left office | Length of service | Ref. | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Ella Pamfilova (1953–) |
1 November 2004 | 30 July 2010 | 5 years, 271 days | [5] | |
2 | Mikhail Fedotov (1949–) |
12 October 2010 | 22 October 2019 | 9 years, 10 days | [6] | |
3 | Valery Fadeyev (1960–) |
22 October 2019 | Incumbent | 4 years, 309 days |
Criticism
editOn October 5, 2009, the Council issued a statement condemning the actions of the Nashi activists against journalist Alexander Podrabinek. The original version of the statement, posted on the Council's website, did not condemn Podrabinek's frank statements towards WWII veterans. However, the statement was later edited (according to some sources, after a call from a high-ranking official to Ella Pamfilova) and included remarks that the Council did not agree with Podrabinek's position. Valery Fadeyev, future chairman of the council, described its behavior within Podrabinek controversy as strange and unnatural.
A body that should contribute to the prevention of conflicts, to act as an independent arbiter in disputes, suddenly endorses one of the parties. And this only fuels the conflict. The story with a statement made on behalf of the Council without the consent of its individual members also looks absurd."[7]
Journalist Maksim Shevchenko, who was a member of the Council in 2012–18, described its activities as follows:
All the activities of the council turned into the creation of the useless OTR and the memorial to the victims of political repressions. But I don’t remember any specific actions to protect human rights.[8]
References
edit- ^ "Presidential Councils • President of Russia". Kremlin.ru. Retrieved 2017-08-03.
- ^ Pertsev, Andrey (2019-10-23). "Might Before Rights: Russia Shakes Up Its Human Rights Council". Carnegie Moscow Center. Retrieved 2021-08-21.
- ^ Polovinko, Vyacheslav; Kozlova, Daria (2019-10-22). "Совет и тьма" [Council and darkness]. Novaya Gazeta (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-08-21.
- ^ "Указ Президента Российской Федерации от 16.11.2020 № 711 «О внесении изменений в состав Совета при Президенте Российской Федерации по развитию гражданского общества и правам человека, утвержденный Указом Президента Российской Федерации от 3 декабря 2018 г. № 691»" [Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of 16 November 2020 No. 711 "On Amendments to the Composition of the Presidential Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights, approved by Decree No. 691 of 3 December 2018"] (in Russian). publication.pravo.gov.ru. Retrieved 2020-11-19.
- ^ "Президент РФ принял отставку Памфиловой" [The President of the RF accepted the resignation of Pamfilova]. Interfax (in Russian). 2010-07-30.
- ^ "Памфиловой найден преемник" [Successor had been chosen for Pamfilova]. Interfax (in Russian). 2010-10-12.
- ^ "Совет, возглавляемый Памфиловой, ведет себя странно" [Pamfilova-led Council is behaving strangely] (in Russian). 2009-10-09.
- ^ Kolobrodov, Alexey (2019-10-31). "Помогал детям, и дело с концом" [He helped the children, and that's the end of it]. Culture Gazette (in Russian).
External links
edit