 Novaya gazeta has published an appeal by human rights defenders and members of Public Monitoring Commissions to the secretary of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation. To the Secretary of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation Academician E.P. Velikhov Dear Evgeny Pavlovich! We appeal to you as head of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation and a prominent scientist. At present the process of forming the third convocation of Public Monitoring Commissions is going on in many Russian regions. The Council of the Public Chamber will confirm the new members of the regional Public Monitoring Commissions in accordance with federal law No. 76 of 10 June 2008. Initially all candidates are considered at a meeting of the working group set up on the initiative of the Public Chamber, in which invited experts also take part. Adequate experience of human rights work as a member of an NGO is not, unfortunately, one of the selection criteria, and previous experience of work as a member of a Public Monitoring Commission is not taken into account either. Such an approach ensures not only that people with no interest in human rights can become members of Public Monitoring Commissions without hindrance, but also, as the practice of recent days has shown, that the very people engaged in the monitoring Commissions will be the very people who have discredited the work of these Commissions since their inception. We are convinced that the institution of public oversight of places of detention, which has developed in Russia since the end of 2008, is extremely important. Council of Europe observers point to undoubted positive changes in the prison system, but the existing serious shortcomings show the need for further long-term, intense and all-round work. We understand that this work requires not only that members of the monitoring Commissions have relevant life experience, but also a certain courage, dedication, the ability to support colleagues, and moral fortitude. It was precisely for this reason that during the second convocation of the Commissions a Code of Ethics was introduced for all members. Not all of us are in complete agreement with this Code, but he it has been passed as an integral part of the law governing the Commissions, and we must abide by it. However, experience shows that when a candidate’s work-related qualities are not taken into account during the selection procedure, then purely formal indicators, which do not meet the requirements of the law, take their place. The manner in which information presented to the Public Chamber about the candidates for last two convocations of Public Monitoring Commissions has been evaluated shows clearly the bias and incompetence of the staff of the Public Chamber. On the one hand, obviously false pretexts were used to discard candidates who presented an "incomplete set of documents", and on the other hand the members of the Public Chamber were not provided with the necessary information about the social activities of the candidates – or this information was somehow deliberately excluded. What we may see as a result is a complete lack of civil society activists with relevant practical experience and skills in the makeup of the Public Monitoring Commissions (for example, in the second convocation of the Nizhny Novgorod region commission there were no representatives of NGOs engaged in public monitoring work before the adoption of the federal law). On the other hand, we are faced with the fact that when a person who has been twice expelled from the Rostov region public monitoring commission for violating ethical standards submits documents for a third term as a commission member, his candidacy is approved by the working group on purely formal grounds. We ask you personally to pay attention to the absurdity of the situation and to take measures to prevent illogical and inconsistent decisions being taken by members and staff of the Public Chamber, decisions that undermine the authority of the Public Chamber. To ensure that proper procedures are followed in approving membership of the Public Monitoring Commissions, we ask that you use your powers under Article 10, Section 5, of federal law № 76 of 10 June 2008, to ensure that, for purposes of review, staff of the Public Chamber prepare and submit to the Council of the Public Chamber information about the candidates’ experience in public life, with regard to all controversial nominees. The Council itself decided in 2012 that such information on the candidates should be provided. After one and a half years, the staff of the Public Chamber has not carried out this decision. The requirement that candidates should provide information about their experience of human rights work has not been included among the criteria. On the other hand, without such information, the Council of the Public Chamber cannot make balanced decisions about the membership of the regional Public Monitoring Commissions. German Aletkin member of the Public Monitoring Commission of Tatarstan, 2010-2013, from Agora, honorary member of the Youth Human Rights Movement, chair of the regional human rights organization of parents of conscripts in Tatarstan, "For the sons' Lyudmila Alpern member of the Public Monitoring Commission for the city of Moscow, a member of the Expert Council under the Human Rights Ombudsman of the Russian Federation, expert of the Standing Committee of the Presidential Council for Civil Society Institutions and Human Rights Vladimir Arsenov member of Public Monitoring Commission for Rostov region, chair of TSRIS Andrei Babushkin vice-chair of the Public Monitoring Commission of Moscow, chair of the Committee for Civic Rights, member of the Presidium of the Presidential Council for Civil Society Institutions and Human Rights Yury Blokhin member of the Expert Council under the Human Rights Ombudsman of the Russian Federation, expert of the Standing Committee of the Presidential Council for Civil Society Institutions and Human Rights, deputy chair of the Public Monitoring Commission for Rostov region, second convocation, PhD, Associate Professor Valentin Bogdan Member of the Advisory Board of the Human Rights Ombudsman of the Russian Federation, an expert working group of the Standing Committee of the Council under the President of the Russian Federation for Civil Society Institutions and Human Rights, Legal Expert of the Prisoners’ Rights Foundation Valery Borschev Chair of the Public Monitoring Commission of Moscow Yury Vdovin Member of the St. Petersburg Public Monitoring Commission during two convocations, a member of the Human Rights Council of St. Petersburg, a member of the St. Petersburg NGO Citizens Watch, deputy chair of the Bellona Ecological and Human Rights Centre Irina Vinogradova Member of the Public Monitoring Commission for Komi Republic 2010-2013 Liubov Volkova, deputy chair of the Public Monitoring Commission of Moscow Aleksandr Goncharenko Chair of the Public Monitoring Commission for Altai region, 1st and 2nd convocations Mikhail Denisov Member of the Expert Council of the Human Rights Ombudsman of the Russian Federation, expert of the Standing Committee of the Presidential Council for Civil Society Institutions and Human Rights, a member of the Public Monitoring Commission for Ivanovo region Aleksandr Dyakonov Member of the Public Monitoring Commission for two convocations, director of “Legal protection", head of regional advice centre for the protection of human rights, editor of the human rights newspaper The Bell in Irkutsk region. Elena Eliseeva Chair of the Presidium of the Public Monitoring Commission for Rostov region, Honorary President of the Don Charity Childhood Centre Foundation Larisa Zakharova expert of the Movement For Human Rights, expert of Prisoners’ Rights Foundation, Member of the Board of the Russian section of the International Society for Human Rights Vladimir Katasonov member of the Public Monitoring Commission for Rostov region for the 1st and 2nd convocations Anna Karetnikova Deputy chair of the Public Monitoring Commission for Moscow Roman Kachanov Expert of the Standing Committee of the Presidential Council for Civil Society Institutions and Human Rights, lawyer Natalya Kremenskaya Member of the Public Monitoring Commission for Rostov region Sergei Kuren Member of the Public Monitoring Commission of Rostov region, 1st and 2nd convocations, President of the Protection Foundation Dina Latypova Lawyer, human rights activist, a member of the Public Monitoring Commission for Chelyabinsk region, 2nd convocation Sergei Marin Expert of the Movement For Human Rights, Republic of Mordovia Natalya Okhotnikova Chair of the Public Monitoring Commission for Amur region, Member of Public Chamber for Amur region Irina Paikacheva Chair of the Public Monitoring Commission for Murmansk region, 2009-2013, a member of the Expert Council under the Human Rights Ombudsman of the Russian Federation, honorary member of the Youth Human Rights Movement Leonid Petrashis Chair of the Public Monitoring Commission for Rostov region Valeriya Prikhodkina Member of the Public Monitoring Commission for Chelyabinsk region, the Legal Mission Foundation for Civil Rights and Freedoms, Director of the School for Conscripts Tatyana Rudakova Member of the Public Monitoring Commission for Krasnodar region Lidiya Rybina Member of the first convocation of the Public Monitoring Commission for Tambov region, chair of the Human Rights Centre of Tambov region, member of the Movement For Human Rights, member of the Coordination Council of Russian Public Monitors Aleksei Sokolov Expert of the Standing Committee of the Presidential Council for Civil Society Institutions and Human Rights Nina Tagankina Executive Director of Moscow Helsinki Group Larissa Fefilova Chair of the Public Monitoring Commission for the Udmurt Republic Valentina Cherevatenko Chair-Coordinator of the NGO Women of the Don Union, deputy chair of the Public Monitoring Commission for Rostov region, Member of the Expert Council of the Human Rights Ombudsman of the Russian Federation, PhD in political science Valentina Fridman Center for Reform of the Criminal Justice System Sergei Chekhov Member of the Public Monitoring Commission for Rostov region, 2nd convocation, director of an evening school Sergei Shimovolos Chair of the Nizhny Novgorod Human Rights Union, candidate for membership of the Public Monitoring Commission for Nizhny Novgorod region on the Russian Human Rights Association, a member of the Expert Council of the Human Rights Ombudsman of the Russian Federation Vladimir Schnitke Chair of the Public Monitoring Commission for St. Petersburg Nikolai Shchur Nicholas human rights activist, member of the Public Monitoring Commission for Chelyabinsk region, 2nd convocation Tatyana Shchur human rights activist, member of the Public Monitoring Commission for Chelyabinsk region, 2nd convocation Source: Novaya gazeta |
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