Council of Europe to continue Russia monitoring

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Date: Sun, 28 Jun 1998 16:04:59 +0300 (EET DST)
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Subject: Council of Europe to continue Russia monitoring

From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>

Original sender: Felix Corley <[email protected]>

Council of Europe to continue Russia monitoring


Council of Europe
 
The Assembly notes Russia's progress but decides to continue the
monitoring process

STRASBOURG, 22.06.98 - The Parliamentary Assembly of the COUNCIL OF
EUROPE today acknowledged that Russia had made significant progress
over the last two years, but decided to continue the monitoring
process (*) which was started when this country joined the
Organisation in 1996.
 
The interim report on Russia, submitted to the Assembly by Rudolf
BINDIG (Germany, SOC) and Ernst MUEHLEMANN (Switzerland, LDR), puts
the emphasis on a series of measure adopted by the Russian authorities
in the political, legal and economic fields.
 
It welcomes the holding of various pluralistic and democratic
elections at both federal and regional level in Russia and notes that
freedom of opinion and the transition to a market economy are being
achieved "in spite of understandable difficulties".
 
The report describes Russia's recent ratification of the European
Convention on Human Rights, the Convention against Torture and the
European Charter of Local Self-Government as a historic step in the
process of anchoring this immense country in the system of values
fostered by the Council of Europe.

The report also expresses appreciation of the forthcoming transfer of
responsibility for the prison system to the Ministry of Justice and
the entry into force of new civil and criminal codes.

After the debate, the members of the Assembly, who were not required
to vote on this interim report, asked the Monitoring Committee to
continue its work in view of the considerable progress still to be
made by Russia in the following fields:
 
implementation of the law across the country's entire territory,
implementation of freedom of movement and choice of residence, respect
for social rights, in particular the payment of salaries and pensions,
in conformity with the European Social Charter, which Russia was
called upon to ratify in the near future, complete abolition of the
death penalty, 
lifting of the reservations to the European Convention on Human
Rights, implementation of freedom of religion, 
adoption of a code of criminal procedure compatible with European
standards, reform of the Prosecutor's Office, 
reform of the prison system, improvement of prison conditions and
increased use of non-custodial sentences,
fight against ill-treatment of conscripts and adoption of the law on
alternative military service, 
fight against corruption and organised crime in the economy, 
reform of the secret services with a view to removing the Federal
Security Service's right to conduct criminal investigations and run
its own pre-trial detention centres, 
speeding up of the prosecution of human rights violations committed
during conflict in Chechnya and search for a political settlement of
the conflict, 
and maintaining friendly relations with neighbouring states.
 
 
(*) The Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by
Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee) is
responsible for monitoring states' compliance with the commitments
entered into at the time of their accession and with their obligations
under the European Convention on Human Rights and all other Council of
Europe conventions to which they are parties. It regularly produces
reports which take stock of the progress made by states.
 
 
Press Contact
Denise Slavik, Council of Europe Press Service
Tel. +33 3 88 41 25 74 - Fax. +33 3 88 41 27 89
E-mail: [email protected]

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