OREANDA-NEWS. November 09, 2009. As part of the regular bilateral political dialogue, another round of expert consultations on human rights between Russia and the European Union took place in Stockholm.

From our side, we again specifically raised the issues of observance of the rights of the Russian-speaking minority in the Baltic States, Ukraine and Georgia, along with combating the modern forms of racism and xenophobia, including neo-Nazism, as well as the issue of human rights and freedoms infringements in the course of the struggle against terrorism.

At the European Union’s request, our side gave thorough explanations of individual aspects of Russian legislation and law enforcement practice with respect to the regulation of noncommercial organizations’ activities and ensuring freedom of speech, freedom of the media and the rule of law and provided information about the situation in the institutions of Russia’s penitentiary system and the progress of judicial reform.