OREANDA-NEWS. April 7, 2011. Pavel Astakhov submitted a report on the performance of the Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights since his appointment to this post.

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PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA DMITRY MEDVEDEV: Mr Astakhov, you have been working in this post for sixteen months, and have a number of achievements that you have already reported to me about and which I heard about at State Council meetings and at other public venues.

What is important here? The important thing is that we have elicited a public response. It has been different: some people are happy with your work and others less so, but in any case, my objective in establishing this post was that you should try to badger our officials, heads of regions and municipalities, to create the necessary conditions for the protection of children. As I see it, you have succeeded with this endeavour to a great extent.

Could you please report to me briefly about what has been done recently and your plans for the future.

PRESIDENTIAL COMMISSIONER FOR CHILDREN’S RIGHTS PAVEL ASTAKHOV:  Mr President, there are many plans. You are absolutely right that the establishment of this post by your executive order was an excellent decision because it corresponds to Russia’s international legal position (since all developed countries have this post) and responds to our internal needs. In a little over a year since the establishment of the post, it has emerged as an independent public and legal institution that has been able to bring together all the federal agencies that deal with children’s rights, of which we have 19.

Coordination of efforts in real time has achieved certain results. They are modest, I should say, but this is an important trend. I have prepared a report, which contains a performance review and statistical tables that we compiled based on our own data, based on the results of our inspections.

To date, the children’s task force, which is a unit established specifically for quick emergency response and inspections, has surveyed 50 regions. I have personally visited 712 institutions, including children’s homes, orphanages and juvenile correction facilities – everywhere there are children.

DMITRY MEDVEDEV: I think that is crucial. You really do travel a great deal around different regions: the North Caucasus, where conditions are quite harsh, and other places where the situation is far from ideal, and you visit practically all institutions, including the showcase ones, the models of child care that are always shown to visiting officials, and those where the situation is desperate, and everything is very gloomy and sad. This is perhaps the most important aspect of your work, so you must continue with it.

PAVEL ASTAKHOV: Here I rely mostly not on the agenda I am offered in a particular region but on the complaints that had been received. We reviewed about 5,000 complaints in one year, and these are complaints that were sent to me directly. On the whole, we have been able to resolve all the issues raised in these complaints. My staff have attended court hearings since we have been asked on many occasions to testify at trials, although the Procedure Code does not stipulate the participation of the Commissioner for Children’s Rights in the process. But I must note that most courts meet us halfway and allow our involvement.

DMITRY MEDVEDEV: In what capacity?

PAVEL ASTAKHOV: As a third party usually, because the Procedure Code simply does not provide for an independent participant, although this is changing now, as far as I know, the State Duma is preparing such amendments.

DMITRY MEDVEDEV: In order to provide for direct participation?

PAVEL ASTAKHOV: Yes, in the same way as the Commissioner for Human Rights, whose involvement is provided for. This procedural issue that may be resolved in a positive way.

What is important: today there are 70 commissioners in the regions, while there were only 18 at the time when I was appointed. Today there are 70.

DMITRY MEDVEDEV: You know, another important aspect is that everyone employed in such positions as yours in the regions across the country must be determined and active people. I do not know how they work but you probably have the information. Everybody works differently, but it is important that they encourage anyone who is responsible for protecting the rights and legitimate interests of children in their regions to adopt an active stand on the issue. That is vitally important. There should be no subordination vertical in their relations. I hope you are not planning to domineer over the other commissioners. They should look for work that needs to be done, because there is plenty, and they should try to address these problems on their own.

PAVEL ASTAKHOV: The one thing I tell them all the time is that they must know every child personally, especially the orphans in the region. That is imperative and they must regularly visit all the institutions.

We have held three conventions during this period, and at all three conventions I told the commissioners that they must get involved with each institution and become versed in every case, regardless of personal and departmental interests, because today the Commissioner is the closest official representing state and legal authorities that people have. People have realised that they can turn to the Commissioner, even in cases when children are taken into care, which has received a lot of attention recently. From the first day of the Commissioner’s establishment we have advocated that great care must be taken in such cases, and we have been able to reduce the number of cases when people are deprived of parental rights by 14.4%, and statistics confirm that.