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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon.

Ms Moskalkova, I know that your scope of work is very broad. What would you like to discuss first today?

Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova: Mr. President, I would like to thank you for your assistance and support for the Human Rights Commissioner’s Office and briefly report on the implementation of your instructions that followed the previous report.

In response to your instructions, new legislation was drafted enabling the widows of special military operation veterans to use their family cars before inheriting them. Last month, the State Duma adopted it in the first reading – a very important support for the veterans’ widows.

Furthermore, your support has accelerated international cooperation in the human rights track. The 9^th international conference dedicated to exchanging best practices among human rights defenders brought together 59 nations and a record number of participants, with over 300 people participating in person or joining the discussion via videoconference. This unprecedented enthusiasm points to broad international interest in our experience from human rights communities.

We have inaugurated the CIS Human Rights Commission – a supranational body that is now fully operational. In 2022, you co-signed an updated regulation on this commission with six other heads of state; today, it is fully active, with Russia currently chairing it.

One of the Commission’s innovative tracks involves country-based inspection of penitentiaries and joint office hours for local petitioners, which is extremely helpful in detecting issues and working out solutions.

The Eurasian Alliance of Ombudsmen was established seven years ago by human rights defenders representing four states; today, its membership has grown to ten leaders of national human rights communities.

Furthermore, the 9^th meeting of the Alliance last year included more observers than members, with ombudsmen from Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East showing interest in our work. That, of course, was very inspiring.

Vladimir Putin: So this mechanism is working, isn’t it?

Tatyana Moskalkova: It most certainly is. Moreover, last year, we met in the BRICS ombudsmen community format, which was also a first. That high-profile meeting took place in Moscow’s Human Rights House.

The attempt by Ukraine and other unfriendly Western states to isolate us from integration processes has failed. Multilateral cooperation – rooted in equality and mutual respect – is taking shape in the realm of human rights as well, reflecting a multipolar world. When the international economic forum brought together 140 states, it became clear that isolating Russia was impossible.

Undeniably, the individual remains at the heart of our discussions, with a focus on respecting every person and their rights.

Also, I would like to note that with your support we have been able to make some organisational and staffing changes within our community and our team to create a dedicated unit and develop a special toolkit for working with special military operation participants and their family members. We created a 24-hour hotline, as well as an online office, and sought to directly contact these people. Of course, this had a major impact on our performance and the time it takes us to process the requests we receive from special military operation participants and their families. We also expanded this initiative to review requests from civilians in the border regions, primarily in the Bryansk, Belgorod and Kursk regions.

People from the Kursk Region were taken to Ukraine, but we managed to bring back 132 people. There were also 22 people who were able to return thanks to our Istanbul-format mission, while another 32 people are still in Sumy. It is our great hope that our combined efforts, including my pleas for assistance with international agencies and the Holy See, will make them realise the need to abide by the Geneva Conventions and simply bring them back to their senses.

Today, requests from special military operation participants and their families are our primary focus. Most of these requests concern helping people return from captivity, finding information about missing persons and addressing social matters.

There have been fewer requests dealing with social challenges. These mostly concern reassessing benefits, conducting additional medical examinations, and addressing housing-related matters.

Vladimir Putin: Have been working with the Defence Ministry?

Tatyana Moskalkova: On this track, we have been working with the Defence Ministry, the Defenders of the Fatherland Foundation, the Federal Security Service, and the ICRC, as well as the Ukrainian human rights commissioner. In fact, the Ukrainian human rights commissioner and I reached an agreement on delivering parcels to the prisoners. We sent 3,000 parcels to our men and Ukrainian prisoners. We also have an agreement on mutual visits and were able to visit 2,000 Ukrainian prisoners. You have been saying that we must not lose our human face no matter the circumstances. Mercy, good will and compassion are part of the moral code for all Slavs.

Therefore, it is essential that regardless of any challenges we have been able to keep this humanitarian corridor open. People really need it.

When our men return from captivity, we ask them whether they received the parcels we sent them. Of course, letters from home and postcards from children they get with these parcels bring a lot of joy. This makes them feel confident that Russia will make sure that they come back home and will never leave them behind.

We are collaborating with both the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the Central Tracing Agency. A year ago, we travelled to Geneva, concluded an agreement, and reached a mutual understanding. With this assistance, we have managed to locate over 3,500 individuals who had been missing. Among the most recent exchanges was a young man who had been listed as missing for almost a year. Later, we received information about him.

Vladimir Putin: This is very important work. Please continue, of course.

Tatyana Moskalkova: Yes, thank you very much. We are directing all our efforts towards this. It is crucial to maintain direct contact with the families, so they can be informed of what the state is doing to resolve this complex issue.

At our request, 33,000 decisions related to social matters have been amended or reviewed. Most recently, I held a reception for participants of the special military operation in Yekaterinburg, at a hospital for combat veterans. One of the young men approached me – his social benefits had been terminated because he was listed as having deserted his unit, yet he was there, in the hospital.

We conducted the reception together with the military prosecutor and a representative of the Ministry of Defence, and the matter was resolved immediately. The decision was overturned, he was issued a combat veteran’s certificate, and the prosecutors will ensure that the payments are made in a timely manner.

Such issues do arise. While they are not frequent, working closely with regional commissioners, who are deeply involved in this matter, we manage to resolve issues relating to document restoration and housing problems.

Unfortunately, there are also situations that are simply perplexing. At present, we are defending in court a young woman with a child, the widow of a participant in the special military operation. He was a contract soldier, an orphan, who had received housing and had issued a power of attorney permitting his wife to reside in the apartment. Sadly, he was killed, and now she is being evicted. Such cases do occur.

Vladimir Putin: Why?

Tatyana Moskalkova: Because, under the law, she was not formally registered, as this is a special housing fund.

Vladimir Putin: What do you mean, “not formally registered”?

Tatyana Moskalkova: Orphans receive housing from a special fund, and only they are entitled to this housing. If the wife did not manage to register there…

Vladimir Putin: What do you mean, register? I do not understand. Was their marriage not registered?

Tatyana Moskalkova: No, their marriage was registered, and the child was born lawfully. However, she needed to register, to be officially listed as residing there.

Vladimir Putin: So, she did not complete her residential registration?

Tatyana Moskalkova: Yes. But he had left her a power of attorney stating that she…

Vladimir Putin: I see. You know, we simply need to amend the regulatory framework.

Tatyana Moskalkova: I agree.

Vladimir Putin: Sure. Please make a note of this and prepare a proposal.

Tatyana Moskalkova: I will certainly work on it and submit an official proposal.

Vladimir Putin: It probably never occurred to anyone before that such situations could arise. This needs to be fully rectified, and as quickly as possible.

Tatyana Moskalkova: Moreover, if a veteran or participant in the special military operation – God forbid – is killed, his children are not entitled to receive housing, even if he was on the waiting list.

I am also prepared to submit proposals and will work on this with the Ministry of Justice.

Vladimir Putin: Please do, and ensure it is done as quickly as possible.

Tatyana Moskalkova: Very well, Mr President, this is of great importance.

Of course, it is very important that the social package reaches every person it is intended for. We have been working towards this end. Last month, we held a national Coordination Council together with regional human rights commissioners, where we held an in-depth discussion of all situations and formulated our recommendations.

I would like to tell you about one of them. Our young people always thank us during personal meetings for the large social support package available to them, including in education. They have higher education enrolment benefits. But if they want to receive a second vocational training, they will have to pay for it.

Vladimir Putin: Just like everyone else.

Tatyana Moskalkova: Exactly.

Vladimir Putin: It is a common principle.

Tatyana Moskalkova: Yes, certainly. But it would be very important for those who cannot work in their initial profession for health reasons, because of wounds or for other objective reasons to be able to learn a new trade.

Vladimir Putin: I fully agree with you. Submit your proposals, and do it quickly, please. I wholeheartedly agree. We should help these young people, of course.

Tatyana Moskalkova: You mentioned the employment of young people and labour issues in general at the international economic forum.

Vladimir Putin: Yes, but this is a special case. If young people truly want to resume or are resuming civilian life, there can be situations when they are unable to work in their former professions.

That is where the state must support them. Please, submit your proposal.

Tatyana Moskalkova: Certainly, Mr President.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you.

Tatyana Moskalkova: I would like to ask you to instruct the Government to support our initiative.

Vladimir Putin: Yes, the sooner the better.

Tatyana Moskalkova: Thank you very much.

Participants in the special military operation are sent to rehabilitation centres, which have been established in five constituent entities of the Russian Federation. This is a very good initiative. There are excellent centres in Novosibirsk and the Ryazan and Nizhny Novgorod regions. But there should be more of them. The Government, the Healthcare Ministry, the Social Development Ministry and the Social Fund are aware of this problem and are working to find a solution. However, it would be best if you personally monitored this matter, because it is not easy to do our job without these rehabilitation centres.

I have been to the Sverdlovsk Region, which does not have a rehabilitation centre, and the young people who live there have to travel to Kurgan, which means separating from their families and communities. It would be absolutely perfect if this issue could be addressed through the Presidential Reserve Fund.

Of course, we have been focusing on our usual agenda, too. I am referring to labour and housing rights. In this regard, we are witnessing positive trends along several tracks in our efforts to defend human rights. There were fewer complaints dealing with healthcare, labour and housing rights, as well as the social safety net. Of course, this is attributable to national projects and state support and protection measures. Targeted and timely interventions are essential in this situation.

At the international economic forum, you spoke about poverty and equality in a very open and sincere manner, and presented a detailed strategy for achieving our objectives in this domain.

Let me recall the statistics: in 2000, 40 million people lived in poverty, but today this figure is down to 10 million. We can feel this judging by the requests we receive. Still, 10 million is too many. It is essential that these people receive the assistance and support they need when claiming their rights with the courts and administrations. We have been relying on the tools we have at our disposal and the right to file administrative claims, undertake inspections and examine specific cases in an effort to offer these people special protection and safeguards.

We have been able to provide targeted support to 15,000 people who filed 6,000 requests, which included recognising buildings as sub-standard or relocation from substandard housing. One thing to keep in mind here is that people living there do not have the money they need to hire a lawyer. This gives special importance to regional and federal human rights commissioners as institutions supporting these people.

Our efforts regarding the traditional social, economic and cultural rights are designed to facilitate national economic development. That said, a different set of principles comes into play when investigating crimes and holding court proceedings. The main principle here is to ensure justice and the rule of law. Here, too, we have achieved some progress.

Overall, the number of complaints dealing with detention and imprisonment has decreased by a factor of three. You have been raising this issue consistently with the Prosecutor General Office’s Board and the Supreme Court. The number of complaints we received regarding unjustified indictments decreased threefold. This is also a very positive development.

But there are also alarming trends. What are they? If a case involving a detained person has been referred to a court, the time this person can spend behind bars is not limited in any way.

Here is one of the recent requests I received: two men have spent five years in detention before the court delivered its verdict. The court proceedings were completed. However, Tatarstan’s Supreme Court cancelled the verdict and ordered a review. Still, having to wait for five years is too long. I raised this issue with the Federation Council with a request to set a time limit after the court delivers its verdict. However, this matter has yet to be addressed.

Most of the complaints are from alleged crime victims who were denied due process when a law enforcement agency refused to take their report and open an investigation. This is the primary concern of most petitioners. Enlisting prosecutorial capabilities and departmental oversight has helped to overturn over 200 such decisions as illegal and unfair, but prosecutors still have about a million reports to consider. This points to a system-wide problem. I raised the issue in the State Duma and included it in my report.

At this stage, Justice Minister Anatoly Chuychenko has taken this issue under review, and a working group has been set up to address it – possibly through reforming the procedure for initiating criminal cases and the status of the person reporting a crime.

We have significantly reduced the number of complaints – in fact, people are filing fewer complaints about their conditions and treatment in police custody. The new code of conduct and a law that stipulates tougher liability for torture have led to positive outcomes. Despite the many problems the Federal Penitentiary Service is grappling with, it must be noted that the situation has improved.

You heard a report at the Human Rights Council on problems with medical services. You have issued the respective instructions, and I am confident that this issue will be addressed promptly and effectively.

In conclusion, I would like to highlight the truly historic law, known as the law On Commissioners for Human Rights in the Constituent Entities of the Russian Federation, which you signed five years ago. Mr President, even though Article One says that any region can establish the post of human rights commissioner [as an additional tool for safeguarding human rights], in fact, each of the 89 regions now has a legally appointed or elected commissioner, and residents actively seek their help. Cumulatively, they considered over 100,000 petitions last year alone – a testament to the extremely high public demand for this institution.

To mark the fifth anniversary, we are holding a nationwide conference to discuss the role of the Human Rights Commissioner’s Office in Russia’s governance, as well as the broader challenges facing national human rights protection during a time of global transformation – one that has seen the international human rights system effectively dismantled. We would greatly appreciate your participation.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you very much. Is it September?

Tatyana Moskalkova: That’s right.

Vladimir Putin: I will see if I can make it.

Thank you very much.

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