27.01.09

The Russian Foreign Ministry has described reports by international organizations which criticize the human rights situation in the Russian Federation as biased. At the same time Moscow is ready for a dialogue on human rights issues but without politicizing them. The Foreign Ministry, among other things, referred to the recent report by the international NGO Human Rights Watch.

"Unfortunately, one has to state that, as in previous years, this 'research' is at times unobjective and biased," a comment from the Russian Foreign Ministry's information and press department circulated on Monday [26 January] said.

The Russian ministry stressed that "some countries in which for many years ethnic minorities have been discriminated against, human rights are systematically violated, a policy of presenting nazis and their accomplices as heroes are not mentioned in the report at all".

"Whereas the section devoted to Russia uses a whole range of simple tricks - exaggeration, choice of facts to support conclusions that have been made in advance, arbitrary interpretation of facts, and some other tricks. The purpose of this is evident - to form in the reader and the public opinion a negative attitude towards the human rights situation in the Russian Federation," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

The comment stressed that Russia had done a lot to ensure citizens' constitutional rights and freedoms, in particular, there had been fundamental changes in judicial practice, civil society institutions were being actively developing. "Today some 60 per cent of complaints against civil servants' actions and some 70 per cent of complaints against decisions of administrative bodies are upheld by courts. Over 217,000 public organizations are registered in Russia, 248 branches and representative offices of international and foreign NGOs operate in Russia, there are over 40,000 printed and electronic media," the comment said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry also commented on a similar report from the US NGO Freedom House.

"We are familiar with the contents of this document. Let it lie on its authors' conscience. All the more so since the sources of that organization's funding are no secret to anyone. As you know, 'he who pays the piper, calls the tune'. We do not consider it worth our while to pay attention to such made-to-order opuses as these," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

At the same time the Russian Foreign Ministry admitted that Russia had certain problems in this [human rights] area. "Could you name a single country which does not have them? Russia is open for a constructive dialogue on any issue, including this one. At the same time we are convinced that the politization of human rights issues leads not to a solution to these problems but to the devaluation of the principles and values of cooperation in this area," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

Read More about Services from Alinga Consulting Group

Source: Interfax