April 2005

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REPORT ON THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION PRESENTED BY THE CoE

April 2005 — The Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe (CoE), Alvaro Gil-Robles, presented a report on the respect for human rights in the Russian Federation to the Committee of Ministers. The report was prepared after two extensive visits and it mainly focuses on the fight against racism and xenophobia, the rights of national minorities and the situation of national languages, amongst others.

The report outlines that the Russian Federation is a multi-ethnic and multi-confessional state and that it is inhabited by more than 170 ethnic groups, designated as nationalities. The report also states that national minority rights and their respect and protection is one of the problems in contemporary Europe, and as far as the Russian experience in this area is concerned, the policy towards national minorities is a positive one although resources are limited, meaning that linguistic and cultural development consequently poses greater problems.

The report explains the experience of the Commissioner when visiting the minority peoples in Khanty-Mansiysk. It also gives an explanation on the situation of those minority indigenous peoples living in the north and Far East: the Aleuts, Inuits, Itelmens, Kamchadale, Koryaks and Nenets, among others.

Furthermore, the report also states that the signature by Russian Federation of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities in 1996 stands for a very positive development. It also acknowledges that the National Cultural Autonomy Act, which was passed also in 1996, provides the legal and political framework for the development of national minorities.

Finally, as for the right to education in national languages, the report specifies that instruction in the mother tongue mainly takes place in nursery, primary and secondary schools. In most cases though, national language teaching is confined to language classes. The report identifies the regional and local authorities as the key participants in ethnic dialogue and the development of national minorities, since they can make a direct contribution to the development of national minorities.