Public Chamber to propose Commissioner for Elderly People’s Rights
20.01.2017
The Public Chamber will be preparing a case in the near future for the creation of a new post of Commissioner for Elderly People’s Rights. Once finalised, the proposal will be submitted for the State Duma’s consideration, reports the Novosti news agency.
“Fundamentally, it’s very important that Russia has a Commissioner for Elderly People’s Rights to ensure that the interests of the older generation are properly protected”, said Sultan Khamzaev, a Public Chamber member, at a recent meeting of the International Cultural and Educational Forum “The Thread that Links the Ages” which took place in the Public Chamber on 19 January.
Attempts were made during 2016 to create separate Commissioner posts for protecting the rights of car owners and animals. Last February, State Duma deputies rejected a Bill that would have created a Commissioner for the Rights of the Disabled.
Ella Pamfilova, Russia’s former Human Rights Commissioner, has already come out strongly against “inflating” the role of “Ombudsmen” and repeatedly criticised the increasing number of proposals to create Ombudsman posts for the rights of different categories of citizen. Tatyana Moskalkova, Russia’s current Human Rights Ombudsman, is also against what she refers to as the “blur” of Commissioner institutions.
