Human Rights Commissioner Thomas Hammarberg told RIA Novosti he will try to find out more about the work of rights organizations in the Russian provinces when he comes to St. Petersburg to attend a conference of regional ombudsmen.
During the upcoming forum, he plans to meet the newly-appointed ombudsman of the southern Russian republic of Daghestan and to put it to St. Petersburg authorities why the nation's second largest city still has no ombudsman of its own, he said.
Hammarberg, who took the office just two months ago, said that in his new capacity, he will try to do something about the rise of xenophobic and racist tendencies in Russia and about anti-terror measures being taken at the expense of human rights. He said he will also be working to ensure that all kidnappings committed in Chechnya are thoroughly investigated so as not to leave the public believe that criminals can get away with it.
The CoE commissioner's Russian agenda also envisages efforts toward ultimate abolition of the death penalty, currently suspended under a moratorium, and bringing an end to discrimination against ethnic Russians in the former Soviet republics of Latvia and Estonia.
