MINSK, 21 June (BelTA) – Russia's human rights ombudsman Tatyana Moskalkova and Commissioner for Human Rights of the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada Valeria Lutkovskaya agreed to cooperate in human rights matters “outside politics and borders”. The parties discussed the transfer of a number of prisoners detained in Simferopol to Ukraine, BelTA has learned.
“We met to discuss our further interaction and agreed to do everything we can to ensure the rights and interests of an individual. First thing we decided on was the conceptual protection of human rights outside politics and borders. This will be the main format for our further negotiations,” Tatyana Moskalkova said.
According to her, the parties agreed to return to the effective implementation of the 2013 agreement which was concluded between the two ombudsmen. “The agreement has not been used to the full. We will further develop it and try to add the current issues to the document to make our interaction as effective as possible,” the Russian ombudsman said.
Tatyana Moskalkova informed that they compared the lists of the persons who are currently held in the pre-trial detention center and penal colony No. 1 in Simferopol and who have applied for the transfer to Ukraine. “I received such applications from the defendants and prisoners who have already been sentenced. We reviewed the lists and agreed to conclude an agreement on the transfer of these persons to serve their sentences in the territory of Ukraine and discussed the mechanism of applying to the national bodies that are responsible for such transfers,” she said.
“We discussed other issues of interaction that will help improve the protection of human rights, make it more democratic and efficient,” Tatyana Moskalkova said.
Valeria Lutkovskaya, for her part, noted that the meeting was the first one for the parties and was very constructive. “Today we were able to talk about the mechanism. First and foremost, we reached an agreement, which is very important for these people. In this situation the ombudsmen' task is to facilitate, as much as possible, the protection of human rights,” she said.
According to Valeria Lutkovskaya, now the main task is to implement the agreements reached. “We talked about 18 persons. But I think the list is still not complete. We exchanged the lists, checked them. My list is a little longer,” she said.
The Ukrainian Ombudsman also added that the meeting discussed a number of other issues. “There are some things that should be done gradually, step by step. Today's meeting is the first one of its kind. And I really hope that is not the last one. I hope that in the future there will be new ways of cooperation, and we have things to discuss in the future,” Valeria Lutkovskaya noted.
