Putin's Opening Remarks At Meeting Of Council For Civil Society And Human Rights

On the eve of Human Rights Day, on Thursday, Vladimir Putin held a traditional meeting with the Council for Civil Society and Human Rights.

"I am happy to note that now the Council is actively dealing with pressing problems that are causing concern in our society," President noted.

One of them is protecting people from financial fraud. Criminals have deprived tens of millions of people of their housing, literally leaving them out in the street. The Council persistently raised this issue and eventually amendments were introduced to the law on the activities of consumer credit co-operatives, banning the issuance of loans secured only by housing as collateral. This created a barrier in the way of fraudulent schemes of microcredit organisations.

Also, Council has supported the owners of agricultural lands who had no right to maintain forests on their land plots. Facing huge fines, they had to destroy these forests. The Council’s view on that matter was taken into account as well, and the Forest Code has been amended to allow landowners to keep the forests, which has saved hundreds of hectares of forest.

The Council has contributed was to ensure the compliance of foreign IT companies operating in Russia with Russian legislation. It is no secret that there have been numerous cases of fraud, abuse of our citizens’ personal data and the distribution of illegal content, including content dangerous to children, on transnational online platforms. At the same time, people have nowhere to turn to with their complaints or to demand the restoration of their rights.

Putin also mentioned the Council's decision that concerns a small group of people but is extremely important for every one of them.

Putin also mentioned the Council's decision that concerns a small group of people but is extremely important for every one of them.

"It concerns children after a retinoblastoma operation. These children need to confirm their disability every year until they grow up to receive financial support for the prosthetic eye care – I remember how we discussed that matter and how our colleagues raised it. The issue has been settled following discussions at the Council, and now the disability certificate the children receive after surgery remains valid until they turn 18," he added.