The Human Rights Center of the University of Padua to St. Petersburg with the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe meets with regional civic defenders of the Russian Federation

On the occasion of the visit of the Commissioner Thomas Hammarberg to Russia on the 3rd and 4th of September, 2009, a seminar with regional civic defenders of the Russian Federation was carried out that dealt with the theme of social and economic rights in Russia in light of the country’s recent ratification of the revised European Social Charter.

At the seminar over 40 regional ombudsmen will be present, as well as the national ombudsman of the Russian Federation, ombudsmen from the Council of Europe and the European Commission, not to mention representatives of non-governmental organisations present in St. Petersburg.

Stefano Valenti and Cinzia Clemente will participate in the event, charged with drafting the conclusions of the seminary.

The event is financed by the European Union and by the Council of Europe in accordance with the ‘Peer to Peer’ program, in order to facilitate the education of European civic defenders which is coordinated by the Human Rights Centre of the University of Padua. Two additional seminars in both Padua and Budapest, Hungary, are planed within this same context.