Russians 'more concerned' about their rights - ombudsman
MOSCOW, February 22 (RIA Novosti)- Russians have become more concerned about rights abuses in the past few years, the country's rights ombudsman Vladimir Lukin said on Tuesday.
Lukin says there has been a 10 percent increase in the number of complaints made about rights abuses, which he put down to increased awareness and more violations.
"Firstly, there have been more violations," he told a news conference on Tuesday. Secondly, he said, citizens across the country are becoming more aware of ombudsmen and other complaint-handling bodies.
"There are five regions where the main bulk of complaints come from: St. Petersburg, Moscow, Krasnodar, Stavropol and the Ulyanovsk region."
A recent poll by Russia's independent pollster Levada Center found that 33 percent of Russians think the government is not doing enough to protect their social rights.
Last week, UN human rights chief Navi Pillay said there was "a serious deficit in public trust in key institutions" in Russia and urged its authorities to speed up institutional reforms set back by killing and harassment of journalists and rights activists.
She also criticized the behavior of Russian military and security forces in the troubled North Caucasus region.
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