An agreement on cooperation between the RF Investigative Committee and the Children’s Commissioner under the RF President has been signed today in Moscow.
The subject of the agreement is cooperation in protecting rights, freedoms and protected interests of children; prevention, revealing and elimination of violations of such rights, freedoms and interests; the use of available legal, information, scientific, analytical, methodological and organizational resources for planning and implementing joint events. The two authorities are also going to cooperation in assisting in restoration of violated rights of children; in sharing information on revealed violations of rights of children; in joint analysis of reasons for mass violations of rights, freedoms and interests of children; in participation in lawmaking to improve legislation in the said field, etc.
Opening the signing ceremony, Mr. Bastrykin said: “I have just visited Vanya Voronov. If you remember he was severely wounded in Donbass. But now he is getting better: he was able to open the door for us and he is getting back his eyesight. Vanya and his mother are grateful to us and this shows that when we work together we can do a great deal.”
He mentioned solving and investigating crimes against children as one of the most important priorities of the Investigative Committee adding that each year some 40 thousand people appeal to him via different channels and one third of those appeals has to do with violations of children’s rights, including medical malpractice, flaws in investigations and other problems.
“Despite the fact that we have reached good results in solving major crimes and the overall statistics shows that the number of children murdered or gone missing has decreased we can’t slow down. We still have a lot of work to do. By legally tying up our relationships with the Children’s Commissioner we take up certain rights and duties and together we are going to work even more devotedly,” Mr. Bastrykin said.
Estimating the possibilities of concluding the agreement Anna Kuznetsova said: “We realize that even one death of a child is enough to work wholeheartedly and seek to change the situation. The agreement will allow us to analyze the reasons for crimes and violations of rights of children and to work out efficient steps to prevent such crimes.”
Discussing the possibilities of cooperation and uniting efforts of the society and the state in fighting crimes, Mr. Bastryking and Ms. Kuznetsova highly appreciated the work done by volunteers and citizens. Namely, the Chairman said that he had recently talked to parents from Ryazan Region who lost their two children involved in so-called groups of death in the Internet. “These parents have set up an NGOI to save other children and such people should be helped,” Mr. Bastrykin said. As a positive example of such cooperation he named Orenburg Region, where citizens, volunteers, journalists, policemen and Emergency Ministry’s responders helped investigators not only detain the suspect of kidnapping a girl, solve crimes committed by the man earlier, but possible avoid other victims.
Cadets of the Alexander Nevsky Cadet School and students of the Investigative Committee Academy weighed in the discussion and said that the Academy had a volunteer center which helps the Leonid Roshal’s Research Institute of Emergency Children’s Surgery and Traumatology. Ms. Kuznetsova supported this wonderful initiative and said that there are a lot of shelters that need such volunteers.
She touched upon mass media covering crimes against children, especially sex ones. She believes that it is inadmissible to savor both the details and the fact of the crime as it is another blow on the child and his loved ones affected by the crime.
Mr. Bastrykin and Ms. Kuznetsova expressed her confidence that under the signed agreement the effectiveness of the cooperation between the Children’s Commissioner and the Investigative Committee will increase considerably.
In conclusion, Mr. Bastrykin awarded Ms. Kuznetsova medal For Assistance for her help to the Investigative Committee. In turn, Ms. Kuznetsova noting wisdom, sincerity and empathy of the Chairman gave him a crystal owl, a symbol of wisdom.
Acting Head of Media Relations S.L. Petrenko
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