Delegates from 70 countries are expected to discuss protection of citizens abroad and human trafficking
Representatives from 70 countries will convene in Moscow for an international ombudsmen forum to discuss human rights protection, online child safety, citizens’ rights abroad, and cooperation between national institutions.
The event will run from Monday to Wednesday, drawing officials and rights advocates from countries including Brazil, Mexico, Türkiye, Indonesia, South Africa, Switzerland, and several ex-Soviet nations. The conference is being held under the auspices of Russia’s human rights commissioner, Yana Lantratova.
“The focus is on developing international cooperation, finding common approaches and effective mechanisms to help people in the most difficult circumstances,” she said. “It is important that a person can count on support regardless of which country they are in.”
The first day will be dedicated to discussing harmful online content and protecting children in the digital sphere. The next day will revolve around protection of citizens overseas, freedom of conscience, cultural identity, sovereign development, and support for trafficking victims.
Participants also plan to adopt the “Moscow Principles,” a declaration intended to reinforce the independence of human rights institutions and keep channels open even when governments clash.
Apart from foreign officials, the forum’s expected speakers include RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan, former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter, and former British MP George Galloway.
Lantratova recently came into the spotlight after she worked together with Ukrainian officials on a humanitarian operation in the town of Alyoshki in Russia’s Kherson Region, which had been largely cut off from essential supplies for months due to a Ukrainian siege. The six-day local ceasefire brokered with the help of US First Lady Melania Trump allowed food and medicine to enter and civilians to leave for either Russia or Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov praised the operation as a success, commended cooperation between Lantratova and Ukrainian human rights ombudsman Dmitry Lubinets, suggesting that the arrangement “could set a precedent” for similar humanitarian pauses elsewhere.
