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The Moscow Parliament (Moskovskya gorodskya duma) has agreed a new law that abolishes the office of the children’s rights ombudsman in Moscow as of October 2009. According to the head of the Moscow Parliament, Vladimir Platonov, children are well protected by legislation and a number of authorities. Yet experts say the decision is depriving Moscow of the basis for a child rights protection system. They argue that other regions might follow suit, leading to 'domino effect' whereby children across the country will lose the protection and support a specific children's ombudsperson's office confers. The position is currently held by Alexey Golovan, who is also a member of the European Network of Ombudspeople for Children (ENOC). In a letter to the government, Mr Golovan argues that the decision "contradicts Russian social policy", such as the commitment to provide better services for orphans. The deputy of Moscow's Parliament, Tatiana Portnova, stressed: “Nobody doubts that the ombudsperson for children's office should be retained, but it is not necessary to have two independent ompudspersons' institutions – a general office as well as an office for children. The institution of the ombudsperson for children... would be built into the general structure of the human rights ombudsman office”. But Mr Golovan said children's rights cannot simply be incorporated into a general human rights mandate. He said: "The child differs from the adult biologically and in social status, so it essential that services cater to the needs of children as separate from adults." Moscow's children’s rights ombudsperson was established in 2001. During this time, the ombudsperson's office has carried out various activities to develop a national network of children’s rights promotion and protection services. Diverse issues related to child protection policy fall within the Moscow ombudsperson's mandate, including: family placement, juvenile justice, and assistance to looked-after children, among others. Other experts have called this decision by Moscow's authorities “inappropriate” and emphasised that the children’s rights ombudsperson plays a unique role in Russia's child protection system. Some activists have also highlighted that integrating the children’s rights ombudsperson into the general structure could reduce the effectiveness of this institution's activity, as has happened following similar moves in other countries.
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