By Matt Bivens:

   Admittedly, it's hard to imagine a more thankless job than that of Russia's state human rights ombudsman. However, the deplorable state of human right and the government's often callous treatment of its citizens are precisely why we need an aggressive, vocal and tireless person in this position.

Recently, human rights ombudsman Oleg Mironov demonstrated once again, that he is not the man for the job. His office won't accept complaints directed at President Vladmir Putin. "We do not allow any critical remarks regarding the president," Mironov said.

Mironov justified this startling attitude by the sophistic reasoning that "according to the Constitution, [the president] himself is the guarantor of citizen's liberties," Instead of logically arguing from this that the ombudsman must devote particular attention to ensuring that the president faithfully fulfills this obligation, Mironov concludes that the president is above criticism. Can one conclude from this, that the entire executive branch, which of course is headed by the president, is beyond Mironov's reach?

The role of human right ombudsman could, and should, play a role in establishing government accountability. The position began to live up to its name under the control of former dissident and internationally respected human rights advocate, Sergei Kovalyov. In fact, when Kovalyov resigned as President Yeltsin's human rights commissioner in January 1996, he wrote a letter in which he addressed the very issue that Mironov has raised.

  "The Constitution confers enormous powers on the president, but it places enormous responsibilities on him: to be the guarantor of the rights and liberties of citizens, to safeguard their security ....How have you discharged these duties? How have you fulfilled your responsibilities?"

Mironov is claiming he hasn't the right to ask impertinent questions. We disagree. The ombudsman's only real obligation is to the Constitution. When anyone, including the president, infringes the rights guaranteed here, the ombudsman is duty bound to speak out and to act. The position, as Kovaloyov understood so well, is primarily a moral tribune, and it is disheartening to see Mironov transform it into just another state bureaucracy.

The Constitution promises a number of basic rights, including freedom of movement, the right to alternative military service, the right to open access to information about the state of the environment and many others that are far from being effectively "guaranteed" by the president.

If Mironov won't confront Putin on these issues, the Duma must find an ombudsman who will.|