Letter to the Chairman of the Committee
from the Minister for Europe
When I gave evidence on Russia to the Foreign
Affairs Committee on 18 July, I undertook to provide more information
on Russian cases in the European Court of Human Rights.
As of 1 July 2007, cases from Russia pending
at the court totalled 22,150. This represents 22.6% of total cases
pending.[3]
I also mentioned that the number of applications
to the Court from Russian citizens is rising year on year. The
latest statistics on these, as a percentage of total of new applications,
are:
2002: 13.7% (4,006 new applications received
from Russian applicants in 2002).
2003: 15.6% (5,996 new applications).
2004: 17.8% (6,691 new applications).
2005: 21.2% (8,781 new applications).
2006: 22.l% (10,569 new applications).[4]
I also undertook to provide you with a list
of the ministers, including officials with ministerial rank, who
have visited Russia in the past year. The figure of 15 ministerial
visits to Russia applies to visits in the calendar year January-December
2006. In the list below I have also included visits during 2007.
June 2007—Lord Mayor of London.
April 2007—Lord Mayor of London.
February 2007—Rt Hon Alistair Darling MP, Secretary
of State, Department of Trade and Industry.
October 2006—Rt Hon John Hutton MP, Secretary
of State, Department of Work and Pensions.
September 2006—Rt Hon Geoff Hoon MP, Minister
for Europe.
July 2006—Rt Hon Tony Blair MP, Prime Minister.
June 2006—Rt Hon Margaret Beckett MP, Secretary
of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
June 2006—Dr Kim Howells MP, Minister of State,
Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
June 2006—Rt Hon the Lord Goldsmith QC, Attorney
General.
June 2006—Rt Hon Tony McNulty MP, Minister
of State, Home Office.
June 2006—Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP, Chancellor
of the Exchequer (G8 Finance Ministers in St Petersburg).
June 2006—Bill Rammell MP, Minister of State,
Higher Education, DfES.
April 2006—Rt. Hon Rosie Winterton MP, Minister
of State, Department of Health.
March 2006—Rt Hon. Douglas Alexander MP, Minister
for Europe.
March 2006—Rt Hon Alan Johnson MP, Secretary
of State, Department of Trade and Industry.
February/March 2006—Rt Hon Douglas Alexander
MP, Minister for Europe.
February 2006—Ian Pearson MP, Minister of State
for Trade, DTI.
February 2006—Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP, Chancellor
of the Exchequer.
During the session, I also undertook to inform
the Committee and the House of any changes to the measures against
Russia which my Rt Hon Friend the Foreign Secretary announced
to the House on 16 July 2007.
Jim Murphy MP
Minister for Europe
25 July 2007
3 http://www.echr.coe.int/NR/rdonlyres/D240083A-5243-422F-9C5C-DC6A3173246F/0/Pending-casesGraph.pdf Back
4
European Human Rights Advocacy Centre Annual Report 2006 and http//www.echr.coe.int/NR/rdonlyres/69564084-9825-430B-9150-A9137DD22737/0/Survey-2006.pdf Back
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