Igor Kochetkov, leader of the Russian LGBT Network participated in consultations of the Russian human rights watch-dog agencies with Navanethem Pillay - UN High Commissioner on Human Rights.
Lgbtnet.ru reports, the meeting had taken place in Moscow earlier this month on the eve of her official visit to Russia that ended last week. Igor Kochetkov attracted the high attention to the problem of insecure of fundamental human rights of LGBT people in Russia - the right to live, safety, human dignity.
He informed Mrs. Pillay that the majority of gay hatred crimes and discrimination actions are being kept in secret due to a widespread homophobia and transphobia, thus making the status of LGBT people even more vulnerable, especially in the provinces.
Igor Kochetkov believes that "it is difficult to solve this problem because decision makers lack political will and simply do not want to handle this issue saying that "attutitude to gays in Russia is rather tolerant" and "no one discriminates them".
During her official visit to Russia, Mrs. Navanethem Pillay - UN High Commissioner on Human Rights, met with top Russian officials, high justices of the Supreme and Constitutional courts, heads of several Russian ministries and agencies. However we have no information whether or not she had raised the gay issue during her talks with the Russian officials.
English translation presented by Yerdna Bananes