Luc Van den Brande and Teodoros Pangalos, of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, met with law enforcement officials and human rights activists to gauge whether Russia was meeting its obligations as a member of the council, which Moscow joined in 1996, The Moscow Times writes with reference to the Associated Press. Van den Brande also said Russia needed to adopt legislation that would allow independent rights groups to work effectively. “The country has to improve and empower civil society,” he said. The Council of Europe delegation visits Russia less that two weeks ahead of the inauguration of Dmitrii Medvedev as the country’s new president. Mr. Medvedev has himself highligthed the important role of civil society in the development of the country.
