MOSCOW, December 25 (RAPSI) – The number of applications filed in defense of minors’ rights increased in 2018 by 60% as compared to a previous inquiry period, the press service of the Moscow Region children’s rights ombudsman Ksenia Mishonova told RAPSI on Tuesday.

In 2018, over 1,700 claims concerning children’s human rights were lodged, the ombudsman’s press service stated.

According to Mishonova, in total, the number of applications to the child rights ombudsman’s office keeps growing year by year. A great part of complaints touched on school conflicts, she said. 

On December 21, the Federation Council, the upper house of Russian parliament, approved a legislative proposal to extend the powers of children’s rights commissioners. The bill grants the ombudsmen a power to challenge officials’ actions or inactions in courts to protect minors as useful and timely.