A/HRC/23/34/Add.1 on subsidies and felt that their culture was becoming simply a subject of folklore. In addition, reporting to State institutions on the use of subsidies is cumbersome for small communities and should be made less complicated. 3. Relevant institutions 24. Numerous institutions are mandated to deal with cultural policies and rights, including several State Duma Committees; an advisory council for State cultural policies under the Chairman of the Federal Assembly; several institutions under the Federal Ministry of Culture; and a presidential council on culture and the arts. The Ministry for Regional Development is in charge of social and cultural issues in the country‟s entities. State structures in the regions generally mirror those at the federal level. 25. The Special Rapporteur was pleased to meet some members of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, established in 2005 to connect the Government with local selfgovernments and public associations, involve them in decision-making and provide advice on legislation.12 Many regions have also established Public Chambers. 26. While the Special Rapporteur appreciates the fact that a Commissioner for Human Rights, established through the Constitution and Federal Constitutional Law No. 1-FKZ of 1997, was granted “A” status in November 2008, she regrets that she was unable to meet him. 27. Currently, 60 of the 83 constituent entities of the Federation also enjoy the presence of a commissioner. In 2011, the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe called upon the authorities of the Russian Federation to “respect the integrity and independence” of regional ombudspersons.13 The Special Rapporteur commends the establishment of a council of ombudspersons under the federal commissioner, to discuss common issues on a monthly basis. 28. The Special Rapporteur was pleased to meet the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Republic of Tatarstan, who engages in a wide range of activities, including responding to people‟s queries and complaints. The Commissioner‟s reports on the situation of human rights in the Republic are submitted to the President, the State Council, the Supreme Court, the Prosecutor and the Court of Arbitration. They are also made publicly available in Tatar and Russian. 29. In Kazan, the Special Rapporteur found discussions with members of the State Council‟s Committee on Culture, Science Education and Nationalities very informative. B. International framework and cooperation policies 30. The Russian Federation has ratified the main United Nations instruments relevant to the implementation of cultural rights, as well as a number of relevant treaties of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Council of Europe. 31. The Russian Federation, its regions and cultural institutions have initiated numerous cultural cooperation projects. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the cooperation between the Ministry of Culture and the Council of Europe programme on the review of cultural policies. Numerous programmes developed with neighbouring and other countries in the area of education and culture include the multilingual publication of textbooks, the 12 13 See Council of Europe Compendium on Cultural Policies (see footnote 5), p. 10. Visit to the Russian Federation, 12 - 21 May 2011, CommDH(2011)21, p. 4. 7