Konstantin Kosachev, the head of the Russian delegation to PACE, who is attending a meeting of the organization in Monaco, said, "A new Commissioner for Human Rights will be elected at the upcoming session since the term of the current commissioner, Alvaro Gil-Robles, expires this year."
Alvaro Gil-Robles is the first Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe. He was elected for a six-year term in 1999.
A PACE official said, "the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights is not a legal instrument and does not review the appeals of officials in case their rights have been violated."
According to RIA Novosti sources, the list of candidates for the post contains both officials who the Russian side supports, and those that it considers "politically biased," although the latter are considered unlikely to be elected.
The Council of Europe press service has not provided RIA Novosti with the list of candidates, which is expected to be approved on the first day of the fall session.
