Press release on the signing by the Russian Federation of the Council of Europe Convention against Trafficking in Human Organs

Permanent Envoy of the Russian Federation to the Council of Europe Alexander Alexeyev signed, on behalf of the Russian Federation, the Council of Europe Convention against Trafficking in Human Organs in Strasbourg on September 24.

The convention, developed with the active participation of Russia, is the first universal agreement in the sphere of combating trafficking in human organs, which is designed to improve international criminal law cooperation between states. It prohibits the removal of human organs when done without the free, informed and specific consent of the donor, or when a doctor or a third party are offered financial benefit, or actually receive it. The convention is designed to be an effective tool for cooperation in fighting black transplantology.

When signing the convention, it was stated that the Russian Federation strongly condemns the inclusion in Article 4 of the Convention — despite the objections of many countries — of provisions on the possibility of making certain reservations, permitting the removal of human organs without the consent of a living donor. The Russian side considers this situation as a departure from the high standards of the Council of Europe in the sphere of human rights, which seriously undermines the rules for fighting the inhuman crimes specified therein, and expects that the states acceding to the convention will refrain from such reservations.

The signing by the Russian Federation of the above convention and adherence to other contractual and legal acts of the Council of Europe is consistent  with the provisions of the Foreign Policy Concept of the Russian Federation dated February 12, 2013 regarding "strengthening the Council of Europe as an independent universal European organisation that provides, due to its unique convention mechanisms, the unity of the legal and humanitarian spaces of the continent."

September 24, 2015