Legislative Measures to Counter COVID-19 and Other Social Policy Issues Discussed in Tavricheskiy Palace

On 26 November 2020, the meeting of the IPA CIS Permanent Commission on Social Policy and Human Rights took place in the Tavricheskiy Palace – the IPA CIS headquarters.

The event brought together the MPs from the Azerbaijan Republic, the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Republic of Moldova, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan, as well as specialists and experts, representatives of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, other international organizations, the Federation of Independent Trade Unions, the IPA CIS Council Secretariat staff members.

The meeting started with the election of the Chair of the Commission and his deputy. Following the voting, the Commission was headed by member of the Committee of the Milli Mejlis of the Azerbaijan Republic on Legal Policy and State Building, member of the Committee of the Milli Mejlis of the Azerbaijan Republic on Defense, Security and Combating Corruption Nizami Safarov. Member of the Committee of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on Information Policy, Information Technology and Communications Yury Berezutsky was elected Deputy Chair.

The meeting was focused on measures to counter the spread of the coronavirus infection. The Commission members considered the draft Resolution of the IPA CIS Council on Legislative Support of Measures Taken in the CIS Member Nations in Connection with the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Joint Statement of the IPA CIS Council and the WHO Regional Office for Europe on the Role of Parliaments in Countering COVID-19.

Following the discussion of the draft, the Commission members decided to submit both documents for the IPA CIS Council consideration.

Furthermore, the Commission members considered the draft Model Laws on Ensuring the Rights of Children in the CIS Member Nations to Health Care, on Psychiatric Care and Guarantees of Citizens’ Rights in its Provision and on Clinical Guidelines for the Provision of Medical Care in the CIS Member Nations. The Commission recognized these developments as completed and decided to ask the IPA CIS Council to include the relevant issues in the agenda of the next IPA CIS plenary session.

The Long-Term Plan of Model Law-Making of the CIS for 2020-2022 became the next item on the agenda. The IPA CIS Board of Experts on Public Health had applied for the inclusion of a Model Law on Insurance of Professional Liability of Medical Workers.

The Commission also considered the proposal of the WHO Regional Office for Europe to include in the Long-Term Plan the Model Law on Marketing of Food for Children. The Commission members agreed with the presented arguments and made a decision to ask the IPA CIS Council to include these laws in the Long-Term Plan of Model Law-Making.

Furthermore, the Commission considered the draft Model Law on Ensuring Equal Access to Services for the Prevention and Treatment of HIV Infection in the CIS Member Nations initiated by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.. The law aims to counter the spread of HIV infection in the Commonwealth. The Commission members decided to send the draft of this model law to the relevant commissions and committees of the CIS parliaments to receive comments, proposals and expert opinions.

Further, the Commission considered the issue of regulating migration relations. They discussed and approved the draft Model Migration Code for the CIS Member Nations and decided to ask the IPA CIS Council to include the issue on the agenda of the next IPA CIS plenary session.

Also, the draft Model Laws on Protecting the Health of Citizens From the Harmful Effects of Tabaco Smoke, on Organ Donation and the Recommendations on Access to the Information on the Legal Status of Citizens were considered at the meeting.