On 08 October 2007 the session of the Committee on Lawfulness and Protection of Rights of Individuals of the Legislative Assembly of Krasnoyarsky Kray was held under chairmanship of the deputy of the Legislative Assembly of Krasnoyarsky Kray Yu. Abakumov. On the session, besides members of the Committee, there was Plenipotentiary on Human Rights in Krasnoyarsky Kray I. Zhmakov, director of Krasnoyarsk Center of LIENIP Yelena Nechushkina, a representative of the trainees of the training course “Education in the Field of Human Rights, Rights of Indigenous Peoples” M. Chardu. In accordance with the agenda of the session of the Committee, there was discussed the bill “About Plenipotentiary on Human Rights in Krasnoyarsky Kray”. Krasnoyarsk Center, on behalf of its trainees and expressing the interests of indigenous peoples of the North, submitted to the Committee an appeal to the deputies of the Legislative Assembly asking to support establishment of a new institution – Plenipotentiary on Rights of Indigenous Peoples – Deputy Plenipotentiary on Human Rights in Krasnoyarsky Kray.

Besides, by initiative of the Center, two amendments to the bill were made and approved. The first one provides interaction of the Plenipotentiary on Rights of Indigenous Peoples with different indigenous public organizations, but not only with the Association and the Chamber of Indigenous Peoples mentioned in the text of the bill. Second, in course of the discussion some deputies suggested to exclude the norm stipulating that a plenipotentiary can be a citizen of the Russian Federation with the only obligatory requirement to the post – higher education and knowledge of laws regulating issues of social and economic, ethnic and other rights of indigenous peoples. However, the position of Krasnoyarsk Center and its interns was based on the necessity for the Plenipotentiary on Rights of Indigenous Peoples to have experience of work, residence, contacts with indigenous peoples, i.e. knowledge of the situation from the grassroots. As a result, the amendment, which caused heated argument, was supported, and a new norm was adopted providing that the position of Plenipotentiary on Rights of Indigenous Peoples can be taken only by a person with experience of work in the places of dense or traditional residence of indigenous peoples.