Ladies and gentlemen!

I thank all who assisted in giving me this opportunity to come here and address you. We are very pleased that the international community is concerned with the problems of victims of terrorist attacks. This was discussed at the High-level Summit in Vienna, Austria, on September 13th, 2007, at the Conference for Developing Standards of Care for Victims of Terrorist Attacks in Tilburg, Holland, on March 10th, 2008, as well as at a UN symposium in New York, USA, on September 9th, 2008.

Terrorism and violence have no citizenship or nationality. It is a worldwide problem, as are problems concerning of victims of terrorist attacks.

It was 9 years ago that a terrorist attack took place in Volgodonsk, a city with a population of 180,000. The explosion of two tons of TNT and RDX in September 1999 killed 19 persons, permanently disabled 73, and in one way or another affected another 15,000. Forty-two buildings were damaged, including two schools. Residents of three areas where the terrorist attack took place were hit by the blast concussion and received barotrauma, severe psychological trauma and stress, as well as multiple injuries such as cuts and bruises. All of this has affected their mental and physical health. People have also lost homes, property, and, due to disabilities, incomes.

For nine years we have tried to persuade the leadership of our country to adopt a law on social protection of victims of terrorist attacks. To this date, however, the issue has not been resolved. The victims, however, both adults and children, and even those born after the terrorist attack to mothers with severe physical or mental injuries, need assistance — psychological, medical, professional, legal.

All courts of law in Russia refuse to consider claims for compensation for such injuries, citing the absence of any applicable law. Our appeals to the Federal Duma, as well as to the President and Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, on drawing up a legislative initiative in accordance with the Russian Constitution, yield no results. Neither the Russian Constitutional Court, nor the Commissioner for Human Rights in Russia, nor the Public Chamber, has solved our problems. And for only one reason — there is no law. Children, adolescents, and adults are ill, but are abandoned with their problems.

In 2006, we, the victims and those invalided by this terrorist attack, joined together and created the 'Volga-Don' organization, which in its activities forces government officials to remember that there still are people suffering from the terrorist attack in Volgodonsk, and they need help. Our organization, in spite of the lack of any financial assistance from the State, tries to assist its members with legal and social issues.

Our repeated appeals to all branches of government, asking for the adoption of a law, have led to naught. Our complaints to the European Court of Human Rights, asking for the protection of our rights, cannot solve every problem, as they deal separately with each individual victim, while there is a need to solve the problems of thousands.

Due to the 'Catch-22' in Russian legislation, as well as the persistent reluctance of the State Duma to adopt a law on the status of 'victim of a terrorist attack' and 'disabled in a terrorist attack', with all attendant social guarantees, we ourselves have put together a draft law on social protection of victims of terrorist attacks and sent it to every branch of the Russian government that in accordance with the Constitution has the power to perform legislative initiatives. None of them, however, will accept our project for consideration.

Given that the harm caused by the terrorist attack is real, incalculable, and irreparable, the amount of compensation should be enough to ensure that victims of terrorist attacks have a quality of life that, in comparison with the other citizens of the country as a whole, does not call into question their very right to compensation for this harm, and the principle of personal dignity.

We believe that what is necessary is:

1. The development of a mechanism directing funds confiscated from terrorist financing to the lifetime benefit of victims of terrorist attacks.

2. That the State recognizes its duty to allocate from the federal budget funds for material and moral damages caused by terrorist attacks.

3. The creation of an international database of victims of terrorist attacks.

4. The adoption of an international convention on the status of 'victim of a terrorist attack'. To extend this concept to individuals who have suffered harm (moral, material, physical, and psychological) from the terrorist act itself, as well as its aftermath. To apply this convention to all victims of terrorist attacks, regardless of the date of the terrorist attack (whether before the convention, or afterward), as well as extend this to children born to mothers who are victims of terrorist attacks.

5. A provision in this convention to be made to compensate victims disabled as a result of terrorist attacks, taking into account lost income.

6. The establishment of an international fund to assist victims of terrorist attacks to effectively address their problems.

7. The development of an international program for the rehabilitation of victims of terrorist attacks; the standards for which provide for the amount and duration of assistance to victims of terrorist attacks. At the same time, a mechanism should be developed to provide assistance to those affected within the territory of another State.

8. To bring in international medical centers with experience in concussions, barotraumas, and psychological traumas to follow the health status of victims of terrorist attacks in different age groups and varying degrees of injury, in order to more fully restore their health.

9. To address at a national and international level the issue of financial support to public organizations defending the rights of victims of terrorist attacks, in the absence of financial assistance from either the State or business.

Only at the international level will it ever be possible to fundamentally alter the situation in Russia today, relative the lack of a law on the social protection of the rights of those affected by terrorist attacks.

Thank you for your attention.