Human rights Day is celebrated around the world on 10 December. On this day in 1948 the UN General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Declaration was the first to formulate human rights provisions. It includes a wide range of human rights (political, civil, social, cultural and economic) and forms a single international standard in this area

On December10, 2020 - on the International Day of Human Rights - IOM Moscow Chief of Mission took part in an awarding ceremony for the winners of St. Petersburg student Competition "Human Rights-2020" in online format. Alexander Shishlov, the Ombudsperson in St. Petersburg holds the Competition annually among students of St. Petersburg Universities with the support of the Committee on Science and Higher Education and the Committee on Law, Order and Security of St. Petersburg. This year more than 500 scientific and creative works from 26 higher educational institutions of St. Petersburg were submitted to the competition. 82 works reached the final part of the competition: 26 essays, 25 articles, 24 in the poster/ caricature/photo nomination and 7 videos.

The Competition of the Ombudsperson in St. Petersburg contributes to increase students ' interest in topical issues of protection of human rights and dignity of the individual, the relationship between the state and the individual, the activities of state and public human rights institutions.

IOM Moscow has been a partner of the Competition since 2014, together with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR), St. Petersburg branch of the Russian Red Cross and others.

A special topic proposed by IOM Moscow for the 2020 Competition: «The future of online services for migrants in the Russian Federation: what migrants need and how to develop it effectively». 

IOM special prize was presented to Aleksander Igishev from St. Petersburg State University of Aerospace Instrumentation.

Video-address by IOM Moscow Chief of Mission, Abdusattor Esoev