MOSCOW, October 18. /TASS/. The UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights retain their relevance in spite of attempts by the collective West to supplant long-accepted international legal norms with contrived, self-serving "rules," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in his address to the organizers and participants of an international conference on human rights issues and best practices for ombudsmen.

"Today, when the collective West is trying to replace universally recognized international legal norms with its own made-up ‘rules,’ it is extremely important to remind the global community that the Declaration [of Human Rights], just as many other documents, above all, the UN Charter, still retain their pertinence," Lavrov stated in his address, as published on the website of the Russian Foreign Ministry. The top Russian diplomat called the timing of the conference symbolic, noting that it marked the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Lavrov also pointed out that the Russian Foreign Ministry welcomes the fostering of dialogue between ombudsmen from different countries. "Your forum, being held at the initiative of Russia’s human rights commissioner, has traditionally brought together a representative group of experts. I see this as the foundation for professional and depoliticized discussions," he added. "I have no doubt that this time as well, the event will make a significant contribution to the further strengthening of both national systems for protecting human rights and mechanisms for cooperating on human rights at the international level," the Russian foreign minister concluded.

Additionally, he asserted that the event "will facilitate the formulation of coordinated approaches to the understanding of human rights, based on the principles of mutual respect and the national features of sovereign states."