Photo documents 1
Photo documents 1
Photo documents 1
Any reforms in sovereign Ukraine should be carried out
for the sake of people, their rights and freedoms
Dear reader!
The next, third number of the “Bulletin” continues acquainting you with the issues of human rights and freedoms protection, as well as with the activities of the institution of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for human rights in Ukraine.
The establishment of this constitutional institution in our state proved to be an extremely important step in the cause of human rights protection. Despite objective and subjective difficulties, absence of necessary working conditions at the initial stage of work, financial hardships and problems with premises, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for human rights has been doing everything possible to fulfill properly her functions. Therefore today it is possible to state that the Ombudsman institution came off in Ukraine, it is performing its tasks and continues to improve its work. During the bygone period the institution has acquired high authority in the society, resolved a lot of important social issues and now very often nationals address to it as to their last hope. Proceedings of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for human rights concerning citizens’ money savings, rights of the defunct journalist H.Gongadze’s mother, events of the 9th of March, 2001 became broadly known in Ukraine.
These issues were discussed during the round table “Protection of human rights in Ukraine on the present stage: problems and prospects” organized on the occasion of the third anniversary since the establishment of the institution of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for human rights in Ukraine. Heads of higher establishments of state power, Ukrainian parliamentarians, representatives of mass media and non-governmental organizations took part in its work. Verbatim report of this event is included in the Bulletin.
In June, 2001, in Kharkiv a scientific conference on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of Ukraine “Constitution of Ukraine – the base for the modernization of the state and society” took place. The President of Ukraine Leonid D. Kuchma, heads and representatives of central bodies of executive and judicial power and scientists participated in the event. In her speech at the conference on the theme: “Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights in the system of constitutional mechanisms of protecting human rights and freedoms in Ukraine” the Commissioner provided concrete responses concerning the role of the institution and substantiated its importance in safeguarding human rights and fundamental freedoms. This speech is included in the Bulletin in full.
Despite measures undertaken by relevant branches of power, mass and brutal human rights violations still take place in Ukraine. The issues of observing rights of pensioners, disabled persons and refugees still remain sore subjects in Ukraine. On the eve of the International Human Rights Day the Commissioner organized a round table “Protecting rights of the most vulnerable groups of society”, where abovementioned issues have been discussed by the government officials, people’s deputies of Ukraine, representatives of international human rights institutions.
On November 9, 2001, 25 years have passed since the establishment of the Ukrainian Helsinki Group, the first organization in Ukraine to start the fight against human rights violations, being guided by international instruments, in particular, Helsinki Agreements. Members of the Ukrainian Helsinki Group are people with difficult fates, many of them did not live to see the establishment of an independent Ukrainian state. But we all should always remember their contribution to the movement of human rights protection. This, in particularly, was stressed by the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights in her speeches dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the Ukrainian Helsinki Group. They are also published in the Bulletin.
The Bulletin contains as well photo documents relating to the above-mentioned round tables, proceedings, conferences and other activities of the Commissioner.
I hope that materials of the present Bulletin will be of interest to everyone who is not indifferent to issues of human rights protection.
Wishing you all the best - Nina KARPACHOVA
