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IV. CiviL and PERSONAL rights in ukraine: THE STATUS OF LEGISLATIVE SECURITY AND EXERCISE

4.1.1. HUMAN RIGHT TO LIFE

The right to life is among the most important and valuable of human rights and freedoms. The universality of this rights and its natural essence are emphasized in international legal instruments recognized by all the civilized nations of the world. In particular, Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states “everyone has the right to life, liberty and the security of person.” Article 2 of the 1950 Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms states that everyone’s right to life shall be protected by law and no one shall be deprived of his life intentionally. These provisions of international legal instruments are fully reflected in the Fundamental Law of Ukraine. In the preamble to the Ukrainian Constitution it is declared that the state provides for the guarantee of human rights and freedoms and of the worthy conditions of human life, while Article 3 of the Fundamental Law stipulates that “the human being, his life and health, honor and dignity, inviolability and security are recognized in Ukraine as the highest social value.” Article 27 of the Constitution stipulates that every person has the inalienable right to life and no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of life.

The inalienable right to life is guaranteed by the prohibition of capital punishment that follows directly from the constitutional provision by which it is the duty of the state to protect human life. The constitutional right to life is elaborated in such provisions of the Constitution as the prohibition of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment that violates human dignity, as well as prohibition of medical, scientific or other experiments on persons without their consent.

The constitutional right to life also includes the right to proper, safe and healthy work conditions (Article 43), the right to health protection, medical care and medical insurance (Article 49), and the right to an environment that is safe for life and health (Article 50). Everyone has the right to free development of his personality, to freedom and security that may not be deprived otherwise than by legally specified conditions and in conformity with legal procedure.

Following from the hierarchy of values specified by the Constitution, the state has to take proper care to ensure the safety of each person and create respective conditions that would exclude unlawful encroachments upon human life, health, freedom and dignity.

The right to life is closely linked not only with the right to physical existence, but also with the creation of worthy conditions of existence that is also among the important duties of the state. In the opinion of the Commissioner, all the other constitutional rights of a person should be considered as such that specify the right to life in all its diversity, and without the exercise of this right any other rights and freedoms loose their sense. Therefore, the protection of the right to life is one of the priorities in the activity of the Commissioner.

The Commissioner for Human Rights is constantly analyzing how the state ensures the right to life. In this area, as the analyses show, certain measures are taken. To date, a package of laws has been adopted to regulate socioeconomic relations, streamline law enforcement activity, and specify the legal foundations for health care; quite a few socioeconomic measures are being effected to create material conditions and legal support for safety of life and to combat crime.

But as Ukraine is living through a transition from one social system to market relations, it has been beset by extremely complex socioeconomic developments that can be rightfully qualified as a crisis. During the past nine years, GDP dropped by 60%. The ratio between the most and the least well-off population groups is more than 12 times, while in Western Europe it does no exceed six times. Arrears of wages, pensions, stipends and other social welfare payments have become chronic. The social infrastructure is deteriorating, the medical care system is in difficult straits, provision of accessible food products has worsened, and for millions of families housing has become a serious problem. This has caused a catastrophic decline in the standards of living of the overwhelming majority of the population and poverty, which, in turn, has had a negative impact on the demographic processes, specifically on the death rates exceeding birth rates and on the reduction of the mean length of life. Besides, the rates of unnatural and violent mortality have increased.

The demographic situation of any country mirrors both its socioeconomic conditions and the state’s compliance with fundamental human rights. In this respect Ukraine belongs to the most adverse countries in the world. The Commissioner holds that the counteraction to the critical demographic developments in Ukraine is not adequate to its scope and acuteness. The issue of preserving and reproducing the state’s population practically has not been integrated into the system of the principal elements of state care and regulation. And even, when under the pressure of objective circumstances, legislation was passed and respective measures were taken, they were not effective and inadequate to the nature of the existing problems and were relegated to the peripheral matters of state policy. In different areas of socioeconomic policy as well as in the adopted laws and bylaws the demographic implications of their effect are neither analyzed nor projected. Neither is there any assurance of the proper exercise of such fundamental human rights as the right to life and health (articles 3 and 27 of the Ukrainian Constitution) as well as the right to found a family and entitlement to special care and assistance of motherhood and childhood (articles 16 and 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 51 of the Ukrainian Constitution). The right to information about the real demographic situation of society is actually not exercised at all.

The state’s guarantees on ensuring the exercise of a person’s right to life have been replaced by measures that are formal in nature and have no demographic effect. As a result of disregard of the fundamental human rights the country began registering a demographic decline, in particular since 1993 when the size of Ukraine’s population was systematically diminishing (see Table 4.1).

Table 4.1. Number of births and deaths and natural population growth (reduction) in Ukraine in 1989–1999

According to official statistics, 1999, just like 1998, saw a reduction in the population size due to natural factors, migration processes, and untimely deaths (accidents, poisoning, homicides, suicides, and the like).

Birth rates in Ukraine are utterly low: while in 1989 the number of births was by 115% more than the number of deaths, in 1999 it was the other way around – births were only 58% of the number of deaths. The unfavorable ratio of births and deaths in 1991 reached the threshold of negative population growth, when mortality exceeded birth rates at a pace that increased with each passing year. In 1998 negative population growth was registered in all oblasts, except for Rivne oblast and Transcarpathia oblast, while in 1999 such a situation prevailed in all the regions of the country. In 1998 negative population growth was registered in all areas (except for Transcarpathia oblast), while from 1999 the same holds true in Transcarpathia oblast as well. During the past eight years, the population size decreased by 1.8 million people. But actually the decline in the growth potential was much greater. On the whole, the death rate in Ukraine continues to grow.

The natural decline in the population size has been observed as a stable and long-term factor since 1991 (see Figure 4.1). The most intensive decline occurred in the Chernihiv, Luhansk, Sumy, Poltava and Donetsk oblasts (by 9.8- 11.9%). In the western oblasts (Transcarpathia, Rivne, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi and Volyn) the decline has been negligible (0.3-2.5%). Natural decline in the rural areas exceeds almost 1.6 times the respective rate in the urban areas (9.2 persons per 1,000 of the population against 5.8 persons).

Figure 4.1. Natural increase (reduction) of Ukraine’s population size in 1989-1999 (thousand persons)

The increase in the absolute and relative number of deaths in 1989-1999 was caused due to growing mortality among all age groups (except for ages 1 to 14). Mortality is especially high throughout the employable age. In all age groups from 15 to 70 years, mortality among men is two-three times higher than mortality among women. This gap is the more evident among the young and average employable age groups due to the combined impact of life conditions and production factors. Among men from 30 to 39 years old it is 3.6-3.8 higher than among women. This gap results in the large difference between the mean length of life of men and women.

The increase in old-age deaths caused a substantial decline in the mean length of life: in 1989-1995 it dropped by 4.9 years among men and by 2.6 years among women. It was especially high among men in urban areas (by 5.3 years). The main reasons behinds the decline was growing mortality due to blood circulation diseases as well as accidents, homicides, suicides, and other external factors.

The gap in the mean length of life of Ukraine’s population as compared with the economically developed countries has reached a humiliating level. In 1998 the mean length of life for men was 62.7 years and for women 73.5 years, which respectively is by 10 and 6 years less than in the countries of Western Europe and by 14 and 9 years less than in Japan, the country with the highest mean length of life. In this respect Ukraine holds 40th place among the European countries where the rate is under 75 years.

Ukraine’s migration relations with its near and far neighbors are developing unfavorably as well. From 1994 on external migration had a stable unfavorable balance, which amounted to an average of 106,000 persons during the past five years. The movement of people from inhabited areas, which traditionally was not typical for Ukraine in the pre-crisis period, is the main reason behind the large unfavorable migration balance. Negative population growth and the migration outflow caused the decline in the population size from 51,854,000 in early 1990 to 49,456,000 in early 2000, i.e. by 2,128,000 (see Table 4.1).

By predictions of the Institute of Economy under the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, Ukraine’s population size in the year 2026 will drop to 42 million.

The causes of mortality indirectly confirm the condition of compliance with the right to life. For instance, a high mortality rate speaks of unfavorable conditions of life and health care in the country. What are called external factors of mortality reflect safety conditions at the workplace, the moral and psychological state of people, growing crime, the condition of the environment, and whether the food products people consume conform with quality standards.

Table 4.2. Overall death rates in Ukraine in 1989–1999

According to official data, among the causes of death are, first, diseases of the blood circulation system, second, tumors, and, third, external factors (accidents, homicides, suicides, and the like). With men external factors hold second place among the external factors of mortality (see tables 4.2 and 4.3). Among the causes of growing mortality in 1999 were the following: infectious and parasitogenic diseases (by 22.9%), diseases of digestive organs (by 4.6%), diseases of the blood circulation system (by 4.1%), diseases of respiratory organs (by 3.4%), accidents, homicides, suicides and other external effects (by 1.2%), and tumors (by 0.8%). By ranking, the causes of mortality remained the same as in the preceding years.

Table 4.3. Mortality by specific causes in 1998–1999 рр. (persons)

The Commissioner draws attention to the fact that the high mortality rate is the result of different factors. In particular, unsatisfactory compliance with the provisions on the right to labor (Article 43 of the Ukrainian Constitution) and the right to social protection (Article 46) worsened the material conditions of human existence and, consequently, undermined the health of people. The condition of the population’s health has always been an important indicator of demographic and social well-being. Currently, Ukraine is more concerned with preserving health than with improving it.

The analysis of the demographic processes going on in Ukraine during the past eight-ten years give reason for the Commissioner for Human Rights to state that our government, lacking as it does a well-defined demographic policy, has an unsatisfactory record in performing its duties in protecting the life and health of the nation’s citizenry.

Regrettably, the health of Ukrainians has been deteriorating markedly during the past few years. This problem is discussed in greater detail in the section Right to Health Protection and Medical Care in Chapter VI. The deterioration in the health of people came as a result of unfavorable socioeconomic factors, an ecological crisis aggravated by the consequences of the Chornobyl accident, social stress-related psychological factors, and also owing to the conditions of health care which WHO experts assess as critical. Apart from the generally dismal epidemic situation, there have been outbreaks of dangerous diseases unprecedented at times of peace, and the spread of alcoholism, narcomania and toxicomania.

The Commissioner for Human Rights is concerned about the rising incidence rate of tuberculosis that has always been considered a social disease related to poor conditions of life. This problem proved to be especially acute in Luhansk oblast, from where the Commissioner received quite a few petitions from citizens. On their basis an inquiry was instituted into the violation of human and civic rights and freedoms. In the process of investigation, the Commissioner traveled to the region to meet with the personnel and patients of four anti-TB dispensaries and a surgical tuberculosis sanatorium. The spread of the dangerous disease in this area continues to increase alarmingly. While in 1997 there were 49 TB cases per 100,000 of the population, in 1998 the rate amounted to 59.9 and in 1999 to 65.7. In a number of areas in Luhansk oblast, specifically in the cities of Krasnodon, Krasny Luch and Stakhanov, there are more than 80 TB cases per 100,000 of the population. The infection rate, especially of the most dangerous open forms of TB, tended to grow throughout 1999.

Lately, cases of tuberculosis have been detected among newborn babies and entire families in Luhansk oblast. The TB mortality rate in the oblast increased from 18.4 per 100,000 of the population in 1998 to 26.3 in 1999. The average age of those who died of the disease is 36 years.

In view of the critical situation in Luhansk oblast the Commissioner for Human Rights spoke at the out-of-town session of the Cabinet Ministers that was held on June 2, 1999 in Luhansk with the participation of President Leonid Kuchma. The Commissioner raised the question of taking immediate measures to deal with the TB epidemic and supported the government-approved program on combating the disease in the country.

By early 2000 about 640,000 TB cases were registered in Ukraine, and close to 217,000 children were registered patients at dispensaries. 27,188 persons (54.4 per 100,000 of the population) are active carriers of the disease. According to the World Health Organization, a situation qualifies as an epidemic if there are 50 TB cases per 100,000 of the population. The most critical situation developed in Kherson oblast where the incidence rate of all forms of TB came to 70.4 cases per 100,000 of the population in 1998 and to almost 73.7 in 1999; in Zhytomyr oblast the ratio was 59.4 and 65.9 respectively; and in Mykolaiv oblast 62.5 and 62.9 respectively. TB-related mortality in 1989-1999 increased more than twofold, while among people of employable able it increased 2.3 times (see figures 4.2 and 4.3). TB in Ukraine causes every year from 8,000 to 9,000 deaths, i.e. the disease deprives the life of one citizen every 25 minutes. TB-caused mortality among men is much higher than among women (nine times in 1998). The mortality rate among men begins to go up rapidly after 20 years and reaches its highest point at the age of 45-55, after which it slowly declines. Over 80% of TB patients die at the age of 15-59 and about 20% after retirement age. The dynamics of mortality caused by TB per 100,000 of the population is critically dangerous in Volyn oblast (18.1 in 1998, 20.3 in 1999), Dnipropetrovsk oblast (20.7 and 24.8 respectively), Donetsk oblast (23.0 and 21.7), Kirovograd oblast (17.2 and 23.9), Mykolaiv oblast (21.1 and 34.3), Odessa oblast (19.4 and 23.4), Kherson oblast (31.7 and 64.4), and, as mentioned earlier, Luhansk oblast (18.4 and 26.3)

In view of the unsatisfactory situation in ensuring the right to life and the need to deal with the TB epidemic in accordance with the measures approved by the Cabinet of Ministers, the Commissioner for Human Rights addressed a respective petition to the Prime Minister on June 25, 1999.

SECOND PART

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