Recommendations of the participants of the round table "Observance of human rights in Ukraine - international assessment".
The participants of the round table are pointing out that the observance of human rights in Ukraine is attentively controlled by many state institutions of the independent Ukraine, by legislative, executive and judicial power branches, human rights protecting organizations and democratic community. The Supreme Rada of Ukraine permanently improves the legislative base that guarantees the observance of human rights.
The Committee in charge of human rights, national minorities and international relations, along with the legislative activities, exercises the systematic control of the realization of human rights and of the violations in this sphere. In December 2001 the Committee, jointly with law-enforcing structures and other corresponding agencies, organized the public hearings «On the observance by Ukraine of the demands of the Conventions of the UNO and the Council of Europe against torture, cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment and punishment». The constructive, by the assessment of experts, recommendations addressed to the corresponding power structures and agencies were adopted at the hearings.
The participants of the round table tried to analyze (at least indirectly) the state of the fulfillment of the above-mentioned recommendations.
Besides, the participants of the round table discussed the situation with the observance of human rights in Ukraine. One of the subjects of this debate was «The report on the observance of human rights in Ukraine – 2002», which had been prepared and published by the Bureau in charge of questions of democracy, human rights and labor of the US State Department.
After the discussion of a number of urgent and acute questions on the observance and violations of human rights, taking into account the propositions expressed during the round table, the participants want to present the following recommendations:
1. To the Supreme Rada of Ukraine, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, ministries and agencies of Ukraine:
- To launch the propagandistic campaign concerning human rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution and operating laws of Ukraine, as well as the European Convention on human rights, other international conventions and acts signed by Ukraine. In the framework of this campaign the most urgent materials about the protection of human rights and freedoms must be regularly printed in periodicals, transmitted by radio and TV; these materials must be prepared by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine.
- To analyze the operating laws of Ukraine and to present the propositions on introducing the changes and amendments to the Criminal and Civil-Procedural Codes of Ukraine with the aim of decriminalization of some kinds of punishment and the improvement of the existing norms according to the international standards in the sphere of human rights protection.
- To extend the legal principles of judicial and civil control of the activities of law-enforcing organs.
- To prohibit legislatively the interrogations of the detained and arrested in the absence of advocate.
- To prohibit legislatively to courts to use as proofs the evidence given under torture.
- To limit legislatively the term of keeping in custody during all stages of investigation and trial, to replace the incarceration by other preventive measures not connected with the deprivation of liberty.
2. To the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine:
- To improve the clarity of the reports sent to the international organizations on the fulfillment by the Ukrainian government of the international obligations in the sphere of the observance of human rights, to engage human rights protecting and other public organizations in the preparation of such reports.
- To order the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine to prepare the analytic report on the modern state of the observance of human rights in Ukraine. To direct the text of the report to the UNO Commission on human rights, Council of Europe, OSCE, the USA State Department and «Amnesty International». To publish the report in periodicals.
- To order the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine to consider the question jointly with other corresponding ministries and agencies and to present the recommendations on the creation of Public Surveillance councils in the regions, where penitentiary establishments are situated. To intensify the public control of the activities of law-enforcing organs in the penitentiaries.
- To consider the possibility of the legislative guarantees of recompensing the damage inflicted to the victims of torture and degrading treatment.
- To apply the effective measures for the improvement of the upkeep conditions in penitentiary establishments and preliminary prisons.
- To consider the possibility of introducing changes to the corresponding legal acts with the aim of decreasing the term of pre-trial incarceration (72 hours) during the consideration of administrative offences.
3. To the Supreme Court of Ukraine, General Prosecutor’s office of Ukraine, ombudsperson:
To intensify the control of the observance of human rights in penitentiaries, especially in the preliminary prisons.
To apply all possible measures for rendering the timely, complete and unbiased information to the international community about the measures realized in Ukraine for guaranteeing human rights, preventing torture and cruel treatment.
To provide the timely and unbiased medical examination of the persons, who complained about the application of torture to them.
4. To the Supreme Court of Ukraine, General Prosecutor’s office of Ukraine, ministries and agencies of Ukraine:
To guarantee the bringing to responsibility of the state officers guilty of applying torture, inflicting sufferings, of the facts of violence.
To change the court practices, to use more frequently the punishment measures not connected with deprivation of liberty, to increase the number of alternative punishments for petty offences.
To consider in the 3 rdquarter of 2003 at the sittings of the collective and deliberative councils (collegiums) the problems of guaranteeing human rights within the limits of their competence. To inform the Supreme Rada Committee in charge of human rights, national minorities and international relations and the ombudsperson about the results of this consideration.
To inform, every three months, the Supreme Rada Committee in charge of human rights, national minorities and international relations about the results of the consideration of the appeals and complaints of citizens against the application of torture and degrading treatment by state officers.
To use more actively the mass media for informing the population about the measures taken for guaranteeing human rights and preventing the violations of human rights on the side of the officers of law-enforcing organs.
5. To profile committees of the Supreme Rada of Ukraine, interested ministries and agencies:
To support actively during the approval of the State budget of Ukraine the allocation of the proper sums for financing the upkeep of the persons, who stay in penitentiaries and preliminary prisons, for restoration and modernization of these establishments.