FROM THE EDITORS

This report focuses on the human rights situation in Ukraine in 2009–2010. It contains a “Civic Assessment of government policy in the area of human rights” and an in-depth analysis of specific aspects of the human rights situation during the period in question.

The Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union (UHHRU) and the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group (KHPG) would like to gratefully acknowledge the enormous help offered us in creating this Human Rights Organizations Report. First and foremost we wish to thank:

The organizations which kindly provided material for this report:

— The All-Ukrainian Public Organization “Committee of Voters of Ukraine”
— The Association of Ukrainian Monitors on Human Rights Observation in the Police Activities
— The Center for Civil Advocacy (Lviv)
— The Center for Law and Political Research “SiM” (Lviv)
— The Center for Political and Legal Reform (Kyiv)
— The Charity Foundation “Medicine and Law” (Lviv)
— The Charity Foundation “Horenie” [“Fearing”] (Pavlohrad, Dnipropetrovsk region)
— The Civil Methodical Center “Vsesvit” [“Universe”] (Kharkiv)
— The Civil Network “Opora” [“Reliance”]
— The Civic Advocacy Center (Lviv)
— The Civic Organization “Donetsk Memorial”
— The Civic Organization “Helsinki Initiative-XXI” (Chortkiv, Ternopil region)
— The Civic Organization “Social Action” (Kyiv)
— The Civic Environmental and Humanitarian Association “Zeleny Svit” [“Green World”]
— The Civic Communal Self-Defense (Luhansk)
— The Donetsk Regional Branch of the Committee of Voters of Ukraine
— The East-Ukrainian Center of Public Initiatives (Luhansk)
— The Information Consultative Women Center (Kyiv)
— The Institute of Legal Research and Strategies (Kharkiv)
— The Institute of Mass Information (Kyiv)
— The Institute of Religious Freedom (Kyiv)
— The International Women’s Human Rights Center «La Strada — Ukraine»
— The Kharkiv Institute of Social Research
— The Kherson Regional Charity and Health Foundation
— The Kherson Regional Branch of the Committee of Voters of Ukraine
— The Laboratory of Legal Initiatives (Kyiv)
— The Luhansk Human Rights Protection Group
— The Luhansk Women’s Human Rights Center “Chaika” [“Seagul”]
— The Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU)
— The Telekrytyka (Kyiv)
— The Vinnitsa Association of Doctors
The authors and co-authors of particular units, as well as the researchers of material used here:
Taras Antoshevsky, Oleksandr Bakhov, Halyna Bakhmatova, Volodymyr Batchaev, Yuri
Belousov, Dementiy Belyy, Halyna Bocheva, Tetiana Bordunis, Tamara Bugayets, Oleksandr
Bukalov, Andriy Chernousov, Yuri Chumak, Andriy Dydenko, Maryana Evsiukova, Iryna
Fedorovych, Leonid Gema, Yevhen Grigorenko, Denis Hrechko, Olha Kalashnyk, Denis
Kobzin, Mykola Kozirev, Ludmyla Kovalchuk, Roman Kuybida, Roman Lebed’, Maryna Legenka,
Kateryna Levchenko, Oleh Levitskiy, Oleh Martynenko, Anna Martyniuk, Serhiy Morozov, Aygul Mukanova, Oksana Nesterenko, Oleksansr Pavlychenko, Vadim Pyvovarov, Andriy Rakhansky, Vsevolod Rechytsky, Roman Romanov, Maksim Sereda, Victoria Siumar, Maksim Shcherbatyuk, Maria Shutalyova, Serhiy Shvets, Oleksandr Stepanenko, Olena Suslova, Mykhaylo Tarakhkalo, Leonid Tarasenko, Serhiy Tkachenko, Gennadiy Tokarev, Lida Topolevska, Ruslan Topolevsky, Natalia Tselovalnichenko, Maksim Vasin, Irina Yakovets, Volodymyr Yavorsky, Tetiana Yatskyv, Serhiy Zaets, Yana Zaikina, Larisa Zalyvna.

This report would not have been possible without the support and assistance of Halya Coynash, Volodymyr Derkachov, Maria Dmytryeva; Irayida Fesenko, Les Herasymchuk, Oleg Miroshnichenko, Darya Rublinetsky, Oleksandr Savransky, Oleh Shatokhin; Victor Stoliarenko, Vitaly Svyatsky, Marina Visotska and Boris Zakharov.

We would like also to express our gratitude to the National Endowment for Democracy (USA), who provided financial assistance for the preparation of this Report.

Arkadiy Bushchenko, Yevhen Zakharov