Director for the Media Law Institute Taras Shevchenko believes that many of the points in the draft law are at variance with norms of European practice

The author believes the time is long overdue to stop the endless empty chatter and begin real reform

There is no more immediate task in Ukraine than that on which we are working – the creation of a powerful machine for independent civic assessment of the work of the authorities, for appealing against decisions which run counter to the law, human rights and public interest, for the lobbying of these interests.

There is no more immediate task in Ukraine than that on which we are working – the creation of a powerful machine for independent civic assessment of the work of the authorities, for appealing against decisions which run counter to the law, human rights and public interest, for the lobbying of these interests.

Russian journalist Alexander Kosvintsev, who has asked for political asylum in Ukraine, may receive ordinary refugee status, although admittedly with the wording “for political convictions”. This is since Ukrainian legislation does not have the status “political refugee”.

Russian journalist Alexander Kosvintsev, who has asked for political asylum in Ukraine, may receive ordinary refugee status, although admittedly with the wording “for political convictions”. This is since Ukrainian legislation does not have the status “political refugee”.

The civic network OPORA condemns the actions of those Deputies who, in voting for a defender of human rights in Ukraine, were governed by political motives and not by their duty to the public. We promise that public control over the actions of the newly elected Ombudsperson will be scrupulous and vigilant.

Ukrainian human rights groups did not succeed in bringing real human rights defender, Yevhen Zakharov., a person enjoying real support in his professional milieu, to the post of Human Rights Ombudsperson

IMI Director says that the requirement contained in the draft law voted for on Wednesday to publish founders still fails to ensure that the public know which politicians or oligarchs are behind any given television channel or publication

With the aim of improving the standard of living and building an open democratic society, representatives of civic association and unions in the Ternopil region have decided to unite forces in this coalition

Yevhen Zakharov believes that the institution of regional representatives of the Human Rights Ombudsperson needs to be introduced in order to increase the effectiveness of the work of the Ombudsperson in Ukraine

Russian human rights defenders have declared Mikhail Khodorkovsky and all those involved in the YUKOS case victims of political repression. Chair of the Moscow Helsinki Group, Ludmila Alexeeva, says that from now on Russian human rights defenders will themselves determine which Russian prisoners are victims of political repression.

The draft law proposes that when submitting documents to receive or extend broadcasting licenses to the National Television and Radio Broadcasting Council, information will have to be provided about the founders, co-founders, owners and joint owners of the media outlet.

The draft law proposes that when submitting documents to receive or extend broadcasting licenses to the National Television and Radio Broadcasting Council, information will have to be provided about the founders, co-founders, owners and joint owners of the media outlet.

On 6 February a press conference was held in Donetsk to present the results of a six-month project monitoring interaction of the authorities and the public. Specialists consider that the local authority elections on proportional, party lines have exacerbated the problem of mutual understanding between the authorities and the public.

One of the many roundtables on “Public control over the work of the Human Rights Ombudsperson – guarantee for effective human rights protection in Ukraine” held throughout Ukraine on 5 February took place in Mykolaiv. The participants came to the conclusion that the work of the Human Rights Ombudsperson and his / her Secretariat require public monitoring.

During a recent training course journalists gained practice in overcoming the bureaucratic barrier; seeking alternative sources of information; using official documents and creating their own networks of information sources.

KHPG, in monitoring healthcare services, plans in the next months to establish how transparent in fact the expenditure on central district hospitals is, what modern equipment they have, whether they have ambulance teams and cars and how able they are to send doctors to each populated area, as well as whether they have sufficient supplies of blood.

Regional correspondent for the newspaper “Novaya gazeta”* in the Kemerovsk region, Alexander Kosvintsev, fled his home after accusations from the law enforcement agencies which he says were prompted by his journalist work

Regional correspondent for the newspaper “Novaya gazeta”* in the Kemerovsk region, Alexander Kosvintsev, fled his home after accusations from the law enforcement agencies which he says were prompted by his journalist work