Meeting of the Human Rights Dialogue between Ukraine and the EU with the participation of Tetiana Kovalchuk was held
On June 23, a meeting of the Dialogue on Human Rights between Ukraine and the EU took part in the format of a video conference, attended by Deputy Minister Tetiana Kovalchuk as part of the official Ukrainian delegation.
The meeting, as always, took place in the format of an open dialogue, during which the EU side informed about innovations in the EU policy on the protection of human rights, in particular the new EU Green Deal and the stages of implementation of the EU directive on the protection of whistleblowers.
In his speech, the head of the EU delegation Richard Tibbells once again stressed the need to adapt Ukrainian national legislation within the framework of the obligations under the Association Agreement, including the adoption of a law on freedom of peaceful assembly, as well as a full and impartial investigation the events that took place on the Maidan and in Odessa, and attacks on journalists and public activists.
Deputy Minister Tetiana Kovalchuk informed the EU side about the measures taken by the Ministry of Internal Affairs to strengthen the protection of human rights in the activities of the bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, in particular about the decision to introduce a system of Custody records throughout Ukraine, as well as additional psychological examination of candidates for police service.
“Zero tolerance for cases of harsh and inappropriate treatment by the police is our only way to affirm European values in Ukraine.” In the context of protecting the rights of representatives of national minorities and the LGBT community, significant progress has been made, in particular on the implementation of the Strategy for the Protection and Integration of the Roma National Minority into Ukrainian society, as well as the effective response of the police to cases of violations of the rights of LGBT representatives”, - said Tatiana Kovalchuk.
In addition, the high level of cooperation of the Ministry of Internal Affairs with the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine was noted. Representatives of the EU delegation agreed that as a result of the introduction of the new Concept for the Protection of Public Order into the activities of the National Police and the introduction of groups of “negotiators”, mass gatherings have been held in recent times without significant disturbances.
A separate block of questions concerned the implementation of the norms of the law of Ukraine “On the prevention and counteraction of domestic violence”. The Deputy Minister noted that in order to prevent an increase in domestic violence, especially in the conditions of quarantine restrictions, the National Police significantly strengthened preventive measures.
“We understand that in conditions of restrictions and isolation, the risk of domestic violence is increasing, but this is not a problem of Ukraine, it is a problem of the whole world, and we as a law enforcement agency are now focusing as much as possible on prevention to prevent an increase in the number of victims, which are often children,” said Tetiana Kovalchuk.
