Delegation of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine took part in the ninth session of the Human Rights Dialogue between Ukraine and the EU
The purpose of the meeting, which took place on April 25, 2024, is to exchange information on measures taken by Ukraine to ensure European standards of respect for human rights in all spheres of public policy, as well as to familiarize with the EU's human rights novelties, taking into account the official screening of legislation and preparation for negotiations.
The first part of the meeting was devoted to the discussion of violations of international human rights and humanitarian law due to the large-scale invasion and armed aggression of Russia
In her speech, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Kateryna Pavlichenko informed about Russia's systemic violations of the norms of international humanitarian law, in particular about more than 117 thousand criminal proceedings on the facts of committing crimes related to the armed conflict on the territory of Ukraine, initiated by the National Police of Ukraine. The facts of torture, illegal detention and ill-treatment of prisoners were also highlighted. In particular, the National Police identified 101 places where Russians illegally detened/detained and tortured citizens. Ekaterina Pavlichenko stressed that among the prisoners of war there are employees of the State Emergency Service who, according to the provisions of the Geneva Conventions, are not combatants, and therefore have the status of civilian hostages held by the Russian Federation in violation of the norms of international humanitarian law.
“Numerous violations of the norms of international humanitarian law are evidenced, including mass burials that were discovered in the de-occupied territories,” Kateryna Pavlichenko noted and emphasized that the efforts of law enforcement agencies are aimed at proper documentation and investigation of each crime in order to prosecute Responsible. To do this, it is necessary to combine efforts both at the national and international level. The National Police cooperates fruitfully with the Europol Analytical Project on the Investigation of International Crimes.
The Deputy Minister also drew attention to the results of the Office for Missing Persons under Special Circumstances, which works in the Ministry of Internal Affairs as the Secretariat of the Commissioner for Missing Persons under Special Circumstances. Thus, the Office has ensured the filling of the Unified Register of Persons Missing Under Special Circumstances, which currently contains information on more than 37 thousand people.
The EU side expressed admiration for the courage of Ukrainians and confirmed its unwavering support for the Government of Ukraine, in particular its readiness to unite international efforts to bring Russia to justice, and informed about the 13th package of sanctions, which includes 106 individuals and 88 legal entities.
During the second part of the meeting, the parties discussed the issues of approximation of national legislation to EU norms in terms of protection of the rights of national, ethnic, religious and other minorities, children, gender equality, combating discrimination, freedom of speech and prevention of human rights violations by law enforcement officers. Representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs delegation updated information on the implementation of projects on the implementation of the system “Custody records”, “Driving schools for persons with disabilities”, “Safety of the educational environment”.
Department of Communications of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine
