The head of the National Police Igor Klymenko held an online meeting with representatives of the US State Department
During the meeting, the parties shared the results of the implementation of joint projects - the introduction of community police officers, the creation of units of the main inspection and migration police in the structure of the National Police of Ukraine, as well as discussed the issues of human rights observance.
The event was attended by representatives of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, the Bureau of International Affairs, Drugs and Law Enforcement of the US Department of State, as well as the US Embassy in Ukraine.
Igor Klymenko thanked the American side for supporting the reform of the National Police since 2015, and for cooperation in the implementation of joint projects that are being implemented in the department.
“All our projects are primarily aimed at forming trusting relations between the police and civil society, and also aim at creating a safe environment,” the head of the National Police said.
In turn, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Cara McDonald, called positive developments of the National Police in combating trafficking in human beings and the creation of the Main Inspectorate, a unit designed to counter abuses by police officers.
“We are partners in efforts aimed at our common security and support all the democratic and Euro-Atlantic aspirations of Ukraine. Such interaction is a priority for us,” said Cara McDonald.
The parties also discussed the issue of investigating certain offenses committed against activists and journalists. The situation of prevention and response to the facts of intolerance and discrimination of citizens on any grounds was not avoided, noting that this problem exists both in the United States of America and in Europe.
The head of the National Police noted that police officers in all regions of the state pay due attention to prevent such offenses, and in case of their commission — immediately stop and properly investigate. He also added that over the past five years in Ukraine, 753 criminal proceedings committed on the basis of intolerance have been initiated (in particular, we are talking about illegal actions against representatives of the LGBT community, national minorities and representatives of different faiths).
“We constantly inform that for such actions the law provides for both administrative and criminal liability. In order to prevent offenses, we cooperate with representatives of public organizations, including international ones. We always harshly crack down and react to all attempts to commit provocations and discriminate against citizens on any grounds,” Ihor Klymenko summed up.
Department of Communications of the National Police of Ukraine
