Kateryna Pavlichenko: Community police officers are well aware of the problems and needs of national minorities in their communities
Deputy Interior Minister Kateryna Pavlichenko met with the OSCE delegation headed by High Commissioner for National Minorities Kairat Abdrakhmanov. This was the first visit of Mr. Abdrakhmanov to the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the status of high commissioner. The parties discussed the issue of observance of the rights of national minorities in Ukraine.
Representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs noted that the biggest challenge for the domestic law enforcement system is the situation of violation of the rights of Crimean Tatars in the Russian-occupied Crimea. In addition, Kateryna Pavlichenko told OSCE representatives about the projects implemented by the Ministry of Internal Affairs on the protection of the rights of national minorities.
Kairat Abdrakhmanov noted that since 1991, Ukrainian society has made a significant step in issues of tolerance and is an example for many other countries. He also stressed that today in African countries one can often meet graduates of Ukrainian universities, often in leading positions of states, and this is a rather significant indicator that Ukraine uses the right policy practices in relation to national minorities. “As experience shows, even in calm and tolerant countries there is always the possibility of conflict. the conflict is based on intolerance, so law enforcement must react correctly.
Today, law enforcement agencies are an important element for a socially cohesive society,” he said.
In turn, Ekaterina Pavlichenko assured that the Ministry of Internal Affairs has been taking steps for a long time to improve work with national minorities. For example, the community police officers who have recently appeared in Ukraine are those qualified personnel who are well aware of the problems and needs of national minorities in their communities. They are the first to respond to the challenges that arise in communities.
The OSCE High Commissioner for National Minorities assured that the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe will continue to provide expert and legal assistance to Ukraine. OSCE representatives announced their readiness to provide recommendations for police forces related to work in multinational societies.
It is about how the police, the leadership of the state and other security services should work in multinational societies. This includes recommendations on recruitment and training of workers working with minorities and how to involve such minorities in cooperation with law enforcement, and agreed that the Ministry of Internal Affairs, together with the OSCE, should transfer its work to the Balkan countries.
Department of Communications of the Ministry of Internal Affairs
PHOTO by Andriy Novitskogo
