Statement by Ivan Šimonović, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, at the Workshop on the development of the National Human Rights Action Plan, Kyiv, 21 September 2015

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

 

I am very pleased to be with you today, on the occasion of this important event dedicated to the development of the Human Rights Action Plan of Ukraine, and to represent the United Nations system in Ukraine. 

Looking back, when I presented the first report issued by the Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine on 15 April 2014, here in Kyiv, I recall clearly  encouraging the authorities of Ukraine to develop a National Human Rights Action Plan as an instrument to address systemic challenges as well as more recent human rights violations. 

I am very pleased to see that with the approval on 25 August by President Poroshenko, an important step towards that objective has been taken. The first ever Human Rights Strategy has been developed in Ukraine.

Before speaking about the strategy itself, first allow me to say a few words about the merits of a Human Rights Strategy in the context of Ukraine.

A Human rights strategy serves a number of purposes: First, it embodies a commitment by the leaders of a country to respect, protect and fulfil their human rights obligations.  Second, it allows progress in implementation of those obligations to be measured in a transparent fashion and; third, and perhaps most importantly, it is a tool to hold Governments accountable for the human rights commitments they have made.

In the context of Ukraine, a Human Rights Strategy has the potential to address chronic human rights violations, amongst them, those identified and consistently reported on by the UN Human Rights Office, including lack of accountability for past human rights violations committed by security forces, the lack of independence of the judiciary and a denial of equal rights and protection, including though mismanagement of resources and through corruption. 

At the same time, it also has the ability to address conflict related human rights violations and provide for benchmarks and standards in ensuring the respect for human rights.

I know that the Government, led by the Ministries of Justice and Foreign Affairs, has cooperated closely with civil society and the Ombudsman’s Office towards the development of this strategy. I am equally pleased that through the support of the UN system in Ukraine and our international partners, in particular the Council of Europe, advice and expertise were provided regarding the process and applicable international standards.

Now we have moved to the next phase in this process, which is even more challenging: that of developing an Action Plan to bring life to the 24 priority human rights areas identified in the Strategy.

As many of you know, the idea of having National Human Rights Action Plans was launched by the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action adopted at the World Conference on Human Rights in 1993. The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action recommended that “…each State consider the desirability of drawing up a national action plan identifying steps whereby that State would improve the promotion and protection of human rights.” 

The analysis of the recommendations received from all international human rights mechanisms provides a solid basis for making a detailed Action Plan, thus ensuring their implementation in a comprehensive manner. I am pleased that OHCHR assisted through the provision of a booklet containing a thematic compilation of all recommendations from UN human rights mechanisms, which is available among the conference materials. These recommendations are an important tool and can be used as a check list.

It will be no less important for the Action Plan to be in line with the broader processes taking place in the country. I am thinking first and foremost of the Constitutional amendment process currently under way, which I know is supported in different ways by the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the European Union, the OSCE and bilateral partners. State reform is the objective but the ultimate beneficiaries are the citizens, which should come out empowered and better protected.

The Human Rights Action plan of Ukraine comes at a critical juncture when constitutional amendments on decentralization, the judicial system and human rights are starting to take concrete shape. It is essential that the Action Plan reflect the new constitutional principles being worked out and that its substance and articulation provide the necessary elements to facilitate their implementation.      

As experience shows, it is important that human rights Action Plans consist of clear objectives, well-defined activities, an implementation timeframe, responsible actors as well as benchmarks and indicators in order to monitor their implementation. To be robust and credible, implementation and monitoring must also include a role for National Human Rights Institutions, such as the Ombudsman Office, and civil society actors. The proposed structure of the Action Plan follows this model, which is welcome. 

Allocating sufficient financial resources to transforming rhetoric into reality will be key to ensuring the Action Plan does not simply remain a document consisting of good intentions. I am well aware of the very difficult times prevailing in this country. However, it is important for the authorities to live up to the expectations of society, which wants and deserves change for the better.   

 

Ladies and gentlemen,

I would caution against the temptation to rush this important process. The need for more justice, accountability and fairness can only be achieved through proper consultations to ensure necessary support by those most affected by this Plan.   

The ultimate aim of a Human Rights Action Plan should be to impact on the lives of the people in the country. That is why I welcome the existing good collaboration with civil society and encourage further these important partnerships.

To conclude, a Human Rights Action Plan can serve not only as a strategic roadmap to address human rights gaps in a comprehensive manner, it can also be an important tool to identify priority areas for support by external partners, including  by the UN system, regional organisations and bilateral donors. This approach will ensure complementarity and closer collaboration among these actors and avoid duplication in terms of activities, planning and programming at the national level. 

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, for its part, looks forward to continuing to support the Government of Ukraine in this highly important process. As we also co-chair a UN Working Group on Human Rights together with UNDP, I can also convey that the United Nations system as a whole stands united in this regard. The United Nations system will consider human rights among the key guiding principles for its support to Ukraine.   

Thank you.