Real threat to human rights in places of unfreedom

The National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) has been operating in Ukraine since 2012. It aims to counteract torture and ill-treatment in places of unfreedom (residential care facilities, prisons, geriatric homes, etc.).

The NPM operates in the “ombudsman +” format: visits to the places of unfreedom are made by staff of the Office of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights and civic monitors-volunteers. For six years of NPM in Ukraine, two hundred civic monitors have been selected under the independent procedure and undergone professional training. Together with the staff of the Office of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights they have made almost 1,500 monitoring visits. The international community recognized the introduction of the NPM as one of Ukraine’s greatest achievements in combating torture.

Independence is a key requirement for the national preventive mechanisms. Today, the Ukrainian NPM faces the threat of loss of the independence since its work almost entirely influenced by the ombudsman’s policy. At the moment, the public is actually ousted from participating in the NPM: the newly elected ombudsman ignores any attempts of dialogue with the monitors and the NPM Expert Council member organizations. The monitoring visits are made without the monitors.

The non-governmental organizations that stood at the origins of the NPM’s creation in Ukraine and have been supporting its work for six years, appeal to all the people concerned with the request to prevent the NPM from being transformed into a puppet agency. The monitoring over places of unfreedom must be impartial and professional. To this end, the organizations form the Coalition, which, among other things, will promote the independence of the NPM and continue the monitoring over the places of unfreedom.

The Coalition of the NGOs declares the willingness to cooperate with all the partners from among non-governmental and state-run organizations as well as international bodies in the area of prevention of torture, provided that they support the following requirements:

– The NPM remains an independent mechanism whose members make regular visits to the places of unfreedom without prior notice and prepare impartial reports based on the results of visits;

– Self-ruling community of professional monitors continues to actively participate in the NPM;

– All NPM members act in a transparent and accountable manner.

The appeal is welcomed to be sign. 

Signatories:

Ukraine Without Torture

Human Rights Information Center

Expert Human Rights Center

Association of Ukrainian Human Rights Monitors on Law Enforcement

NGO “Mart”

Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union

Educational Human Rights House Chernihiv

Monitors of National Preventive Mechanism:

Valeriy Hrets

Maryna Homeniuk

Iryna Los

Tetiana Polovyntseva

Tetiana Kamak

Inna Simakina

Roman Diatlov

О. Li

Olha Vovk-Sobina

Kostiantyn Dmytriev

Svitlana Bielai

Anzhela Moyseyenko

Yana Protsenko

Darya Svyrydova

Viktor Tretyakov

Liudmyla Protsenko

Natalia Isayeva

Andriy Prepodobnyi

Tukhan Ediyev

Anna Solomiana

Olha Maruda

Yevhen Baborykin

Anna Kurchenko

Petro Yevtushenko

Marharyta Tarasova

Tetiana Kurmanova

Mykola Ivashchenko

Oleksiy Sorokin

Olena Protsenko

Iryna Khmelnytska

Iryna Tekuchova

Mykola Demyanchuk

Volodymyr Kutsenko

Valentyna Volik

Oksana Tropina

Olha Oseredchuk

Iryna Bilyk

Volodymyr Shevchenko

Andriy Kryzhanovskyi

Solomia Kruchova

Anatoliy Khrystenko

Andriy Len

Tetiana Skliarenko

Oleksandra Skalko

Iryna Maksymova

Svitlana Demianchuk

Maksym Anishchenko

Tetiana Pechonchyk

Andriy Markov

Serhiy Pernykoza

Serhiy Burov

Anton Nezhyvyi

Oleksandra Lynovitska

Oksana Moskalenko

Olha Bovina

Kateryna Hostiminska

Oksana Korsun

Oksana Ustymchuk

Liudmyla Kozak

Zlata Shvets