Among the most important values ​​for Ukrainians during the war are freedom and security – research results

The results of a sociological survey on what Ukrainians know about human rights and how they assess the state of their observance, conducted by the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation in 2023 in cooperation with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Ukraine and the Human Rights Centre ZMINA, were presented in Kyiv with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark.

The study “What Ukrainians know and think about human rights”, is the fourth wave of a nationwide representative investigation, which, since 2016, has been investigating how views and understandings of human rights in Ukraine are changing. 

Deputy Permanent Representative of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Ukraine, Christoforos Politis, emphasized the importance of data collection and the strengthening of a human rights-based approach, especially in the context of full-scale war, which has created new threats to the protection of human rights in Ukraine.

“We believe that multidimensional sociological research will inform the progress of development policies, strategic documents, action plans and capacity-building programs that will promote human rights, the rule of law and inclusiveness. An informed, evidence-based recovery process is extremely important to ensure that no one is left behind in these difficult times for Ukraine,” he said.

The results of the study showed that despite the security situation, the economic crisis and other humanitarian problems caused by the full-scale war, freedom remains at the top of the value priorities of Ukrainians – 91% of respondents chose it as the main value. Also, respondents more often chose safety – 79%, justice – 76%, and dignity – 71%.

According to Tetiana Pechonchyk, head of the Human Rights Centre ZMINA, this is explained by the fact that people see what consequences curtailment of rights and freedoms can lead to. 

“The percentage of Ukrainians who are not ready to cede part of their rights and freedoms to the state in exchange for material goods has steadily increased, from 35% in 2016 to 47% in 2023. Likewise, the number of Ukrainians who do not rely on the state, but primarily on their own, has increased by 10% over the past seven years. The Ukrainian nation is rapidly maturing,” she commented.

Tetiana Pechonchyk and Khristoforos Politis

Willingness to defend one’s rights during war

Ukrainians remain relatively passive in protecting their rights. A total of 44% of respondents admitted that their rights had been violated at least once. Among those whose rights were violated, half of the respondents tried to protect their rights, but only 18% managed to defend them successfully. However, 49% of respondents admitted taking no action to protect their rights.

It should be noted that in 2023, to protect their violated rights, Ukrainians turned to the police twice as often, as noted by a quarter of the respondents. Additionally, the number of those who turned to lawyers for free legal aid in 2023 increased to 21% compared to 11% in 2020.

Rights compliance status

Despite the situation in the country and the restrictions related to martial law, the assessment regarding the observance of various rights has improved slightly compared to the results of previous surveys. Thus, on a five-point scale, the observance of cultural rights was rated at 3.38 points, political rights (the right to choose the government and be elected, to create political parties and public associations, freedom of peaceful assembly, etc.) – at 3.04 points, fundamental rights (right to life, personal freedom, freedom of speech, etc.) –  2.93 points, environmental rights – 2.78 points, socio-economic rights – 2.71 points. 

“It would seem paradoxical: during a full-scale war, respondents rate the observance of various groups of rights higher than before. But there is an understandable explanation. It is likely that the respondents rated the observance of various groups of rights better than in 2020 because many of them are aware that it could and could be much worse. Secondly, the survey was conducted in the midst of a major war, and the respondents most likely evaluated the observance of rights in this context, “ explained  Andrii Sukharyna, Associate Analyst of the Ilko Kucheriv Foundation “Democratic Initiatives”.

General Information

The nationwide survey devoted to the topic of human rights in Ukraine was conducted from October 29 to November 12, 2023. In total, 2,001 respondents aged 18 and over were interviewed. The maximum random sampling error does not exceed 2.3%.

An infographic with current data is available at the link.

The results of the study for 2016, 2018 and 2020 can be found here.

Watch the video from the broadcast of the event.

The opinions expressed in the research may not coincide with the position of UNDP or the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

For media inquiries

Yulia Samus, head of the communications department, UNDP in Ukraine, yuliia.samus@undp.org.