Shadow reports as an advocacy tool in European integration: ZMINA gathered experts for a Q&A session
On 3 June 2025, a Q&A session was held with John Morijn, Lead Expert in the field of human rights and EU law, lecturer at the University of Groningen (Netherlands) and chief expert of the 3*E4U project.
The event was organised by the Human Rights Centre ZMINA to support human rights experts working on the preparation of the Shadow Report on Chapter 23 “Justice and Fundamental Rights” within Cluster I “Fundamentals” within the framework of the EU-Ukraine negotiations.
The moderator of the session was Anastasiia Lykholat, Program Director of the Human Rights Centre ZMINA. The opening speech was delivered by the Head of the Board of the organisation, Tetiana Pechonchyk.
John Morijn presented 5 Key Advocacy Rules for human rights defenders based on his previous publication, including the importance of planning presentations of human rights analyses for different audiences and learning from past mistakes.
John MorijnThe participants of the event discussed ways to increase the effectiveness of using shadow reports in advocacy work, in particular in cooperation with government agencies and European institutions. Considerable attention was paid to strategies for disseminating such reports, identifying target audiences, as well as practical advice on the structure and content of the report, which will help human rights defenders better present their recommendations.
The Q&A session became a platform for sharing experiences, discussing challenges and developing new approaches to strengthen the voice of the human rights community in Ukraine’s European integration process.
The event was held with the support of the project “Strengthening the Ukrainian EU Adjustment Process in the Area of the Rule of Law” (3*E4U), implemented on behalf of the German Federal Foreign Office by Deutsche Gesellschaft für International Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH within the framework of the project “Human Rights at the Center of Ukraine’s European Integration”.
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