Statement of the Human Rights Centre ZMINA on the development of the Action Plan for the implementation of the National Human Rights Strategy

Developing a new version of the National Human Rights Strategy for the period up to 2035 and creating an Action Plan for its implementation is a real opportunity for the state to address the problems caused by Russia’s full-scale invasion and fulfil the human rights obligations Ukraine has undertaken on its path towards EU membership. At the same time, the key issue will not only be the content of the Strategy itself, but above all what the Action Plan for its implementation will look like and how it will be developed.

Significantly, the development of the Action Plan for the implementation of the updated National Human Rights Strategy is also the first measure under the “Fundamental Rights” section of the Rule of Law Roadmap – a document that defines the priorities of Ukraine’s EU integration reforms. This underscores the strategic importance of these documents and the responsibility borne by the state for the quality of their development.

The experience of implementing the previous Action Plans under the 2015 National Strategy demonstrated that, even where the Strategy itself contained progressive provisions and clearly defined priorities, a significant number of issues remained unresolved due to the lack of proper interagency coordination and political prioritisation.

In particular, the protection of the rights of people in the temporarily occupied territories, combating discrimination, and ensuring the rights of LGBTIQ+ people have remained among the state’s strategic priorities for years, yet have still not received a systemic solution. This demonstrates the need to rethink approaches to their implementation.

The process of updating the National Human Rights Strategy

The possibility of fully implementing the operational objectives of the Strategy and, accordingly, the Action Plan depends, among other things, on the process of developing their provisions.

The process of updating the National Human Rights Strategy revealed a number of issues that should be taken into account during the further development of the Action Plan. Despite the involvement of experts from civil society organisations at the stage of submitting proposals, as well as in meetings held to discuss them, this involvement was not comprehensive. Civil society organisations were able to review the draft Strategy only at the stage of the official public consultation, that is, when the document had already reached a relatively finalised form. This is evidenced by the fact that only around 10% of the more than 600 proposals submitted by CSO experts were taken into account, leaving key gaps still unresolved.

The draft Strategy lacks a specific focus on military personnel, Ukrainian citizens who left the country after the start of the full-scale invasion, and certain categories of people affected by the war. The absence of these groups from the Strategy means that these issues will also remain outside the broader policy agenda in the Action Plan.

In the context of the objective of updating the Strategy — adapting state policy to contemporary challenges — such omissions raise concerns as to whether this objective can truly be achieved, since the updated Strategy risks reproducing the logic of its previous versions. Therefore, these gaps should be addressed either through revising the Strategy before its approval by the President of Ukraine or through the clear inclusion of relevant measures in the Action Plan, with reference to the broader objectives of the document.

Recommendations for the Action Plan development process

Following the approval of the Strategy by the President of Ukraine, the Ministry of Justice will begin work on the Action Plan. It is precisely this stage that represents a window of opportunity for meaningful influence. The Human Rights Centre ZMINA addresses the Ministry of Justice with the following recommendations:

• ensure an open, transparent and inclusive process for the development of the Action Plan;
• involve civil society organisations and the expert community not only in consultations on the completed draft text, but also in the direct formulation and development of the measures set out in the Plan;
• ensure thematic consultations on specific groups of rights and categories of the population, including with the involvement of organisations representing military personnel, veterans, persons with disabilities, LGBTIQ+ people, internally displaced persons and Ukrainians abroad;
• ensure interagency coordination during the drafting of the Action Plan in order to assign measures to responsible authorities and avoid duplication and a purely formal approach to implementation;
• define realistic priorities for the Action Plan in line with the state’s capacities and the challenges of wartime;
• ensure regular updates on the progress of the Action Plan’s development and provide feedback to stakeholders regarding the consideration of submitted proposals and the corresponding justification.

Particular attention should be paid to ensuring that the Action Plan contains not only a list of measures, but also mechanisms for effectively assessing implementation — not by the number of adopted documents or activities carried out, but by actual changes in people’s access to their rights and in the effective protection and enjoyment of those rights.

The Action Plan as a Roadmap for lawmakers

Although the Strategy itself and the government Action Plan cannot directly bind the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, these documents establish the state’s priorities in the field of human rights. Therefore, Parliament cannot remain detached from their implementation.

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine should treat the updated National Human Rights Strategy and the Action Plan for its implementation as guiding instruments for determining legislative priorities in the field of human rights, particularly with regard to long-overdue reforms, the prolonged stalling of anti-discrimination legislation, and the legislative regulation of the rights of the most vulnerable groups in wartime conditions. Although Parliament is not formally responsible for implementing the government Action Plan, the implementation of many of its provisions will largely depend on legislative changes.

In this context, it is important for the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to:

• follow the Action Plan in shaping a priority legislative agenda, particularly taking into account Ukraine’s EU integration commitments reflected, in particular, in the Rule of Law Roadmap;
• develop draft laws jointly with human rights defenders, civil society organisations and specialised experts, ensuring that the outcomes of such cooperation are subsequently reflected in legislative proposals. It is particularly important to ensure an active role for the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Human Rights, Deoccupation and Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine, National Minorities and Interethnic Relations in coordinating the legislative initiatives necessary for implementing the priorities defined in the National Strategy and the Action Plan, including through cooperation with the responsible executive authorities and the expert civil society community.

A well-designed Action Plan for the implementation of the National Human Rights Strategy is an essential prerequisite for shaping state policy capable of genuinely responding to the challenges of war, protecting vulnerable groups and ensuring people’s real access to their rights.

The Human Rights Centre ZMINA is ready for further constructive cooperation with the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the Office of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights and other relevant stakeholders in the process of developing and monitoring the implementation of the Action Plan for the implementation of the National Human Rights Strategy.