HUMAN RIGHTS IN UKRAINE – 2005 HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS REPORT UKRAINIAN HELSINKI HUMAN RIGHTS UNION KHARKIV HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTION GROUP KHARKIV «PRAVA LUDYNY» 2006 1 BBK 67.9(4) H68 In preparing the cover, the work of Alex Savransky «Freedom is on the march» was used Designer Boris Zakharov Editors Yevgeny Zakharov, Irina Rapp, Volodymyr Yavorsky Translator Halya Coynash The book is published with the assistance of the International Renaissance Foundation and the Democracy Fund of the U.S. Embassy, Kyiv The views of the authors do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Government Human Rights in Ukraine – 2005. Report by Human Rights Organizations. / Editors H68 Y.Zakharov, I.Rapp, V.Yavorsky / Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union, Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group – Kharkiv: Prava Ludyny, 2006. – 328 p. ISBN 966-8919-08-4. This book considers the human rights situation in Ukraine during 2005 and is based on studies by various non-governmental human rights organizations and specialists in this area. The first part gives a general assessment of state policy with regard to human rights in 2005, while in the second part each unit concentrates on identifying and analysing violations of specific rights in 2005, as well as discussing any positive moves which were made in protecting the given rights. Current legislation which encour- ages infringements of rights and freedoms is also analyzed, together with draft laws which could change the situation. The conclusions of the research contain recommendations for eliminating the violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms and improving the overall situation. BBK 67.9(4) © Compiled by Yevgeny Zakharov, Volodymyr Yavorsky, 2006 © Cover design by Boris Zakharov, 2006 © Translation by Halya Coynash, 2006 © Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union, 2006 ISBN 966-8919-08-4 © Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group, 2006 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union and the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group would like to gratefully acknowledge the enormous help offered us in creating this Human Rights Organizations Report. First and foremost we wish to thank: The organizations which kindly provided material for this report: The Vinnytsa Human Rights Group The Civic Organization «Vsesvit» [«Universe»] (Kharkiv) The Civic Organization «Donetsk Memorial» The Civic Organization «Koreni travy» [«Grassroots»] (Kyiv) The Civic Organization M’ART («Molodizhna AlteRnaTiva» – «Youth Alternative») The Civic Organization «Ecologichno-humanitarne obyednannya Zeleny Svit» [«The environ- mental and humanitarian association Green World»] The Civic Organization «Telekritika» (Kyiv) The Civic Committee for the Protection of Constitutional Rights and Civil Liberties (Luhansk) The Institute of Socio-Economic Issues «Respublica» (Kyiv) The Institute of Mass Information (Kyiv) The Media Law Institute (Kyiv) The Luhansk Regional Branch of the Committee of Voters of Ukraine The International organization «Environment – People – Law» (Lviv) The International Society for Human Rights, Ukrainian Section The Odessa Human Rights Group «Veritas» Ukraine Citizen Action Network (UCAN) Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU, Lviv) The Ukrainian Association «Zeleny svit» [«Green World»] The Kherson City Association of Journalists «Pivden» [«South»] The Kherson regional organization of the Committee of Voters of Ukraine The Kherson Regional Charity and Health Foundation The Chernihiv Civic Committee for the Protection of Human Rights Amnesty International Human Rights Watch The authors and co-authors of particular units, as well as the researchers of material used here: Taras Antoshevsky Valentina Badyra Ihor Bondarchuk Oleksandr Bukalov Serhiy Burov Ruslana Burova Arkady Bushchenko Volodymyr Chemerys Serhiy Fedorynchyk Dmytro Groisman Olena Hrabovska Mykola Korobko Oleksandr Kostenko 3 Lesya Kovalenko Mykola Kozyryev Oksana Nesterenko Vadim Pivovarov Vsevolod Rechytsky Roman Romanov Irina Sarancha Oleksandr Severyn Kateryna Shmahlo Maksim Shcherbatyuk Taisya Shkryum Oleksandr Stepanenko Oleksiy Svyetikov Andriy Tolopilo Oleksandr Vynnikov This report would not have been possible without the support and assistance of Halya Coynash, Irayida Fesenko, Viktor Kochurin, Oleksandr Savransky, Vitaly Svyatsky, Serhiy Udalov, Oleg Mirosh- nichenko and Volodymyr Uryvay We would like also to express our gratitude to those who provided financial assistance for this Report: The Democracy Fund of the Press, Education and Culture Department of the Embassy of the USA The International Renaissance Foundation In the Report we have also used material prepared within the framework of the Program «Regional Aspects of Human Rights in Ukraine» which was undertaken with the financial support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation of the Embassy of Switzerland in Ukraine The book is published on equipment kindly provided by the National Endowment for Democracy (USA) 4 CIVIC ASSESSMENT OF STATE POLICY ON HUMAN RIGHTS 5 6 GENERAL OVERVIEW1 At the beginning of 2005 a fundamentally new situation had emerged in Ukraine. The people, in open confrontation with the regime had, through peaceful non-violent means, asserted their choice. At the same time it was clear that the democratically elected President, Viktor Yushchenko, and his team had inherited a heavy burden of systematic and mass-scale violations of human rights, an immoral system of social relations, a country split between white and blue’ and ‘orange’ regions, a corrupt and out of control State apparatus, plundered State revenue, as well as a lack of democratic mechanisms for the functioning of power. On the other hand, the public’s expectations regarding swift reforms and an improvement in the standard of living were clearly unrealistic. Exceptional steps were needed to achieve the anticipated breakthrough – the achievement of healthier social relations. Back on 22 January the members of the All-Ukrainian Association of Human Rights Organizations «Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union» congratulated the President upon his assumption of of- fice and suggested a number of specific steps aimed at affirming and implementing human rights and fundamental freedoms. We proposed that a review be launched of the ‘constitutional reform’2; that a system allowing for individual constitutional submissions3 be introduced; that new draft laws for the Criminal Procedure and Penal Codes be drawn up and that new legislation on information technol- ogy be introduced. We called for legislative mechanisms to be brought in which would finally make the judiciary independent and strong, which would create institutional mechanisms of public control, parliamentary and non-parliamentary and would initiate a reform of local self-government. We also suggested that a system of public service television and radio broadcasting be created. At the same time we understood that new laws alone would not work if the rotten semi-feudal so- cial system remained intact, with only proximity to those in power guaranteeing privileges and benefits, and where as a result of fiscal pressure no one could work without stealing, this making each person vulnerable against the full power of the State. Convinced that it was specifically morally degeneration that had become one of the main causes of the social crisis which had led to the Orange Revolution, we also spoke of vital steps aimed at restoration, at abolishing the immoral system of social relations which had become entrenched under Kuchma’s regime, but which had originated in the communist era. We called for the immediate launching of an investigation into violations of human rights which had taken place in the place, especially those involving persecution of journalists, disappearances and political murders; repressions against individuals in connection with their political views or civic ac- tivity; the vote-rigging during the Presidential elections of 2004. We insisted that the results of such investigations be made public and that justice be restored as far as victims of such repression were concerned. The steps we proposed also included the following: making access immediately available to illegally classified legal acts of the President of Ukraine, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the Prosecutor General and other executive agencies which were concealed under the illegal stamps «Not to be printed», «Not to be published» and «For official use only» (OU); ensuring separation of business interests and the regime; putting an end to the shameful practice of mass surveillance, in particular, wiretapping and interception of other means of communication; beginning the process of restructuring and reforming the State apparatus, in particular, law enforcement agencies; creating mechanisms for real public control over the activity of Ukrainian law enforcement agencies and public monitoring of 1 Prepared by Yevhen Zakharov, Co-Chair of the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group and Chairperson of the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union 2 Here and hereafter in this text ‘constitutional reform’ refers specifically to the constitutional amendments passed in a ‘package vote’ also including crucial electoral law reforms on 8 December 2004. The amendments reduce the powers of the President and create a situation where some Ministers answer to the President, while others directly to the Prime Minister. They also make it possible to deprive State Deputies of their mandate if they oppose or leave their faction, and give greater