Chernihiv, 10-14 November 2016 – Participants from over twenty organizations and initiatives on the protection of human rights raised their awareness on how important it is to document human rights violations associated with the conflict in Eastern Ukraine.

The Ministry of Culture of Ukraine hosted a meeting chaired by Deputy Minister Tamara Mazur to discuss the UN concluding recommendations on the elimination of racial discrimination issued in response to the combined 22nd and 23rd Ukraine's report on the implementation of International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

With UNDP support, the Ombudsperson's Office and civil society developed a new methodology and a pilot report to monitor discrimination levels in Ukraine and identify possible remedies to observe basic non-discrimination principles.

Regional Coordinator of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsperson) in Zakarpattia oblast addressed the pension payment issue and helped restore the rights of a pensioner.

This November marks the fourth anniversary of the adoption of the Law of Ukraine "On the amendments to the Law on the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Concerning National Preventive Mechanism", which is being implemented under the "Ombudsman Plus" model.

While adopting different technical or legal shortcuts, Ukraine should not compromise on the fundamentals – it takes quality systems and the genuine political will of Ukrainians and their leadership to fight corruption. By Janthomas Hiemstra, UNDP Ukraine Country Director