04.05.2009

Do you need to grab for a gun to get a wheelchair from the State?

An industrial accident in 1987 left Oleksandr Melnyk severely disabled (Group 1 disability). In 2008 he lodged a civil suit in the Chernihiv District Administrative Court against the Social Security Fund on the grounds that they had not provided him with vital necessities. His main demand was to be provided with a wheelchair. He had had his old wheelchair for 7 years, although they should be replaced after four. Despite the undoubted validity of his demand, the court turned it down. Oleksandr Melnyk, disabled physically, however not broken psychologically, decided to fight.

27.04.2009

Full-frontal onslaught on land resources

Environmentalists warn that an attack on land resources is being waged in Ukraine. They believe that rampant violation of land legislation, uncontrolled seizures of land and changes in its designated purpose are leading to major destruction of natural areas and are the basis for all our environmental ills. On the other hand, the environmental movement is also gaining strength.

16.04.2009

How not to pay mothers’ benefits – from the horse’s (State’s) mouth

What bureaucrats will only come up with so as to not pay mothers the benefit envisaged by law! The latest initiative of some regional administrations is absolutely staggering. The Lviv Regional State Administration, for example, recently held a meeting on the situation with enforcement of court rulings relating to compliance with the Laws “On State assistance for families with children” and “On the status of war veterans, guarantees for their social protection”.

27.03.2009

The Pain of children of migrant workers

In Lviv a second book has been presented in which the children of migrant workers tell of their experiences and feelings. Members of the audience were moved to tears.

25.02.2009

Parliamentarians defend private religious school in Donetsk

In a cheering, and most unusual, demonstration of support from members of different political factions, a number of National Deputies have sent a joint appeal to the Minister of Health and the Head of the Donetsk Regional Administration over the threatened closure of a school. Their appeal states that the closure could have unacceptable consequences for the children and violates their constitutional right to education.

05.02.2009

If the State wants people to drink themselves into the grave, they’re going the right way about it

Every year in Ukraine 40 thousand people die as the result of alcoholism. This approximate figure is named by consultants on alcohol dependence, however the real figure could be much higher if one considers that alcohol can lead to very diverse human tragedies. Alcohol dependency is a problem that crosses all social and economic divides.

30.01.2009

System of benefits in Ukraine too complicated

This was the general result of a survey carried out in Lviv to ascertain how people assessed the system of benefits and privileges in Ukraine, how well-informed they were of their rights with regard to specific benefits, and whether they would prefer targeted financial assistance to the present system.

26.01.2009

Recklessly irresponsible reduction in anti-tuberculosis units in Kharkiv

The Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group is sounding the alarm over the extraordinary reduction in anti-tuberculosis facilities in the city.

22.01.2009

Proposed changes to the system providing insulin have met with a mixed response, and it seems less than clear that those with diabetes would be better off

The Government is planning to change the system for providing diabetics with insulin. At present local authorities buy the medicine and then distribute it to those needing it. The Cabinet of Ministers is proposing to change this system, with diabetics receiving the money directly and being able to decide themselves which specific insulin to buy, how foreign makes differ from Ukrainian ones. The Minister for Health says that a system has been decentralized for two years in that local state authorities purchase insulin, however this is still bulk buying, not for specific individual with diabetes. He stresses that mechanisms must be developed to ensure that the public are not in a worse position.

15.01.2009

Homeless Kyiv resident wins case against the City Administration

The suit involved the fraught issue of Kyiv registration with the claimant, 26-year-old Oleksandr Kvashuk represented by a Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union lawyer. The ruling handed down by the Solomyansky District Court in Kyiv effectively confirmed the right of any homeless resident of the city to indefinite registration.

27.11.2008

Were miners left to die after the explosion at the “Zakhidna” Mine?

A criminal investigation has been launched by the prosecutor’s office into the explosion on 23 November in the main mine shaft of the former mine “Zakhidna 12” in the Luhansk region. The Press Secretary of the Regional Prosecutor’s Office told the information agency UNIAN that the investigation was over suspected breach of safety regulations.

05.06.2008

Supreme Court agrees with UHHRU lawyer on child maintenance

Your former husband is living from dividends yet paying 100 UAH (around 20 USD) in maintenance for his child. Not fair and Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union lawyer Oleksy Kinebas set out to change court practice on this. What is more, he succeeded, with the Supreme Court deciding that dividends are a form of income from the point of view of deducting alimony.

23.01.2008

Find somebody to blame – like the victim

The Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union is calling for a proper investigation into a terrible accident in which a child was electrocuted. Up till now local officials, aided by the Prosecutor, have done nothing to ensure that lessons are learned

27.11.2007

UN Committee on economic, social and cultural rights issues concluding observations and recommendations on report of Ukraine

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights today concluded its thirty-ninth session and issued its concluding observations and recommendations on the reports presented by Costa Rica, Ukraine, San Marino, Belgium and Paraguay on the efforts of those countries to implement the provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

02.11.2007

Parallel Report to the UN Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights by the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union and the International Renaissance Foundation regarding Ukraine’s implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

This report has been prepared by the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union and the International Renaissance Foundation, in cooperation with other Ukrainian nongovernmental organizations, in connection with the consideration by the UN Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights of Ukraine’s Fifth Periodic Report on its implementation of the provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

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