A new Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union Advice Centre has been opened to enable members of the public to gain free assistance in defending their rights. The consultations will be provided by the Mykolaiv Regional Women’s Association DANA which seeks to promote the development in Ukraine of a law-based democracy and to defend human rights.

The advice centre will be open to the public from Monday to Wednesday between 13.00 and 17.00, while a bar lawyer will see people from Tuesday to Thursday between 15.00 and 17.00.

UHHRU advice centres work according to the same standards regarding record-keeping, rules and procedure, as well as ethical norms. There are 13 advice centres in Kherson, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Kirovohrad, Lviv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Ternopil and Konotop (Sumy oblast), Severodonetsk (Luhansk oblast), Mykolaiv, Sevastopol and Kyiv.  Each sees members of the public at least once a week, and also organizes outreach visits around the region (oblast) to isolated areas where there are otherwise no possibilities for receiving legal aid.

During 2009 UHHRU advice centres gave over 13,000 consultations which is almost 3.5 thousand more than the previous year. They are most often approached for help by pensioners, the unemployed or people not working, those running a business and convicted prisoners.