n October 25, 2016, at 10:00, the National Information Agency “Ukrinform” (Kyiv, 8/16 B. Khmelnytsky St., 2^nd floor) will host a roundtable discussion entitled “Documenting human rights violations in conditions of the armed conflict and in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine” along with the presentation of the Human Rights Abuse Documentation Center of the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union.

 The Action Plan for the National Human Rights Strategy implementation for the period until 2020 provides for the creation of an interagency working group to regularly investigate and record violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine and in the ATO area involving public authorities, law enforcement officials, representatives of international organizations. Today, the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union, the Coalition “Justice for Peace in Donbas”, volunteer initiatives and international organizations are actively occupied with documenting human rights violations. It is also one of the activities of the Security Service and Prosecutor General of Ukraine, a number of central executive bodies. However, there is no unified database available at the national level that would contribute to a true picture of the conflict, restoration of justice and redress for victims. Based on this, the roundtable participants will discuss the following issues:

• UHHRU’s Documentation Center – possibilities for implementing the principles of objectivity, apolitical attitude and fairness at the national level.
• Why is the State interested in reliable documentation of facts? Problems of civil reconciliation and assistance to victims of the armed conflict.
• Possibilities for information exchange between NGOs and state institutions to get an impartial picture of events.

The event’s participants are as follows:

• Mr. Pavlo Petrenko, Minister of Justice of Ukraine;
• Mr. Refat Chubarov, MP of Ukraine, Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people;
• Mr. Georgiy Logvynsky, MP of Ukraine, Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Human Rights, National Minorities and International Relations;
• Mr. Georgiy Tuka, Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Temporarily Occupied Territories and Internally Displaced Persons;
• Mr. Yevhen Yenin, Deputy Prosecutor General of Ukraine;
• Mr. Arkadiy Bushchenko, Executive Director of UHHRU.

First Deputy Minister of Information Policy Ms. Emine Dzhaparova will be acting as event’s moderator.

Representatives of the Office of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, the Security Service of Ukraine, foreign diplomatic corps, as well as experts of international and Ukrainian organizations will also attend the round-table.

The roundtable event is being organized by the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union under support of the Ministry of Information Policy of Ukraine in the frames of the USAID Human Rights in Action Activity. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) also supports functioning of the UHHRU’s Human Rights Abuse Documentation Center.

Media outlets are invited to cover this event.

The American people, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), have provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for 50 years. In Ukraine, USAID’s assistance focuses on three areas: Health and Social Transition, Economic Growth and Democracy and Governance. USAID has provided 1.8 bln. technical and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine since 1992. For additional information about USAID programs in Ukraine, please visit our website: http://ukraine.usaid.gov or our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/USAIDUkraine.