
UHHRU Digest No 9(62) for July-August 2020, USAID Human Rights in Action Program
We would like to offer you the Digest of the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union,...
18 September 2020
18.05.2019
On 15 May 2019, the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union hosted a discussion of recommendations for law enforcement responses to attacks against LGBTQI activists during public events and SOGI-related hate crimes developed by UHHRU experts.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs was represented at the meeting by Natalia Borodych, head of the Ministry’s Human Rights Monitoring Department (hereinafter – HRMD), and Igor Matviychuk, chief specialist at HRMD’s Organizational and Analytical Division. UHHRU was represented by Maksym Petrov, coordinator of UHHRU’s advocacy programs.
Borodych noted that civil society pays much attention to the issues related to the investigation of hate crimes while these efforts should rather be directed at the prevention of such crimes. According to the Ministry’s representative, no such civil society initiatives exist.
In her opinion, one of the problems that impair the effectiveness of investigations is the lack of a clear definition in the law on when to classify an offense as a hate crime. Recommendations can only serve as general guidelines for investigators, which is why they should be made into law.
In addition, the overall situation with hate crimes in Ukraine is made more difficult due to the low number of crime reports being submitted, which makes it necessary to conduct awareness-raising activities among LGBTQI organizations as well as the public as a whole.
Borodych had asked NGOs numerous times to conduct hate crimes related trainings for investigators, yet none agreed.
When discussing police presence during public events, the issue of poor communication between organizers and the authorities was identified. To remedy that, the Ministry’s representative recommended immediate sharing of information about an event with the HRMD.
The meeting also involved a discussion of recommendations on law enforcement responses to attacks on LGBTQI activists during public events and to SOGI-related hate crimes developed by UHHRU experts.
The participants noted the following:
The discussion was conducted by the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union within the framework of the project “Countering radicalism and populism, protecting the rights of the LGBTQI community, organizations and initiative groups that protect LGBTQI rights and combat discrimination, through educational and advocacy activities”, supported by the Democracy Commission of the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine.
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