The Council of Europe Project “Rights of Veterans and Personnel of Armed Forces in Ukraine” (hereinafter “the Project”) has successfully launched a pilot programme with the Office of the Ombudsperson aimed at strengthening their monitoring mandate in the field of rights of veterans, military personnel, and their families.
The first pilot monitoring visit took place in the Chernivtsi region, specifically in the city of Chernivtsi as well as in the towns of Khotyn and Vyzhnytsia from 29 July to 2 August 2024. During this visit, the Office of the Ombudsperson conducted an assessment in various institutions such as civil and military hospitals, veteran spaces, territorial recruitment and social support centres concerning their adherence to the rights of veterans and military personnel. Throughout the visit, an expert group from the Council of Europe observed the monitoring process to eventually offer valuable guidance and recommendations to enhance the overall effectiveness of the evaluation.
The visit will be further followed by the development of a comprehensive methodology to conduct such a type of monitoring activities in the future. Subsequently, the draft methodology will be applied and tested during the two following monitoring visits.
The monitoring methodology resulting from the pilot programme will serve as a practical tool for the Office of the Ombudsperson, aimed at systematising their approach to monitoring visits, outlining best monitoring techniques and covering other nuances of the monitoring process, such as effective communication with state and municipal institutions, organisational matters, as well as include examples of standard documents and forms that are evaluated during the monitoring process to ensure compliance with established procedures according to Ukrainian legislation.
The pilot programme was organised under the Council of Europe Project “Rights of Veterans and Personnel of Armed Forces in Ukraine,” a component of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine “Resilience, Recovery, Reconstruction” (2023-2026).
