On 27 September 2024, with the support of The Council of Europe project "Enhanced social protection in Ukraine", a strategic session for the Department of Monitoring Social and Economic Rights of the Secretariat of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights was held.
The event gathered the department's employees to discuss challenges, identify ways to improve the department's work, and create a common vision for department’s development. Additionally, it raised the awareness of department employees about the standards of the European Social Charter (revised), as well as the specifics of preparing alternative reports for the European Committee of Social Rights within the Charter's monitoring system in light of its recent reforms.
Ms Olena Kolobrodova, the Representative of the Ukrainian Ombudsperson on Social and Economic Rights, delivered a welcome speech. She thanked the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine for its close cooperation with the Secretariat of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights in various areas and noted: “The topic of today's event is relevant for us because our institution, which conducts independent parliamentary oversight of the observance of human and civil rights in Ukraine, is involved in monitoring the implementation of the European Social Charter (revised) in Ukraine by submitting alternative reports to the European Committee of Social Rights. For the first time, such a report was prepared and submitted in 2023 in response to the national report of the state under the thematic group “Children, families, migrants, and housing”. During the preparation of the subsequent national report, the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine took into account the comments from the Commissioner's Office. We hope that such cooperation and our contributions will assist the European Committee of Social Rights in forming an objective understanding of the real state of social rights in Ukraine.”
Iryna Ostapa, Senior Officer of the Council of Europe Project, also highlighted the importance of the first alternative report submitted by the Secretariat of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights in 2023. She emphasized that the project highly values its cooperation with the Commissioner's Office in disseminating the standards of the European Social Charter. Ms Ostapa particularly stressed the importance of implementing these standards, including ratifying the Additional Protocol providing for a system of collective complaints mechanism, in light of Ukraine’s accession process to the European Union.
During the first session, Ms Alla Fedorova, a member of the European Committee of Social Rights, gave a detailed presentation on the reform of the European Social Charter, the role of alternative reports in the evaluation of states by the European Committee of Social Rights, and the specifics of their preparation and submission. She also addressed participants' questions about the preparation of the next alternative report.
Ms Tamar Abazadze, Head of Analytical Department of the Public Defender’s (Ombudsman) Office of Georgia, shared her experience in preparing and submitting alternative reports to the European Committee of Social Rights. She presented a step-by-step methodology for identifying and selecting topics to cover in the alternative report and described the process of drafting and coordinating its content. Ms Abazadze also responded to participants' questions regarding cooperation with civil society organizations and with the state body responsible for submitting a national report to the European Committee of Social Rights.
Participants at the event also had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the Ukrainian translation of the guide “How can National Human Rights Institutions and National Equality Bodies engage with the European Committee of Social Rights”.
Through active discussions and experience-sharing with experts, participants received valuable recommendations and ideas that will be implemented in future activities. This will enhance the effectiveness of monitoring and protecting social and economic rights in Ukraine.
The Council of Europe project "Enhanced social protection in Ukraine" is implemented within the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine "Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction" for 2023-2026. It aims to ensure that persons from vulnerable groups, in particular, the population affected by the war, enjoy a higher level of social rights and social protection.
