The Ukrainian Coalition for Legal Aid (UCLA), with the support of the Council of Europe within the framework of the project “Enhanced social protection in Ukraine”, has completed the implementation of the grant initiative “Engaging the Ukrainian Bar on social rights protection”.

The initiative lasted from 15 January to 15 July 2024, aiming to enhance the qualifications of Ukrainian lawyers in applying the European Social Charter (revised) and the practice of the European Committee of Social Rights.

“The European Social Charter guarantees the most comprehensive protection of social and economic rights at the pan-European level. Training and raising awareness among lawyers about this document and the practice of the European Committee of Social Rights will contribute to a better application of the Charter's standards in their professional activities, and, consequently, to the improved realization of social rights for Ukrainians, which is extremely relevant in the context of the full-scale war. We are pleased to support such initiatives”, said Iryna Ostapa, Senior Project Officer for the “Enhanced social protection in Ukraine” project at the Council of Europe.

The main activities of the grant project included:

• Three-day training course for lawyers-trainers on the application of the European Social Charter and the practice of the European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR): 25 lawyers were selected to participate in the training based on their motivation and previous experience in the field of social rights protection. The training took place in February 2024.
• Training course and regional workshops: In March 2024, a one-day training course for lawyers directly involved in the protection of social rights was developed in collaboration with the team of trainers. From May to July 2024, UCLA conducted six regional training workshops in various regions of Ukraine – Khmelnytskyi, Vinnytsia, Zakarpattia, Poltava, Lviv, and Chernivtsi. A total of 157 lawyers participated in these events.
• Monitoring the application of the European Social Charter in judicial and administrative practices: Special attention was given to the rights of war veterans, internally displaced persons (IDPs), and other vulnerable groups in the context of the full-scale armed conflict. The Ukrainian National Bar Association (UNBA) was also involved in the monitoring process. The results of the monitoring were presented at the National Round Table on 29 May 2024. Among key recommendations were the need to create new transparent legislation in the social sphere and to continue training judges and lawyers.
• Development of training materials and manuals: As part of the project, the concept and training materials for a course on the application of the European Social Charter (revised) and the practice of the European Committee of Social Rights were developed.

“The greatest achievement of the grant project was the creation of a community of legal professionals who are qualified and motivated to protect the social rights of Ukrainians, including through the use of the standards of the European Social Charter (revised). The lawyers who participated in the training for trainers helped us conduct regional training webinars and took part in research on the application of the European Social Charter in judicial and administrative practice. This enabled us to amplify the project's impact and engage more lawyers in using the Charter to protect social rights of Ukrainians”, said Vitalii Misiats, Executive Director of the Ukrainian Coalition for Legal Aid.

However, the project faced significat challenges: “The full-scale war waged by Russia against Ukraine impacted the project's implementation in many ways. For instance, during our main training for trainers in Kyiv at the end of March, we first heard explosions, followed by the air raid siren and the call to move to a shelter. Security concerns also affected our regional events, where we had to continue holding sessions in shelters during air raids”, he added.

He also emphasized that despite the conditions of war, it is important to demonstrate the European nature of the legal system and apply European tools for the protection of human rights, particularly the European Social Charter (revised).

The organization plans to continue working on strengthening the social rights protection system in Ukraine. The sustainability of the grant project will be ensured by further planned initiatives, which will include new training programs for lawyers in cooperation with the Higher School of Advocacy (HSA), as well as other legal professionals, and raising public awareness about the possibilities of protecting social rights.

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.