Today the Council of Europe Project “Protecting the Rights of Ukrainian Children during and in post-war context”* organised an online presentation of the Comprehensive Assessment of Child-Friendly Justice System in Ukraine, in co-operation with Children’s Interagency Coordinating Council.
This Assessment explores the protection of rights of children in conflict with the law, victims or witnesses of crimes, as well as cases involving children in civil and administrative proceedings. It examines the implementation of child-friendly justice standards, in particular the Council of Europe Guidelines on child-friendly justice, identifies the main trends and challenges in ensuring the procedural rights of the child in criminal cases, civil and administrative cases involving children, and the protection of their rights and best interests. The Assessment provides recommendations to address identified gaps and contains guidance on key issues for preparing the National Strategy for reforming the justice system and protecting the rights of the child in the field of justice 2024-2028.
In his welcoming remarks, Maciej Janczak, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine outlined "the expert assessment has found that Ukraine has achieved major reform milestones over the past decade in its endeavour to protect the rights of children in contact and conflict with the law, and introduce child-friendly procedures at all stages of involvement with the justice system. Likewise, Ukraine has made important strides in terms of improving child-friendliness safeguards for victims and witnesses of crime. Against this backdrop of positive change, however, gaps remain that require addressing. One such gap is the slow pace of introducing pre-trial diversion, which is rarely resorted to despite there being a basis for it in the law."
"Recommendations of the Research can become the roadmap for changes in juvenile justice system in Ukraine. I express my gratitude to the Council of Europe for its support provided to the Government and Ukrainian children", said Oleksandr Banchuk, Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine.
Daria Herasymchuk, Advisor-Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights and Child Rehabilitation stressed that "the protection of children’s rights during the war and in post-war context is a main priority for Ukraine. Results of the research, its recommendations, legislative initiatives that are developing will serve for protecting Ukrainian children".
The event was attended by representatives of relevant Ukrainian ministries, Prosecutor General’s Office, National Police, Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights, Secretariat of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, judiciary, as well as representatives of the international and civil society organisations, expert and academic community and other stakeholders.
Comprehensive Assessment of Child-Friendly Justice System in Ukraine
* The Project "Protecting the Rights of Ukrainian Children during and in post-war context" is implemented by the Council of Europe in the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine ‘Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction’ for 2023-2026.
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