and abolishing the power of the Prosecution to oversee compliance with fundamental rights
and freedoms. It should also be noted that the amendments do not contain provisions
strengthening the independence of the judiciary. The Venice Commission of the Council of
Europe was requested to present an opinion on the draft law and is expected to do so in the
second half of July.
82.
The draft law is expected to be discussed in parliament and amendments are likely to be
proposed. The HRMMU insists on the importance of reaching out to the country in all its
diversity to ensure a process of transparency, and inclusive consultations. Debates must be
organized to enable the participation of a wide array of constituencies. Human rights
defenders, associations of legal professionals, media and other civil society organisations
including those representing women, children, minorities, indigenous peoples, refugees,
and stateless and displaced persons, and labour and business81 from all the regions of
Ukraine should be given a voice. To facilitate this, the draft Constitutional changes should
be made available in minority languages, such as Russian. Durable solutions to
controversial issues will only be found through an inclusive, open dialogue and readiness
for compromise.
C. Justice Sector Reforms
Law enforcement reform
83.
Initial steps have been taken by the Government of Ukraine to reform the law
enforcement system. An Expert Council “on the issues of human rights and reformation”
was established in the Ministry of the Interior on 4 April in order to develop a concept for
the reform of law enforcement bodies. On 1 July, the Minister of the Interior tasked the
Expert Council to prepare and implement a pilot project in Lviv seeking to analyse the
work of the police, its performance and cooperation with the local authorities, its relation to
citizens, community policing practices, and issues of transparency and accountability. The
results of the pilot project are expected to be presented at an Expert Council meeting in
November 2014 and to form the basis of a law enforcement reform package. The HRMMU
recommends that this pilot should be gender sensitive and ensure that it includes an
assessment of how the police deal with domestic violence, rape and other crimes that affect
women disproportionally.
84.
The HRMMU stresses the importance of reforming the law enforcement system, which as
a first step, should include the adoption of a new law on the police. The latter needs to
move away from a militarized structure into a civilian, professional public service. Reform
also needs to address the powers of the State Security Service (SBU). According to the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Recommendation 1402 (1999) the SBU
should be devoid of the authority for criminal investigation and arrest of persons82.
85.
Training83 should be developed and conducted on all aspects of policing (including or e.g.
arrest, pre-trial detention, use of firearms, as well as gender sensitive issues as mentioned
above) and a lot remains to be done to ensure that they conform to international standards.
This should be another key element of the reform of the law enforcement system.
81
http://www.unrol.org/files/Guidance_Note_United_Nations_Assistance_to_Constitutionmaking_Processes_FINAL.pdf
82
“The control of internal security services in the member states of the Council of Europe"; para. V.iіі
83
UPR recommendations from 2012 require Ukraine to provide training for staff of law enforcement bodies on
the rights of detainees.
147 | P a g e
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