Ukraine's human rights record receives mixed report (03/05/00)

Ukraine's human rights record receives mixed report

by Yaro Bihun
Special to The Ukrainian Weekly

WASHINGTON - Ukraine has received another mixed report on its human rights record in the annual compilation released by the U.S. State Department.

As in 1998, the 1999 human rights report, released on February 25, saw "limited progress" in some areas and "serious problems" in others. The most notable of the problem areas dealt with the October presidential election.

The report cited government interference in the election process and increased pressure on the media - especially the national broadcast media - through tax inspections and other measures. And, while the print media reflected the full political spectrum, "there were tendencies toward self-censorship," the report said.

Despite "some irregularities" during the election campaign and balloting, the report noted that "almost all observers agreed that the election results reflected the will of the electorate," as did the previous national elections in 1998 and 1994.

The State Department's annual human rights reports are compiled from information provided by U.S. embassies around the world. The reports are mandated by congressional legislation.

Ukraine's civilian authorities are seen as generally maintaining "effective control" of the nation's security forces, although it was noted that instances of "institutional government corruption" sometimes can lead to their improper use and human rights abuses.

The report again cited instances of killings of soldiers during violent hazing incidents in the military and instances of regular beatings of detainees and prisoners, and even torture, sometimes resulting in death, in Ukraine's prisons, where the conditions "are harsh and life threatening."

According to the report, Ukraine has been widely criticized for failing to curb institutional corruption and abuse; officials who commit abuses are rarely punished; and anti-corruption legislation is enforced selectively and "mostly against government opponents and low-level officials."

The State Department notes that Ukraine's criminal justice system is slow to reform "due to both lack of government effort and strained economic resources," and the state continues to intrude in citizens' lives and privacy. The report found "some limits" on freedom of assembly, instances of restrictions on freedom of association and some limits on freedom of movement caused by the holdover Soviet system of registration, or "propiska."

On the positive side of the ledger, the State Department noted that the government supported the return and resettlement of exiled Tatars in Crimea and "took steps to return to religious groups properties expropriated during the Soviet era."

Among some of the other problem areas in Ukraine, the State Department Human Rights Report cited "pervasive" violence against women and children; discrimination against women; trafficking in women and girls - although the report pointed out that the Parliament's human rights ombudsman has made this issue a priority.

The report says that anti-Semitism persists in Ukraine "on an individual and societal basis," but that the central government "generally discouraged it." It noted that "anti-Semitic incidents continue to occur but, according to local Jewish organizations, have declined in number over recent years and were concentrated in western regions of the country."

Among the items discussed in the report on the rights of minorities is an entry on the use of the Russian language in Ukraine - an issue that has become the subject of a heated exchange between Kyiv and Moscow in recent weeks.

The report states: "The Constitution provides for the 'free development, use and protection of the Russian language and other minority languages in Ukraine.'

"This compromise builds on a 1991 law on national minorities, which played an instrumental role in preventing ethnic strife by allowing individual citizens to use their respective national languages in conducting personal business and by allowing minority groups to establish their own schools.

"Nonetheless, some pro-Russian organizations in eastern Ukraine complained about the increased use of Ukrainian in schools and in the media. They claim that their children are disadvantaged when taking academic entrance examinations, since all applicants are required to take a Ukrainian language test."

The full text of the Ukraine section of the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1999 can be found on the website: http://www.state.gov/www/global/human_rights/1999_hrp_report/ukraine.html.

| Home Page |