Ambassador Pascual praises activity of Ukraine's NGOs (07/28/02)

Ambassador Pascual praises activity of Ukraine's NGOs

by Ivan Poltavets
Special to The Ukrainian Weekly

KYIV - U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Carlos Pascual on June 21 praised the work of Ukrainian community organizations, urging them to take a more active role in forming the country's democracy and stressing the U.S. commitment to partnership with local NGOs through various U.S.-government sponsored programs.

"As you are active, as you demonstrate your voice, as you demonstrate your vote, then you create pressure on politicians and you help them understand that the only way that they can survive in politics is if they reflect your needs and are responsive to them," said Mr. Pascual at the Second Forum of Ukrainian Non-Governmental Organizations in Kyiv.

The event brought together more than 300 representatives of NGOs, along with politicians and government officials. The forum was initiated and co-sponsored by the Ukrainian Monitoring Committee, Freedom House and the International Renaissance Foundation.

It was convened to review the activity of civic organizations during elections and to plan for future strategies and common advocacy campaigns. The gathering followed from a successful initial forum of NGOs, held February 16-17, which had looked to strengthen the role of Ukrainian NGOs in monitoring elections. The first meeting attracted former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright and Central Election Committee Chairman Mykhailo Riabets as participants.

"These several months were a great lesson for us," said Ihor Kohut, the forum's organizer, referring to the time between the two gatherings, which the March 31 parliamentary elections took place. "The third sector is getting stronger, but as before, there remains a great lack of dialogue with [government] authorities," he said.

Ambassador Pascual also praised the work of NGOs prior to the parliamentary elections, which resulted in people being better informed about the political process and their rights. "As a result of that, the Ukrainian people voted based on their hearts and on their minds," Mr. Pascual told the forum.

A public opinion poll, conducted in April by the Ukrainian monitoring committee, Democratic Initiatives Foundation and Socis, showed that 81 percent of respondents thought the activities of NGOs during the elections was necessary or highly necessary. Eighteen percent of the 1,200 respondents declared their wish to volunteer during elections; however, only 6 percent did so.

Sociologist Iryna Bekeshkina of Democratic Initiatives, an NGO that regularly releases sociological surveys, quoted lack of time and information as the main reasons there were fewer volunteers than there could have been. Thus, NGOs can claim recognition of their efforts on behalf of general public, but there is still more room for improvement, she said.

According to CIVICUS, the World Alliance for Citizen Participation, there were 25,490 registered non-governmental organizations and charitable foundations in Ukraine in 1999, as well as 8,000 initiative groups. While only about 8,000 organizations and 500 initiative groups were active in 1999, the numbers have continued to rise, a report issued by CIVICUS said.

NGOs are created for various purposes and many of the "dormant" organizations were most probably created for tax-evasion purposes, to receive a specific grant or achieve a short-term public relations goal. One of the most acute problems NGOs encounter in Ukraine is sustainability of operation. Domestic funding is scarce, though not non-existent, and is often directed at "service" NGOs, such as think-tanks, which many times act as external public relations offices for business and other interest groups.

Another problem cited was that because much of the financial base for Ukrainian NGOs comes from foreign donors, some NGOs have come to specialize in grant-seeking instead of trying to address community needs.

Hryhorii Nemyria, chairman of the executive board of the Renaissance Foundation, said that a new phase in relations between the state and NGOs has started, one in which the state is willing "not only to listen to society, but also to take the society's voice into consideration."

However, another speaker at the event, National Deputy Oleksander Moroz, leader of the Socialist Party, also noted the need for NGOs to address the "great disenchantment in society." He noted that the division in today's society lies not between left and right political wings, as is more often the case, but between those who stand for truth and those who represent deceit. The development of civil society and protection of human rights, in which NGOs play a key role, are important goals that Ukraine must meet on its way to European integration, explained Mr. Moroz.

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