On July 27, 2018 at the premises of the Secretariat of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights the fifth Steering Committee Meeting of the Twinning Project “Implementation of the best European practices with the aim of strengthening the institutional capacity of the Apparatus of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights to protect human rights and freedoms (Apparatus)” took place.
The Project is implemented in cooperation with the Lithuanian institutions (Seimas Ombudsmen’s Office of the Republic of Lithuania, Office of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson, State Data Protection Inspectorate, Law Institute of Lithuania, Vilnius University, Central Project Management Agency) and Austrian institutions (Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Human Rights) with the financial support of the European Union within the framework of European Neighborhood Instrument.
The goal of the Twinning project is to ensure effective prevention and response of violation of human rights by strengthening the capacity of the Ombudsman Institution as an effective mechanism for parliamentary control over the observance of human rights and freedoms by improving legislation and internal procedures according to international standards. The project presupposes the capacity building of the Secretariat of the Commissioner.
Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Lyudmyla Denisova and MS Project leader, Head of the Seimas Ombudsmen's Office of the Republic of Lithuania Augustinas Normantas delivered welcoming remarks and admitted the effectiveness of the Project implementation and its practical significance.
Resident Twinning Adviser Aušra Rauličkytė presented the sixth quarterly report of the Project, outlining the implemented measures, and identified plans for the next reporting period. In particular it was admitted that six events were held during the quarter, including training on the practical aspects of developing qualitative recommendations, annual and special reports, attended by 19 representatives of Secretariat and 5 trainers from European human rights institutions. The project's experts provided recommendations for improving the efficiency of the Secretariat's work by providing concrete examples of best European practices.
Chief Public Relations Counsellor of the Seimas Ombudsmen's Office of the Republic of Lithuania Vytautas Valentinavičius underlined that the overall project implementation process is assessed as positive and in line with expectations, as well as noted that during the sixth quarter of the project the implementation of all planned measures aimed at achieving the goals was continued.
On behalf of the Center for Adaptation of the Civil Service to the Standards of the European Union, Senior Consultant of Twinning Coordination Division of Projects Management Unit Yuliia Yerchenko attended the event.
For reference:
according to the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ukraine “On Approval of the Procedure for Initiation, Preparation and Implementation of the Twinning Projects” as of 11 October, 2016 No 700 the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service coordinates the implementation of the institution building instrument of the European Union Twinning in Ukraine. Furthermore, in accordance with relevant legal acts the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service is the coordinator of institution building instrument TAIEX implementation in Ukraine. In order to provide effective coordination of Twinning and TAIEX the Twinning Program Administration Office in Ukraine was established, its functions are performed by the Center for Adaptation of the Civil Service to the Standards of the European Union.
