ISHR launched a new project “Strengthening the rule of law in Armenia and Ukraine”

On October 16, 2021, an International Conference was held in Kiev, dedicated to the launch of a new project of the International Society for Human Rights to strengthen the rule of law in Armenia and Ukraine.

The Conference was attended by heads of the sections of the International Society for Human Rights in Ukraine and Armenia, representatives of the Confederation of Trade Unions of Armenia, representatives of the ISHR, law schools, journalists, national and international experts of the ISHR, representatives of the international student organization ELSA, the Youth Committee of the Ukrainian National Bar Association, etc.

According to Anton Alekseyev, Director of the IAC ISHR, the project will last for two years and will focus on monitoring trials in both countries. The educational component will also become an important area of ​​the project’s work. The work of the project will be as open as possible to the media and the public. “IAC ISHR is the only human rights organization in Ukraine that monitors and analyzes high-profile trials on an ongoing basis. The ISHR has also developed educational programs for both students of legal universities and lawyers in the field of application of international legislation”, said Alekseyev, noting that the project is open to cooperation with universities, educational platforms, and the media.

An analytical approach to the situation in the judicial system allows us to formalize our observations and generally known facts to understand the full picture, further forecasting, and use of our work in litigation,” says Ilya Dikarev, a Researcher at Brandenburg Technical University.

For the first time, the monitoring will touch upon the issues of observance of human rights, in particular the labor rights of citizens, in connection with the pandemic and disputes arising from changes in the national legislation in this context.

This issue is especially relevant for Armenia”, said Bella Shikaryan, Head of the ISHR section in Armenia. “There is nobody in the country that protects the labor rights of citizens, often these issues can only be resolved in court, but citizens are afraid to go to court, fearing to be fired.

According to Helen Manaseryan, Head of the Educational Center of the Confederation of Trade Unions of Armenia, coverage of such trials during monitoring will allow citizens to feel the opportunity to protect their rights.

Bella Shikaryan, a well-known Armenian human rights defender and journalist, supported the initiative of the ISHR to expand cooperation within the framework of the project with the Ukrainian and Armenian media, to cover the work of the human rights organization in both countries. This will allow citizens to better navigate the mechanisms of judicial protection of their rights.

Regarding the educational program of the project, the Information and Analytical Center of the International Society for Human Rights has already begun cooperation with Ukrainian universities, in particular, the Law Institute of the Kiev National Economic University, Kharkov National University of Internal Affairs, Poltava Law Institute, Grinchenko Kiev University, and others.

As noted by Anastasia Alekseyeva, Head of the Monitoring Group of the IAC ISHR, the project will continue to develop cooperation with universities to attract students, lawyers, sociologists, journalists, etc., to work on court monitoring. The result of the educational component of the project will be the development of a practical training course for senior law students of the law faculties.

The results of the monitoring will form the basis for the annual report of the ISHR on the right to a fair trial in Ukraine, as well as in Armenia.