UN attention to arbitrary detention

Kyiv, 5 November 2008. – At the invitation of the Government of Ukraine, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention of the UN Human Rights Council was in Ukraine on an official visit that began on 22 October. Today, at the end of the mission, the members of the group, Vice-Chair and Rapporteur Malick Sow (Senegal), as well as Ms. Shaheen Sardar Ali (Pakistan/United Kingdom), summed up the visit and thanked the Government of Ukraine for its cooperation in conducting the mission.

During the working visit, members of the group held a number of meetings and visits to places of detention in Kyiv, Donetsk, Simferopol, Sevastopol, Lviv, Chop, Mukachevo, and Uzhhorod. The Working Group acknowledged the challenges facing the resolution of detention-related problems and emphasised the progress that the Government of Ukraine is making in this area.

“During the visit, we had full support from the Ukrainian Government,” commented Ms. Shaheen Sardar Ali. “The Working Group had unhindered access to all places of deprivation of liberty – prisons, pre-trial detention centres, migrant detention centres, investigation isolators and temporary detention isolators, police stations, and facilities for minors and the mentally ill. We conducted about 140 interviews, including with people suspected of committing a crime. Such cooperation on the part of the Government is an example that the governments of other countries should follow. Only people dedicated to their work can allow such detailed examination to be conducted publicly. The places of detention we visited are under the authority of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (including the police), the State Security Service, the State Department for the Execution of Sentences, the State Border Guard Service, the Ministry of Defence, and the Ministry of Health.”

The Working Group also met with the First Lady of Ukraine, the Ombudsman, judges of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, and the Constitutional Court, the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Bar Association, relatives of detainees, and representatives of non-governmental and international organisations.

The Working Group supported the existence of monitoring committees and public councils created by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and also recognised as an effective practice the establishment of human rights advisor positions in every region, which are subordinate to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Regarding monitoring, the Working Group called on the state to identify National Preventive Mechanisms, as stipulated in the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture, taking into account the existing models already used at the national level.”

“We support the Government’s approach of using possible alternatives to detention in cases where a criminal offence is not proven,” said Mr. Malick Sow, welcoming the new legislative initiatives for improving the protection of detainees’ rights. “Every step forward will help protect the rights of detainees, despite the difficulties facing a person deprived of liberty. Arbitrary detention must have no place in a democratic society, and this issue must be addressed effectively.”

Without diminishing the importance of these positive steps, the Working Group expressed concern regarding certain aspects, such as:

Ø Access to justice for detainees;

Ø The right to a fair trial;

Ø Insufficient independence of lawyers and the judicial system;

Ø A subjective approach to decision-making by the Prosecutor General’s Office and the fact that the Prosecutor General’s Office performs both law enforcement and supervisory functions; and

Ø Ongoing reports of ill-treatment and torture, especially at such a critical stage as arrest and detention.

The Working Group acknowledged the economic challenges that the state may face and called for respect for international obligations in the field of human rights.

More detailed information about the Working Group’s visit, which can be found in the appendix, will be included in the report of the group for the 10th session of the UN Human Rights Council, which will take place in March 2009.

More detailed questions regarding the Working Group’s visit can be directed to Mr. Miguel de la Lama by phone at 41 22 917 9289 or by email at [email protected].

About the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention of the UN Human Rights Council: The previous Commissioner for Human Rights established the Working Group in 1991 to investigate cases of arbitrary deprivation of liberty. Its mandate was expanded in 1997 to investigate issues related to the detention of illegal migrants and asylum seekers. The Human Rights Council extended the mandate of the Working Group for another three years by resolution 6/4, adopted on 28 September 2007. The Working Group has conducted missions in Angola, Argentina, Bahrain, Belarus, Bhutan, Canada, China, Colombia, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, Honduras, Indonesia, Iran, Latvia, Mauritania, Mexico, Nepal, Nicaragua, Norway, Peru, South Africa, Turkey, and Vietnam. Regarding the issue of migrants and asylum seekers, it has visited Australia, Romania, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

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The UN Office in Ukraine was opened in 1992. Today, the UN system in Ukraine includes 13 agencies, international organisations, and associated institutions, namely the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS in Ukraine (UNAIDS), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the World Health Organization (WHO), as well as associated UN organisations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank (WB), and the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

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For information regarding UN activities in Ukraine, please contact:

Victoria Andrievska,
Public Relations and Media Coordinator
UN Office in Ukraine
Tel. +38 044 254 0035
[email protected]
www.un.org.ua