Recommendations for improving the work of supervisory commissions and public councils

1. The Ministry of Justice of Ukraine should prepare a new version of the Statute on Supervisory Commissions as soon as possible, and the Government should adopt it, removing functions that do not correspond to the aims and tasks of the creation of supervisory commissions and are not inherent to their activities.
2. The Statute must mandatorily provide for the financing of the activities of supervisory commissions, primarily for at least one full-time staff member.
3. Grant supervisory commissions real powers to exercise public control, in particular, by guaranteeing the possibility of unhindered access to penal institutions.
4. The Department for the Execution of Sentences should cease the practice of failing to respond to cases of arbitrary obstruction of the activities of supervisory commissions and should guarantee, through internal regulatory documents, the full performance of their primary tasks by the supervisory commissions.
5. It is proposed that regional supervisory commissions hold meetings for members of local supervisory commissions in the region to exchange experience at least once a year, annually issue (publish) summarised reports on the activities of the region's supervisory commissions, sum up the results, and disseminate positive experiences of public control.
6. Regional and local supervisory commissions should actively involve civil society organisations, primarily human rights groups, as well as the general public, in the activities of the commissions.
7. The Ministry of Labour and Social Policy should not limit itself to collecting statistical information on the activities of supervisory commissions, but should instead accumulate experience of their work, summarise it, provide them with recommendations, initiate analytical work in the field of supervisory commissions’ activities with the involvement of relevant specialists, persistently involve civil society organisations in conducting training sessions, seminars, and ‘round tables’ on the topic of supervisory commissions and public control in general, and support the publication of various information and methodological materials on this subject.
8. Public councils under the territorial departments of the Department for the Execution of Sentences should more actively influence the activities of penal institutions and territorial bodies of the Department in the field of human rights compliance, and adopt a proactive approach to cooperation.
9. The Public Council under the Department for the Execution of Sentences should intensify its activities, abandon the practice of ignoring the initiatives of human rights organisations, and shift the emphasis in its activities from the imitation of public participation to genuine dialogue and cooperation with the public.
10. The Department for the Execution of Sentences should facilitate the active exchange of experience between Public councils in the regions, effectively contribute to holding joint events with members of Public councils, disseminate positive experience, and engage leading human rights organisations in cooperation, while refraining from making sweeping accusations against them.
11. Shift interaction with Public councils from the plane of serving the needs of the agency to the plane of constructive cooperation.
12. Update information on supervisory commissions and Public councils on the agency’s website more frequently than once every few years.
13. Initiate the creation of mobile monitoring groups for human rights compliance within the system, similar to the mobile groups in the Ministry of Internal Affairs system, with the mandatory involvement of leading human rights organisations in their creation and activities.
14. Publish information on the processing and use of the results of monitoring conducted in the agency’s institutions.