Appeal from the UHRU

Dated 18 August 2009

To the Prime Minister of Ukraine
Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine

Change in the leadership of the State Department for the Execution of Sentences must be a step in reforming the system

The Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union has for many years repeatedly drawn attention to systemic, mass human rights violations in places of confinement under the administration of the State Department for the Execution of Sentences (hereinafter – the Department).

Presenting the annual 'Human Rights in Ukraine' reports from 2004 to 2008, which were prepared jointly by over 30 human rights organisations, the UHRU has consistently shown the main problems of the penal system by analysing facts of human rights violations. The UHRU's arguments were also reflected in alternative reports from the public to various international organisations, which subsequently found support in the concluding recommendations of the UN Committee against Torture, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture, the UN Human Rights Council, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and others.

At the same time, we have constantly pointed out that the Department itself remains a rudiment of the Soviet model compared to other government bodies due to the leadership's absolute unwillingness to carry out reforms, adhere to human rights, and cooperate with the public. Due to the lack of prospects, the UHRU has repeatedly appealed to higher authorities with a demand to dismiss the Department's leadership. Twice, the Department's leadership received the annual human rights 'Burdock of the Year' anti-award due to the most brutal violations of human rights.

Therefore, in our conviction, the appointment of the new Department leadership must be an opportunity to change the situation and lay the foundations for systematic reform of this agency based on respect for human rights and modern approaches to ensuring public safety.

Given this, we believe that when appointing the Head of the Department for the Execution of Sentences, the opinion of the public, which carries out daily monitoring of human rights violations in this system and contributes to improving the situation, should be heard. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct wider consultations with the public to select a candidate who would have support among the public.

In the opinion of the UHRU, a new Department leadership should be appointed. The appointment of any of the deputies in such a situation will fundamentally not change the situation, as the entire leadership, including the Head, his deputies, and key managers, are to blame for the current catastrophic situation. In view of this, we were surprised by the candidacy of N. Kalashnyk for the position of Head of the Department, since she personally stressed in her letter that the Department would cooperate only with those public organisations that positively assess its activities. The assessment of her work regarding the management of personnel work, medical support, social-educational work, and cooperation with the public is practically unanimously negative among public human rights organisations. Therefore, the appointment of N. Kalashnyk to the position of Head of the Department will, in our opinion, have severe consequences for both the agency and the convicts.

The UHRU calls on the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine to pay attention to the numerous statements of human rights organisations regarding the appointment of the Head of the State Department for the Execution of Sentences and to conduct consultations with the public regarding other candidates for this position. At the same time, it is important to ensure a complete renewal of the department's leadership, taking into account the professional qualities of candidates, respect for human rights, and an understanding of the necessity to reform the penal system.

Volodymyr Yavorskyi
Executive Director of the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union