Human Rights Training

On 17 February 2011, at the office of the charitable organisation “Chernihiv Women’s Human Rights Centre” in Chernihiv, a seminar-training entitled “International Standards and Human Rights in Penal Institutions of Ukraine” was held with representatives of non-governmental organisations of the Chernihiv region.
The training was organised by the charitable organisation “Chernihiv Women’s Human Rights Centre” as part of the implementation of the project “Ensuring Access to Justice for Convicted Women, Imprisoned Minors, and Individuals Released from Places of Detention through the Provision of Legal Assistance”. Representatives of more than 20 non-governmental non-profit organisations of the Chernihiv region, members of the Chernihiv Municipal Supervisory Commission, the Main Department of Justice in the Chernihiv region, the Chernihiv Municipal Centre of Social Services for Family, Children, and Youth, and heads of correctional institutions of the Chernihiv region were invited to participate in the training.
The training participants became acquainted with the recommendations of the European Prison Rules regarding the basic principles of serving a sentence and the conditions of imprisonment (reception, distribution and placement, nutrition, medical care, living conditions, contacts with the outside world, etc.). The compliance of Ukrainian legislation with the European Prison Rules regarding the conditions of detention of convicts was analysed in detail.
The head of the Chernihiv Correctional Colony No. 44, Lieutenant Colonel of the internal service O. V. Kyselova, spoke to the training participants with information about the state of observance of the rights and legitimate interests of convicts, who particularly emphasised the existing interrelation between the level of legal and social protection of staff at the current stage of social development and the observance of the rights and legitimate interests of convicts.
I. V. Koshil, Deputy Head of the Chernihiv Correctional Colony No. 44, spoke about her vision of the role of public organisations in conducting social and educational work with convicts.
During the training, those present were acquainted with the state of observance of the rights and legitimate interests of convicts in the State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine and the Chernihiv region.
Deputy Head of the Chernihiv Pre-trial Detention Centre B. O. Vasylenko acquainted those present at the training with the specifics of conducting socio-psychological and educational work with prisoners and convicts in pre-trial detention centres.
R. O. Zhankovskyi, a lawyer of the MMGO “M’ART”, and V. V. Tarasov, Executive Director of the NGO “Chernihiv Public Committee for Human Rights Protection”, shared their vision of the causes and conditions for the violation of the rights of convicts and the minimisation of this phenomenon. The specifics of providing assistance to HIV-infected people were described to those present at the training by T. L. Zuyok, a representative of the Chernihiv regional branch of the All-Ukrainian Charitable Organisation “All-Ukrainian Network of People Living with HIV”.
N. O. Piddubna, a lawyer of the Chernihiv Public Committee for Human Rights Protection, shared her thoughts on the importance of providing legal assistance to convicts and its role in forming law-abiding behaviour, respect for rights and laws.
L. O. Mazur, Director of the Chernihiv Municipal Centre of Social Services for Family, Children, and Youth, spoke about the problems of social support for individuals released from places of detention.
During the training, there was a discussion of the proposals of the public organisation “Donetsk Memorial” regarding amendments to the Internal Rules of Penal Institutions.
A. Lepekha, Director of the CO “CWHRC”