The Ministry of Defense has established the Central Department for the Protection of Servicemen's Rights
Kyiv • UNN
In order to effectively protect the rights of servicemen and their families, Ukraine has established the Central Department for the Protection of the Rights of Servicemen, an institution of a military ombudsman.
On Wednesday, April 3, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine established the Central Department for the Protection of the Rights of Servicemen, an institution that includes a military ombudsman. This was reported by UNN with reference to the press service of the Ministry of Defense.
Details
It is noted that on April 3, a constituent meeting on the protection of the rights of servicemen was held under the chairmanship of the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Rustem Umerov and with the participation of the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets.
The main topic of the meeting was the effective protection of the rights of servicemen and their families through the introduction of a new institution - in fact, a military ombudsman.
In particular, the Central Department for the Protection of Servicemen's Rights was established, which is directly subordinated to the Minister of Defense and will be responsible for reviewing appeals and complaints of servicemen, providing primary legal aid, conducting inspections and investigating violations of the rights of servicemen and their families
During the inaugural meeting, the approach developed to ensure legal protection of the military, taking into account the specifics of their activities, was also presented.
The main violations that will be checked by the Central Department for the Protection of Servicemen's Rights include:
- provision of military personnel;
- right to vacation;
- prevention of abuse of commanders' rights;
- failure to provide/insufficient provision of medical care;
- social guarantees;
- violation of gender equality.
The implementation of this initiative involves a comprehensive approach to protecting the rights of soldiers and their families, including responding to specific complaints, analyzing specific situations, visiting the sites of violations, conducting inspections and following up on restoration of rights
Addendum
The experience of countries where the military ombudsman institution has already proved its effectiveness was taken into account when drafting the document: Sweden, Norway, Austria, Germany, Canada, Ireland, the Czech Republic and Belgium. In Sweden, the military ombudsman institution has been successfully operating for over 110 years.
Dmytro Lubinets, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, said that this is an effective tool for protecting the rights of active military and persons liable for military service.
We have a hotline, we have tools for monitoring social media, where military personnel write about violations of their rights. We now have the means to respond quickly to such signals. If an inspection conducted under my order establishes the elements of a crime of violation of the rights of servicemen, the relevant appeal will be immediately sent to law enforcement. Soldiers must and will feel that their dignity is the highest value for the Ministry of Defense. The Ministry will not allow anyone to violate the rights of the military
Recall
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed a law that improves social protection rights for military and police officers, including leave after injury, disability, maternity leave, death compensation, and prevention of gender discrimination.
