POLICE WITH THE PEOPLE!

Further, at its meeting, the Council discussed and approved the “Regulations on the Public Council under the Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine in Chernihiv Oblast on Human Rights” and the “Regulations” of its work.

In the speeches of the participants of the meeting, hopes were expressed for the productivity of the organization’s work, wishes and proposals for optimizing its activities. In particular, in the speech of the Head of the Chernihiv Oblast Public Organization “Pravozakhasnyk” Serhiy Vodolagin, the opinion was expressed that the Council should take care of protecting the rights not only of detainees or suspects, but also of law enforcement officers themselves, as full members of Ukrainian society. And Serhiy Mykolayovych added that members of the organization should also pay attention to the problems of security of the employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs themselves, as an integral part of the success of the initiated case. Acting Head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Ivan Katerynchuk agreed with these words.

Members of the Public Council were invited to submit written proposals to the Ministry of Internal Affairs by November 10 of this year for the preparation of the Council’s work plan, as well as to determine specific areas of work for each participant in order to avoid duplication of work in the same field of activity. It was also proposed to introduce into the practice of the Ministry of Internal Affairs the mandatory familiarization of the co-chairman of the council Lepekha A.G. and its members (upon request) with draft departmental regulations relating to issues related to the protection of human rights. The heads of sectoral services and divisions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine shall introduce mandatory involvement of Council members as experts in the development and processing of regulatory acts relating to the protection of human rights. It was decided to assign Council members to five operational zones of the Chernihiv region for better organization of work and coverage of the entire territory of the region.

The meeting’s decision also included ensuring effective interaction between Council members and heads of sectoral services and divisions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine in responding to requests and notifications from Council members. It was also decided to involve Council members in the work of boards and to conduct internal investigations into human rights violations by employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the region.

The members of the Council decided to consider the work of mobile groups as one of the areas of activity of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine to create preventive mechanisms in accordance with the requirements of the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, ratified in July 2006.

The speeches of the speakers contained notes of optimism and hope that the work of the Council would become a guarantee of the advancement of the Chernihiv Region Internal Affairs Department on the path of democratization of its activities and further rapprochement between the police and the public.

Central Police Station of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine in Chernihiv Oblast