In 2015, more than 1,000 citizens received free legal assistance at the public reception center of the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights.

In 2015, the public reception of the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights continued to work actively within the framework of the network of legal receptions of the Ukrainian Helsinki Union for Human Rights (UHHRU) in Chernihiv and Chernihiv region.

In 2015, the office of the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights, during field events and using IT technologies, provided free legal assistance to more than 1,000 clients, most of whom are low-income groups of the population, as well as victims of human rights violations. In order to systematically solve the identified problems, the organization identified 3 strategic court cases, which, together with partners, are being promoted in the European Court of Human Rights.

Also, within the framework of the network of reception centers of the UHHRU and in cooperation with the NGO “MART”, documentation of human rights violations related to the conflict in Donbas is carried out. The essence of the initiative is to record any violations of the rights to life, freedom from torture, property rights, etc. The survey is conducted using specially developed questionnaires. The respondents are four groups of people: internally displaced persons (IDPs); persons who were held hostage (captive); persons who were injured; relatives and acquaintances of persons who died or went missing. Such documentation of human rights violations is an extremely important step for the administration of justice in national and international instances in the future.

Undoubtedly, in 2016, the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights will continue its active work in all areas of providing legal assistance and protecting human rights.

The general decline in the well-being of residents, as well as the growing number of legal problems, require increased activities to protect human rights, including at the level of the Chernihiv region.

For effective work to prevent violations and protect human rights, it is necessary to unite the efforts of all interested parties, both representatives of non-governmental organizations and human rights defenders, and state and municipal bodies.

To this end, at the end of 2015, the ChGKZHR signed Memorandums of Cooperation with the Chernihiv, Nizhyn and Mensky local centers for the provision of free secondary legal aid and the Regional Center for the Provision of Free Secondary Legal Aid.

So far, joint work is carried out at the level of redirecting clients and organizing joint events, but more systematic activities are planned for 2016. This involves the development and use of general standards of work, strengthening the potential of legal aid providers, and effectively informing residents of Chernihiv and the region about the opportunity to receive qualified free legal aid. In addition, efforts to build trust and a positive image of free legal aid will be significantly intensified, since there is still a fairly strong stereotype in society that free aid cannot be of high quality.

Our focus is not only on legal aid to a specific person, but on the formation of an effective model of providing free legal aid based on interaction between all legal aid providers.

The Legal Reception of the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights is located at: 57/1 Gorkogo St., Chernihiv, 14000; Legal aid hotline:

(0462) 612-532





(0462) 612-532; e-mail: protection.ua@gmail.com; Website: .

The activities of the Legal Reception of the Ukrainian Helsinki Union for Human Rights are carried out within the framework of the initiative of the Ukrainian Helsinki Union for Human Rights, in cooperation with the NGO “MART”, with the financial support of the Government of Sweden through the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) and the Government of Canada through the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD), the Human Rights First program.

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