Public activists of Chernihiv region learn to protect socio-economic rights

A seminar for representatives of public organizations of the Chernihiv region on the topic “Mechanisms for Ensuring the Right to Social Protection” was held in Chernihiv on March 2, 2012.

According to the executive director of the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights, Viktor Tarasov, the issues of effective protection of socio-economic rights, the problems of limiting benefits and social payments to privileged categories of citizens have acquired a special resonance in modern Ukrainian society. This indicates the need for urgent reform of the system of providing benefits in the state and the implementation of a well-thought-out state social policy. The media and public organizations cannot remain aloof from this process.

The lawyer of the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union Maksym Shcherbatyuk spoke in detail about the current situation with respect for the right to social protection in Ukraine. He highlighted specific national and international mechanisms for protecting the socio-economic rights of Ukrainian citizens, and also listed the available ways to resolve the most common violations in this area at the current stage. According to Mr. Shcherbatyuk, due to the complexity of protecting socio-economic rights in the courts of Ukraine, the most promising way to protect rights violated in this way is currently to apply to the European Court of Human Rights.

The issue of access to public information as one of the new mechanisms for protecting socio-economic rights was highlighted by the head of the information support and public relations department of the executive apparatus of the Chernihiv Regional Council Oleksandr Solomakha. He also focused on the requirements of the Law of Ukraine “On the Protection of Personal Data”, because public organizations work with certain bases of socially vulnerable segments of the population in their daily activities.

The seminar participants agreed that in the current situation in the country, it is civil society organizations that are able to mobilize the community to protect their socio-economic rights, establish cross-sectoral cooperation in resolving the problem of limiting social payments and benefits guaranteed by law to vulnerable groups of the population. In addition, they can carry out public monitoring of the activities of government bodies in areas related to social protection.

The event was held by the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights with the support of the Civil Society Development project, implemented by the United Nations Development Program in Ukraine.