U.S. report on human rights says Ukraine's record remains poor (07/06/03)

U.S. report on human rights says Ukraine's record remains poor

PARSIPPANY, N.J. - The U.S. State Department earlier this year released its annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for the 2002 year and presented the findings to Congress. Of Ukraine, the report notes: "The government's human rights record remained poor and in some cases worsened; however, there were also some improvements in some areas."

The following is a rundown of some of the report's main points.

Violations of physical integrity

The report could not confirm political murders. However, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast Vice-Chairman Mykola Shkribliak was killed two days before the Parliamentary elections, when he was slated to run on the ticket of the Social Democratic Party of Ukraine (United).

Four journalists, including Mykhailo Kolomiyets, died under suspicious circumstances. Also, the case of the murder of Heorhii Gongadze remains unsolved, as does the murder of Ihor Aleksandrov, who had criticised Donetsk politicians in his role as director of a television station.

Little headway had been made in the investigation of Oleksander Olynyk, an election monitor who disappeared after the Parliamentary elections.

Torture of suspects by the police is widespread. The methods of torture are quite severe, and the suspect is often tortured until he waives his right to an attorney.

Violent hazing of new recruits in the armed forces also remained widespread.

Prisons are beset by killings, suicides and diseases that result from unsanitary conditions, including tuberculosis and dysentery. Inmates are often tortured by guards. It is also believed that military groups called Berkut ("Golden Eagles") beat inmates as part of their training.

Arbitrary detentions against dark-skinned people and potential political dissidents were prevalent.

One area of improvement in Ukraine's human rights record was a decrease in the number of suspects detained indefinitely pending trial. More were released from custody while awaiting trial than in previous years.

Trials and the courts

The accused do not always receive a fair trial, with President Leonid Kuchma and his administration often influencing court decisions. Also, by the end of the year, only 50 percent of court decisions had been enforced.

The procurator general often uses his power to selectively prosecute opponents of the ruling party but not members of it. The procurator general, who is appointed by the president and confirmed by Parliament, oversees the work of the regional prosecutors. Although a 2001 bill limited the power of prosecutors, they retain a large degree of discretion for investigating serious crimes, e.g. murder, corruption and major economic offenses.

Court officials are also subject to intimidation and violence. Judge Ihor Tkachuk of the Donetsk Oblast Commercial Court was hanged, possibly because of a case with which he had been involved. The same happened to Judge Natalia Achynovych of the Nikopol Municipal Court, who had been involved in a decision to invalidate parliamentary election results in the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.

Freedom of the press and media

Before the September protests against President Kuchma the news media were told by the administration to focus their reporting on the crash in Lviv at the air show that had occurred earlier, probably to distract attention from the protests.

Media groups distasteful to the administration have had difficulty obtaining and renewing licensing for their programming. Half of the members of the National Council for Television and Radio Broadcasting, which grants licenses, were appointed by the president and half by the Verkhovna Rada. Licenses were not renewed for Voice of America and Radio Kontynent, which rebroadcasts the British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC).

Freedom of the press is hampered by the pressure placed on journalists by means of libel suits. When a libel charge is levelled at a media entity, its funds can be frozen pending an outcome in the case, often bankrupting it.

Although opposition candidates had increased access to the media, the reporting was still "highly biased," acording to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Police confiscated 100,000 copies of the anti-presidential newspaper Svoboda from a van, throwing the issues into the river. Police similarly disposed of 100,000 more copies of Svoboda later in the day, after a search of the publishing house in Cherkasy.

In addition to Mr. Kolomiyets, who was hanged, possibly in connection with his reporting, and the three other mysterious journalist deaths, there were many incidents of assault on journalists. The editor of Berdiansk Dielovoi, Tatiana Goriacheva, had acid thrown in her face. She said the attacks might have been linked to reports on illegal metal exports through Berdiansk ports, corruption, judicial misconduct and politicians.

Freedom of association

Police generally did not directly interfere with legal demonstrations. However, during the September 2002 anti-Kuchma demonstrations in Kyiv, authorities intentionally made it difficult for the demonstration to take place. Opposition leaders were detained, buses traveling to Kyiv were turned back, train access was decreased and there were television blackouts.

Freedom of religion

Freedom of religion was at a good level, although some groups reported difficulty registering with the State Committee on Religious Affairs. Acts of anti-Semitism were rare, although there was an unpremediated attack on the Great Synagogue in Kyiv.

Elections

The report writes, "Officials did not take steps to curb the widespread and open abuse of authority, including the use of government positions and facilities, to the unfair advantage of certain parties." There was a large disparity between the results of the party-list vote and the single mandate vote. The single mandate vote is more subject to manipulation.

Oles Donii, of the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc, alleges that police raided his election office and required 20 of his supporters to be questioned. He accuses the authorities of harassment.

There seems to have been election fraud in Oleksander Zhyr's attempt for re-election to Parliament. A videotape shows the deputy governor of the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast and the leaders of the relevant election commissions deciding who should win the election.

Political opponents often faced charges of libel or tax evasion, which were politically motivated. Ms. Tymoshenko, for example, was still being pursued on criminal charges at the time of publication.

Women and ethnic minorities

The report writes, "Violence against women reportedly was pervasive." Past surveys have estimated that 10 to 15 percent of women have been raped, and a quarter of women have been physically abused.

Unemployment disproportionately affects women, with 65 to 70 percent of the unemployed being women. Also, the average salary for women was 27 percent lower than for men. Yet, Ukraine is the only country in which women make up the majority of the workforce.

Trafficking of women continues to be a problem. Women are often lured to other countries with offers of employment, ultimately finding themselves under the control of traffickers.

Discrimination against ethnic minorities is still commonplace. Increasingly, people of African and Asian descent are being harassed. Also, ethnic Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars complain of discrimination by ethnic Russians in Crimea.

Economic issues

The minimum wage was raised to approximately $35 per month this year, with the Rada setting the level of subsistence at $64 per month. June 2002 marked the first time the average salary was higher than the subsistence level, and this average later reached $73 per month. Since the unreported "shadow economy" accounts for half of Ukraine's economic activity, the amounts earned per family are higher than many statistics suggest.

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