In May 2012, a student conference dedicated to the tragic events of the Holocaust 70 years ago was held at the Oleksandr Barvinskyi Chortkiv Pedagogical College with the assistance of the “Helsinki Initiative – XXI”. The conference was held on the initiative of world literature teacher Liudmyla Chyzhyshyna, who had studied at the seminars “History of the Holocaust and Human Rights”, organised within the framework of the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union educational programme “Understanding Human Rights” (http://edu.helsinki.org.ua) and by the Ukrainian Centre for Holocaust Studies (www.holocaust.kiev.ua).
On 18 May, an information session titled “On the Way to the Universal Periodic Review of Ukraine” was held at the Premier Palace Hotel in the capital, where representatives of embassies accredited in Kyiv were presented with the conclusions and recommendations of Ukrainian NGOs regarding the human rights situation in Ukraine. A report on Ukraine's compliance with environmental rights was presented by Oleksandr Stepanenko. All Reports by Ukrainian human rights organisations for the Universal Periodic Review 2012 in Ukrainian can be found on the UHHRU website: http://helsinki.org.ua/index.php?id=1337411923
On 11 June, the “Helsinki Initiative” held a press conference at the “Pohliad” Communications Centre in Ternopil, where the report of human rights organisations “Human Rights in Ukraine – 2011” was presented.
During the period 1 October – 31 December 2012, the operation of the reception office of the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union (UHHRU) in Ternopil was supported jointly with the ENGO “Green World”. Regional partners of the UHHRU in creating the reception office in the Ternopil region act as follows: non-governmental organisations ENGO “Green World” and “Helsinki Initiative – XXI” with the assistance of the editorial office of the “Svoboda” newspaper. Consultations at the reception office are conducted by Oleksandr Mykhailovych Stepanenko and Olha Yevhenivna Kushneryk. The regional coordinator of the reception office: O. M. Stepanenko.
The reception office is located at the address: 46000 Ternopil, 11 Zhyvova St., office 803
Statistics of enquiries to the reception:
Between October and December 2012, 95 applicants turned to the reception office.
Information Events.
During October – December 2012, 2 public events were held.
In particular:
Round table at the premises of the “Svoboda” newspaper (Ternopil) on 20/11/2012
Participants:
* Deputy Chairman of the Court of Appeal of Ternopil Region Petro Dekailo;
* Head of the Department for Support of State Prosecution in Courts of the Prosecutor's Office of Ternopil Region Ivan Harbuliak;
* Chairman of the Ternopil Regional Bar Association Valerii Mishchenko;
* Member of the NGO “Helsinki Initiative – XXI”, reception consultant Olha Kushneryk.
In 2012, the organisation's representative Oleksandr Stepanenko joined the Advisory Council under the Ombudsman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Human Rights. Within the format of the Advisory Council under the Ombudsman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Human Rights, an expert group on environmental rights was created upon his initiative, comprising the following members:
Andrusevych Andrii, Board Member of the Public Organisation “Resource & Analysis Center ‘Society and Environment’” (Lviv);
Babinin Yurii, Chairman of the Union “Civic Watch” (Nikopol);
Berezin Volodymyr, Chairman of the Donetsk Regional Environmental Association “Green Movement of Donbas”, Editor-in-chief of the “Provinsiya” newspaper (Kostiantynivka);
Hardashuk Tetiana, Expert of the National Ecological Centre of Ukraine, Researcher at the Institute of Philosophy of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Doctor of Philosophical Sciences, member of the Ukrainian Association of the Club of Rome (Kyiv);
Holubovska-Onisimova Hanna, Chair of the Coordination Council of UNENGO “MAMA-86” (Kyiv);
Oleniuk Andrii, Council Member of the NGO “Helsinki Initiative – XXI”, lawyer at the law firm LLC “Clifford Chance” (Kyiv);
Perehon Oleh, Chairman of the Coordination Council of the Kharkiv Regional Public Organisation “Green Front” (Kharkiv);
Stepanenko Oleksandr, Board Member of the UHHRU, member of the Advisory Council under the Ombudsman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Human Rights (Chortkiv);
Fedorynchyk Serhii, Head of the Infocentre of the UEA “Green World” (Kyiv);
Shaparenko Serhii, Chairman of the Council of the “Ecological Group ‘Pechenihy’” (Kharkiv).
At the meeting of the Advisory Council under the Ombudsman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Human Rights on 21 December 2012, the expert group on environmental rights presented an “Analytical Note to the Question on the State of Ukraine's Compliance with Major International Agreements in the Sphere of Environmental Rights: The Aarhus Convention and the Espoo Convention”. The report was presented by Oleksandr Stepanenko.
In addition, the ENGO “Green World” and “Helsinki Initiative – XXI” acted as representatives of the Travelling Festival “Docudays UA International Human Rights Documentary Film Days” in two districts of the southern Ternopil region in December 2012. Presentation of 11 festival films, printed publications, and UHHRU activities took place in educational and cultural institutions of the cities of Chortkiv and Zalishchyky, as well as in the Ternopil Regional Pre-Trial Detention Centre.
Alongside the holding of public information events, printed publications of the UHHRU and its members were distributed in libraries, local government bodies, educational institutions, and NGOs, in particular: the report of human rights organisations “Human Rights in Ukraine – 2011”, and UHHRU booklets on practical issues of human rights protection.
Oleksandr Stepanenko participated in writing a section of the analytical report of human rights defenders “Human Rights in Ukraine – 2012”.
Financial operations of the NGO “Helsinki Initiative – XXI” were not conducted during 2012.
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