Its inception was the result of several years of activity in Chortkiv by the correspondence office of the information bulletin “Human Rights” – a publication of the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group (KHPG), one of the most authoritative Ukrainian public organisations.

The main goal of “Helsinki Initiative – XXI” is declared as the “protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms by promoting the practical implementation of humanitarian articles of the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe of 1975, and other international legal documents adopted on its basis, which take into account the civilisational problems and development goals of the 21st century”.

“Helsinki Initiative – XXI” is guided by the “Declaration of Ethical Principles for Civil Society Organisations of Ukraine”.

Oleksandr Stepanenko was elected Chairman of “Helsinki Initiative – XXI”.

The main partners of the Helsinki Initiative are: KHPG, the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union (UHHRU), the Environmental Humanitarian Organisation “Green World” (Chortkiv), and the newspaper “Svoboda” (Ternopil).

In May 2006, “Helsinki Initiative – XXI” joined the UHHRU.

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– This question is often asked of us at public meetings.

Naturally, it is because we position ourselves as a part of the Ukrainian and international Helsinki human rights movement.

Almost 40 years separate us from the signing by 35 states of the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe – this historical document was adopted in the capital of Finland on 1 August 1975.

The so-called “humanitarian basket” of the Final Helsinki Act outlined the obligations of countries to observe human rights and – importantly! – established international mechanisms to control the process of adherence to these obligations.

The signing of the Helsinki Act opened up space for the activity of many civic groups monitoring its implementation: in the countries of Western and Eastern Europe, the USA and the USSR. This process became the “beginning of the end” of the totalitarian Soviet Union – a non-violent one at that, caused exclusively by the power of the word and civic protest.

The Ukrainian Helsinki Group was created on 9 November 1976. Its founders and leaders were people of whom Ukraine should be proud: Mykola Rudenko, Petro Hryhorenko, Oles Berdnyk, Oksana Meshko, Nina Strokata, Levko Lukyanenko, Myroslav Marynovych, Mykola Matusevych, Oleksa Tykhyi, Ivan Kandyba…

For the creation of the first human rights public organisation in Ukraine, the dissidents paid with decades of imprisonment, and some – Oleksa Tykhyi, Yuriy Lytvyn, Valeriy Marchenko and Vasyl Stus – with their own lives… But it was no longer possible to stop the advance of freedom – the totalitarian Soviet empire collapsed 15 years after the emergence of the Helsinki movement within it!

Today – given the precedent of the forcible annexation of Crimea and the redrawing of borders by the Kremlin – other fundamental principles of the Final Helsinki Act, the entire spectrum of which is the subject of OSCE activity, are becoming relevant for us alongside the humanitarian articles: security, non-violent resolution of contradictions, stability of borders, international humanitarian law, dialogue and co-operation, environmental protection…

Therefore, the provisions of the Helsinki Accords and control over their implementation are no less necessary now than they were 40 years ago!