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UNDP conducts educational training on human rights and HIV in Western Ukraine

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Ukraine is leading in Europe and is the third country in Eurasia, after Cambodia and Thailand, according to new HIV cases level. The Ukrainian society is striving to find an effective response to this challenge. The international community and the UN, in particular, have come to an undeniable conclusion that there existed direct relation between human rights standards and HIV. Practical realization of the human rights is a solid background for an efficient resistance to HIV, as many experts agree.

7–8 November, 2007, Ivano-Frankivsk

UNDP in Ukraine carries out preparations to establish an all-Ukrainian human rights protection network, specializing in HIV/AIDS issues. Monitoring human rights situation would be one of the network’s essential objectives.

Mykhailo YAROSHENKO, Dnipropetrivsk-based Regional Coordinator of the International HIV/AIDS Alliance in Ukraine, says: “We do need such a network since HIV-positive people do not know their rights, authority representatives ignore their obligations towards HIV-infected, many HIV-service NGOs do not have lawyers. Finally, there does not exist any system of monitoring and registering human rights violations, it is hard to monitor compliance with appropriate laws in the HIV-related sphere and quite often prosecutor offices ignore this sphere”.

A regular two-day seminar on Human Rights and HIV for 16 HIV-service organizations from Western and Central Ukraine was organised by the All-Ukrainian Coalition of HIV-service organizations. Andriy MYKYTYN, the Head of the International Christian Charitable Fund “Solidarnist” explained the reasons behind choosing Western Ukraine by saying that many people believed Western Ukraine was a region where HIV levels were low. “But it is not right. Indeed the HIV-situation in the region is not better and in some aspects could be worse than in other regions of the country,” he says. “For instance, in other regions many programmes and projects are being implemented, with the help of international funds, while in Western Ukraine we have got silence and inaction. We need to attract community attention, implement prevention programmes and carry out HIV public awareness events”, Mykytyn adds.

The team of trainers comprised Tetyana Dobrydnyk (Head of the Mykolayiv-based NGO “Independent Social Advocacy and Human Rights Protection”) and Oleg Alyokhin (Head of the Mykolayiv-based NGO “LIGA”). Both of them have a considerable first-hand experience and good training skills in various HIV prevention matters.

During the workshop, the participants looked for possible joint responses to withstand HIV-epidemic challenge. Alla SHKRETA, Head of the Chernivtsi Charitable Fund “New Family” says: “Ukraine has to substitute a current faint-hearted HIV policy for a more vigorous and rigid policy, generating real impact and having a powerful influence on the situation. We do not have proper statistical date. While the coordination among the government and nongovernmental organizations is weak. But prevention activities are not carried out on a systematic basis”.

The trainees and trainers were united in their common understanding of the importance to withstand HIV/AIDS epidemic. Practically all of them have been involved in HIV prevention activities. For instance, Halyna ARTEMENKO, a consultant for the International Christian Charitable Fund “Solidarnist”, says: “If we manage to bring back to society even one drug-addicted or an HIV-positive person, it already means a lot”.

The participants managed to fully meet their expectations during the workshop. Andriy DMYTRENKO, Head of Cherkasy Regional Branch of the All-Ukrainian Network of People Living with HIV says: “I have received more than I had expected. All of us have got plenty of supplementary materials useful for human rights protection. They are conveniently recorded onto a compact disk”.

The recent workshop has been organised by UNDP and UNAIDS in the framework of a jointly-funded project “Civil Society Empowerment in Protection of Human Rights of People Affected by HIV, Vulnerable Groups and People at Risk”. It started in January 2007 and will last for eighteen months.

The primary goals of the project are: to create an HIV-sphere network for human right monitoring and protection; carry out a survey and perform analysis of a national legislation in the HIV-area; organize public education activities on human rights and HIV matters; produce information materials, including manual on human rights and HIV, posters, booklets, etc.

For more information, please, contact Valeriy Ryabukha, Legal and Policy Advisor of the UNDP Project “Governance of HIV/AIDS” on tel.: (+38 044) 499 11 74.