Joint monitoring visit of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights and UN Women in Ukraine to Odesa oblast

A joint monitoring visit of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights and UN Women in Ukraine took place last week in Odesa oblast. 

The purpose of the visit was to monitor the observance of human rights and the status of meeting the needs of different social groups in the context of the war and the recovery of Ukraine. 

During the visit, the monitoring team held a series of meetings with key stakeholders and partners in Odesa oblast to discuss areas of support and assess progress in addressing pressing human rights issues in the oblast:

• priorities of vulnerable groups of women and men and realization of their rights, response to cases of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV);
• progress in the implementation of gender equality policy and women's empowerment in the processes of recovery and local development in communities;
• implementation of local initiatives for women in cooperation with local authorities to overcome the consequences of the war and humanitarian crisis.

The discussions and meetings were attended by:

• Representatives of civil society organizations that advocate for and ensure the realization of the rights of women and vulnerable groups, as well as respond to cases of CRSV;
• Representatives of the Odesa Oblast Military Administration and specialists from structural units that ensure the implementation of the state policy on social support and services for vulnerable groups, equal rights and opportunities for women and men, prevention and response to gender-based violence and CRSV;
• Tairovska and Yuzhnenska territorial communities, including representatives of local councils, local NGOs, internally displaced persons and local residents.

The most discussed issues during the meetings were the availability of quality medical, educational, transportation and other services for IDPs, women and men with disabilities, and other vulnerable groups, employment opportunities, the importance of comprehensive psychological and social support for the population, and the challenges of staffing and resource provision of these services.

The monitoring visit was also joined by UN Women Representative in Ukraine Sabine Freizer Gunes, who during the coordination meeting in Odesa emphasized the importance of strong partnership with women's NGOs that defend the rights of women facing multiple forms of discrimination and expressed gratitude to the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, and all the participants of the meeting for their hard work on the observance of women's rights, in particular women with disabilities, women living with HIV, representatives of the Roma community, who face gender-related consequences of the full-scale Russian war against Ukraine. She also emphasized that Odesa oblast is a priority region for UN Women in terms of activities to combat and prevent CRSV and announced the planned activities to be implemented by UN Women jointly with the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights and partner civil society organizations.

Based on the results of the monitoring visit, recommendations will be developed to implement appropriate changes in the activities of various authorities, as well as to strengthen advocacy to meet the needs and realize the rights of vulnerable groups of women and men in Odesa oblast.

The monitoring visit of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights and UN Women in Ukraine to Odesa oblast was supported by the governments of the United Kingdom and Sweden.