Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group

The Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group (KhPG) is one of the oldest and most active Ukrainian human rights organizations. As a legal entity, it was established in 1992, but it has been working as a human rights protection group since 1988 under the Society "Memorial", a first official human rights organization in the former USSR. Many members of the organization took part in a human rights movement of the 1960s – 1980s.

Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group
FoundedNovember 1992
Location
  • Kharkiv, Ukraine
Area served
Ukraine
Key people
Yevgen Zakharov and Irina Rapp
Websitekhpg.org

Statutory mission

  • gathering information about human rights abuse and sending this information to the relevant persons, organizations, and mass media
  • carrying out public investigations of human rights violations
  • legal enlightenment and popularization of law-protecting ideas
  • examination of the operating laws and draft bills as to their compliance with international legal rules
  • appealing to legislative, executive and judicial offices for problems concerning human rights
  • initiating and supporting public protests, actions and conferences on problems of human rights

Major activities

  • defense of persons whose rights are violated by legislative powers or public officials (since 1988)
  • creation and support of an information network for human rights organizations (since 1992)
  • preparation and publication of a series of history books dedicated to resistance to the totalitarian regime in the USSR (since 1992)
  • human rights propaganda, among executive and legislative authorities, local governments, NGOs, and concerned citizens (since 1993)
  • human rights education for various social and professional groups (since 1993)
  • creation and management of a public reception center and library with free and easy access for all citizens (since 1995)
  • analysis of the human rights situation in Ukraine (since 1995)
  • annual All-Ukrainian human rights essay contests for college and high school students (since 1996)
  • monitoring and protection of freedom of expression and privacy (since 1996)
  • monitoring and protection of the right to freedom from torture, cruel, and unusual punishment (since 1996) [1]
  • analysis of the legislation and legislative practices concerning the special services (since 1996)
  • investigating a history of the dissident movement in Ukraine, creating a biographical dictionary of dissidents and a list of persons repressed on political grounds between 1953 and 1988 (since 1996)[2]
  • creation and support of the information resource «Human Rights in Ukraine» (www.khpg.org) (since 2000)
  • analysis of discrimination and inequality in Ukraine (since 2002)

Recent projects

  • Creation of Virtual Human Rights Library in Ukraine (December 2006 - June 2007) [3]
  • Creation of a National System for the Prevention of Torture and Ill-Treatment in Ukraine (November 2006 – January 2008)
  • Monitoring, Defense and Preparation of the Regional Report on Human Rights and the National Report on Human Rights "Human Rights in Ukraine – 2006" (July 2006 – June 2007) [4]
  • Analysis of the problem of overcrowding in facilities of preliminary detention (January 2006 – February 2007)
  • Monitoring, Defense and Preparation of the Regional Report on Human Rights and the National Report on Human Rights "Human Rights in Ukraine – 2005" (July 2005 – June 2006) [5]
  • Legal and public monitoring of the presidential election campaign in the East and South of Ukraine and defense of voters' rights during the third stage of the election (December 2004 – May 2005)
  • Monitoring, Defense and Preparation of the Regional Report on Human Rights and the National Report on Human Rights "Human Rights in Ukraine – 2004" (June 2004 – April 2005) [6]
  • Fostering human rights (February 2005 – January 2008)
  • Creating mechanisms of cooperation of human rights organizations, Ukraine (August 2003 – July 2004)
  • Campaigning against torture and cruel treatment in Ukraine (July 2003 – July 2006)

Major publications in English

  • Access to information and other aspects of freedom of expression and privacy in Ukraine
  • The Presidential elections – 2004 in Ukraine: A Human Rights perspective
  • Against torture: Review of messages on torture and cruel treatment in Ukraine (June 2001 – December 2002)
  • On torture and cruel treatment in Ukraine (1997–2001)

International and foreign partners

Alliances

The Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group is a member of the Coalition "Justice for Peace in Donbas".

Awards

EU/US Democracy and Civil Society Award (1998)

See also

Association of Ukrainian Monitors on Human Rights Conduct in Law Enforcement

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