In a democracy, citizens are essential workers. A citizen’s “work” includes voting in elections, assembling to address important needs, and participating in public actions so that public interests can prevail. But too often, civic participation poses risks to the safety and well-being of the citizenry. This is especially true during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this issue of Highlights, partners share their tips for well-being while visiting markets or working remotely, and they analyze the financial security of Ukrainian households. Meanwhile, civil society actors across the country push for transparency during the quarantine, to preserve the legacy of attacked activist, to fight corruption and injustice, and continue to advance the health of civil society and all citizens. Well, enjoy our newsletter and stay safe together with you families.
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ENGAGE Weekly Chart
Almost two thirds of Ukrainians say that they don’t belong to a group of people who experience discrimination, yet among those groups who feel discrimination the percentage is significantly higher for respondents aged 65 years and older. Three categories — pensioners (48.1%), youth (23.9%), and IDPs from the Donbas (22.8%) — are perceived as the most discriminated groups of people in Ukraine. Almost one half of respondents would be ready to support discriminated groups of people to which they do not belong in order to prevent that discrimination.
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Partner News
Financial Safety of Ukrainian Households: VoxUkraine Shows Who Needs the Most Help
VoxUkraine studies how the pandemic and global turbulence influence economic and social life in Ukraine. In its article, experts discuss the number of households that may be on the verge of poverty due to the quarantine, analyzing their income and savings, along with which households are most at risk of poverty in times of crisis, and how many families cannot ensure the online education of their children. Some of them may face negative effects of the quarantine not only this year, but in the long-term as well. VoxUkraine provides its recommendations on how to help these households. Read more.
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CenterUA Analyzes Visitor Safety at Food Markets and Restrictions for Seasonal Workers
In a CentreUA video blog, Oleg Rybachuk discusses a new government decision to ease the quarantine restrictions, including opening food markets, and the risks of the recent government statements to ban people from going abroad for seasonal work. Follow the link to watch the video and learn the details. Read more.
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UPLAN Provides Tips on Communication During Remote Work
Recently, everything we could imagine moved to a remote mode: documents, personal meetings, public events, and even day-to-day communication. To help us be on top of things, UPLAN released guidelines for e-communication during remote work and key etiquette rules. After reading the guide, you will know how to be a good online colleague, how to properly choose the method of communication, and how to prepare for online meetings, among other items. Read more.
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Stay Safe and Be Transparent: TI Ukraine Discusses an Anti-Corruption “Vaccine”
Transparency International Ukraine released an expert column, titled “Chronic Disease of Society: The Coronavirus is More Terrible for Us Than Corruption. What to Do.” In the column, the author describes the symptoms of corruption as a societal disease, suggests the vaccine of privatization, and prescribes transparent auctions as a medicine. So, don’t wait—follow the link below to learn more. Read more.
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Regional News
How to Ensure Safety in Your City or Oblast? CHESNO Movement Interviews Ukrainian Governors and Mayors
CHESNO Movement continues its series of interviews with Ukrainian mayors and governors, discussing how the pandemic and quarantine will impact different regions. Borys Filatov, mayor of Dnipro, talked about the economic situation in the city and actions taken by the city authorities during the quarantine. Oleksiy Kucher, head of the Kharkiv Regional State Administration, shared his vision of the situation in the region and discussed possible future actions of the regional authorities. Dmytro Gabinet, head of Khmelnytskyi Regional State Administration, talked about the expenditures from the state budget for fighting against COVID-19, the possible opening of markets and public transportations and future actions of the regional authorities in the case that a second wave of the pandemic emerges in autumn.
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Railway Without Corruption Continues Public Monitoring in Sumy Oblast
The CSO “Railway Without Corruption” summed up results of their activities within the last five months. Activists conducted educational seminars “SumyNetworking: Journalists in Action” and “SumyNetworking: Monitoring and Control” for local activists interested in the analysis of public procurements. To effectively influence the role of the public in monitoring the quality of repair works and services, activists developed a toolkit of influence and procurement monitoring methodology. The CSO also reported that over the course of five months, activists checked over 500 procurements and inspected about 200 objects undergoing repair work. And 70 objects were found to be irregular. Read more.
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Civil Society News
The “Who Ordered Katia Handziuk?” Movement Protests in Response to SSU Decision
The day when the Security Service of Ukraine reported it had completed a pretrial investigation into a fatal acid attack on Kherson activist Kateryna Handziuk and materials of the case were to be forwarded to court, activists from the “Who Ordered Katia Handziuk?” movement organized a protest near the President’s Office. They underlined that completion of the pre-trial investigation is premature because the Prosecutor’s Office and Security Service officially still have three months more. They should have taken their time to carry out investigative activities and seek additional proof in order to prevent a miscarriage of justice. Read more.
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Hromadske Journalist Assaulted by Police Near Cabinet of Ministers Building
According to Hromadske, on April 29, journalist Bohdan Kutiepov, while live streaming a protest of entrepreneurs near the Cabinet of Ministers building against quarantine restrictions, was assaulted by law enforcement officers who broke his equipment. They officers did so due to his “standing in the green zone,” a patch of grass on a raised park near the building. OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, has expressed concern over the police attack on Kutiepov. “Worried by police violence against HromadskeUA journalists Bohdan Kutiepov & Nikita Mekenzin, obstructing their reporting outside the Cabinet of Ministers in Kyiv. I urge Ukraine authorities to investigate the incident & ensure journalists can report freely on public protests.” Read more.
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Election to NAPC’s Public Council is Launched
The National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NAPC) opened a call for applications to the Public Council of the NAPC. The Public Council, consisting of 15 members, will monitor the activity of the NAPC and will be established according to the results of an open and transparent contest. The contest is open for individuals delegated by public associations or CSOs with experience in anti-corruption initiatives. The deadline is May 17. Read more.
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Competition “Superpower for Women’s Rights Organizations”
If your organization is a registered women’s rights organization that upholds feminist principles and values, was created to promote gender equality, empower and protect the rights of women, and provide services to vulnerable groups of women and girls, works locally, is ready to learn, develop and network over the next four years, than this info is for you.
“Women of Ukraine: heard, capable, resilient” project invites you to participate in the competition for organizational capacity building! The competition closes on June 10, 2020. The competition is held by Pact in partnership with a network of interregional organizational capacity building hubs under the Women of Ukraine: heard, capable, resilient project, implemented with the financial support of Global Affairs Canada. For the terms of the competition please follow the link. Read more.
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What Are We Reading?
Would you feel safe participating in a public demonstration for a cause you believe in? According to a 2019 poll conducted by the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation, 84% of Ukrainians view attacks on civic activists as a serious problem. That sentiment was underscored after research and monitoring was collected in a report titled, The Situation of Human Rights Defenders and Civic Activists in Ukraine in 2019. The report was a collaborative effort between the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union, Human Rights Center ZMINA, Truth Hounds, and Freedom House. It documents 83 incidents against Ukrainian human rights defenders and civic activists in 2019, the majority being directed against LGBT and gender equality advocates, along with anti-corruption advocates. The report provides compelling stories about attacks against civil society leaders across Ukraine, who simply sought to improve their communities.
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