This submission details Amnesty International’s human rights concerns in relation to Ukraine and outlines key recommendations that the EU should address in the framework of Ukraine’s EU accession process as well as other ongoing engagement, including the forthcoming EU-Ukraine human rights dialogue.
Ukraine’s path to EU membership opens the door for strengthened engagement, additional avenues of EU support and an unprecedented drive for reforms within the country. Building on this momentum, the EU and its member states should ensure that the accession Negotiating Framework for Ukraine and the development of benchmarks – including around technical and financial support foreseen under the Ukraine Facility – are effectively used to protect and promote human rights and encourage and support genuine reforms in the field of the judiciary and fundamental rights.
While focusing on recommendations towards the Ukrainian authorities, in the context of Russia’s ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine, this submission does not by any means absolve Russia of its responsibilities and obligations. Indeed, Russia’s full-scale invasion has triggered an extensive human rights, humanitarian and displacement crisis and many of the human rights challenges people in Ukraine face today, must be placed within the broader context of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.
It will therefore be crucial that efforts to support human rights reforms in Ukraine are coupled with and reinforced by the EU and its member states’ unwavering commitment towards:
- Upholding international law in the context of Russia’s war of aggression and holding perpetrators of gross human rights violations and war crimes to account;
- Providing sustainable humanitarian, recovery and reconstruction assistance to the people of Ukraine.
This briefing covers the following key issues which the EU should address in the framework of Ukraine’s EU accession process and other ongoing engagement with the authorities:
- Strengthening Ukraine’s judiciary and securing comprehensive justice for victims
- Support to at-risk groups affected by the war
- Women’s rights and gender-based violence
- LGBTI people’s rights