On October 2, the Odessa State University of Internal Affairs held a program presentation of the discipline "Protection of the rights and freedoms of vulnerable groups of the population" by the National Police of Ukraine.
Vice Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Kateryna Pavlichenko, First Vice Director of the Personnel Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Anton Syzonenko, Vice Office of the Council of Europe in Ukraine Olena Lytvynenko joined the discussion of the program; lawyer, president of the NGO "Roma Human Rights Center" Volodymyr Kondur, representative of the Human Rights Department of the National Police of Ukraine Zhanna Mishkevych, research and teaching staff and students of the Odessa State University of Internal Affairs, as well as representatives of other departments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine.
In her introductory speech, Vice Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Kateryna Pavlichenko noted that modern international and European law is based primarily on understanding the existence of so-called "vulnerable groups" they are objectively at a disadvantage and are at greate risk of both discrimination and insecurity.
"State policy on vulnerable groups is important not only for Ukraine's fulfillment of international human rights obligations, but also contributes to such important aspects as strengthening Ukraine's international image, reducing social tensions and ensuring ties with citizens living in the temporarily occupied territories. Indeed, an important role in the integration of "vulnerable groups" into Ukrainian society belongs to the National Police of Ukraine. This implies the readiness of the police to respond effectively to the statements of individual citizens, to maintain constant contact with them and to inform them about the progress of their cases. The police are expected to have a high level of tolerance for vulnerable groups who need attention and additional protection of their rights. Such groups typically include ethnic minorities, migrants, shelter seekers, people with physical or mental disabilities, the elderly, children, refugees, Roma and other vulnerable groups. Indeed, the police must constantly monitor the situation of the needs of such categories of the population, develop certain programs or action plans to provide them with additional assistance, monitor their effectiveness and be one of the initiators of the nationwide process of social adaptation of certain vulnerable groups. Therefore, in my opinion, the introduction of such training on the protection of the rights and freedoms of vulnerable groups by the National Police of Ukraine is an important step to improve the quality of services provided by the National Police and police awareness in particular, " - added Kateryna Pavlichenko.
Anton Sizonenko, First Vice Director of the Personnel Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, stressed: The discrimination, in any form and on any grounds, negatively affects the image of the government, law enforcement agencies, and the international image of the state in general "
"Today we should talk about the formation of a certain national culture of society, in particular the professional culture of police officers, who not only embody state power, but also must ensure the function of communication in society. The formation of the professional culture of law enforcement is one of the main tasks of higher education of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. I am convinced that today's discussion will be able to influence the approaches to the formation of the content of academic disciplines, as well as to further develop possible conceptual approaches to the protection of the rights and freedoms of vulnerable groups in Ukraine, "added Anton Syzonenko.
On the possibility of introducing the discipline "Protection of the rights and freedoms of vulnerable groups
Pavlo Bernaz, Vice-Rector of Odessa State University of Internal Affairs, reported to the audience on the educational process at various levels of police training.
Volodymyr Kondur, a lawyer and president of the Roma Human Rights Center, gave a presentation on the interaction between law enforcement agencies and Roma civil society on the prevention of interethnic conflicts.
In turn, Zhanna Mishkevych, Senior Inspector for Special Assignments of the Department of Commissioners for Monitoring Human Rights in Police Activities of the Human Rights Department of the National Police of Ukraine, touched upon the issue of observance of rights and freedoms of vulnerable groups in Odesa region.
The Head of the Department of Theory and Philosophy of Law of the Odessa State University of Internal Affairs, Doctor of Law, Associate Professor Lilia Matveeva presented the course on the justification, relevance and expediency of the introduction of the discipline "Protection of the rights and freedoms of vulnerable groups by the National Police of Ukraine".
The participants joined the discussion of the discipline, expressed some comments and suggestions for improving certain provisions of the program and noted the relevance of its introduction in the educational process.
PRU OSUIA
