The introduction of effective means of protecting the rights of civil society, in particular human rights defenders and journalists, is an essential attribute of any democratic state. This was stated by Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine Oleksandr Banchuk during a bilateral EU-Ukraine meeting on strengthening democratic institutions.

“Protecting the rights of civil society, in particular journalists and human rights defenders, is one of the key aspects of building democracy. We need to create effective mechanisms that would provide legal assistance and protection to those who defend freedom of speech and human rights,” said Oleksandr Banchuk.

Speaking about the mechanisms of legal protection, the Deputy Minister noted that in May 2024, the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications, together with the Human Rights Platform, launched an initiative to provide free legal aid to journalists and media professionals. This initiative provides legal support to editorial offices and journalists in civil, administrative and criminal cases, representation of their interests in the European Court of Human Rights, as well as preparation of legal documents, written consultations and legal support during the implementation of the Law of Ukraine “On Media”.

Oleksandr Banchuk also drew attention to the establishment on 8 April 2024 of the Coordination Committee under the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications to implement the Council of Europe’s Journalists Matter campaign in Ukraine. The committee will work to assess the challenges faced by journalists and identify ways to ensure their safety under martial law.

In addition, by 2027, Ukraine plans to harmonise its legislation with EU Directive 2024/1069 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 April 2024 on protecting persons who engage in public participation from manifestly unfounded claims or abusive court proceedings. Also, it is planned to improve the legal framework for the protection of civil society activists and the media.

As a reminder, the Ukrainian delegation, led by Olha Stefanishyna, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration and Minister of Justice of Ukraine, is taking part in the third round of bilateral meetings between Ukraine and the European Commission as part of the official screening of the conformity of Ukrainian legislation with EU law, which is part of the EU accession negotiations.