National Human Rights Strategy Developments

On August 28, Labor Initiatives’ legal experts joined the Expert Working Group meeting organized by the Ministry of Justice dedicated to the discussion of the first draft of the National Human Rights Strategy up to 2035.

Ukraine is developing an updated National Human Rights Strategy aimed at 2035, building on the 2021 version to tackle new challenges from the ongoing war and to align with EU accession goals. Due to the Russian full-scale invasion, the Strategy has not been updated since 2023.

The National Human Rights Strategy is a legally binding document to be implemented by state authorities in accordance with United Nations International Standards and Principals and Ukraine’s Association Agreement with the European Union. Labor Initiatives experts contributed their proposals to the 2021 version as well.

The strategy aims to guide state policy and protect human rights, empower women, enhance gender equity, and safeguard those in vulnerable groups like internally displaced persons and war veterans.

Before the expert meeting, LI lawyers had submitted their proposals to the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine as part of consultations on the preparation of the updated National Human Rights Strategy. LI focused on the strategic areas “Ensuring right to work and social insurance”, “Ensuring equal rights of women and men, countering gender-based violence”, and “Ensuring war veterans’ rights”.

LI experts emphasized the urgent need for a systemic response from the state and all stakeholders to protect platform workers’ rights. LI called for ratification of ILO Convention 189 on domestic work, ILO Convention 190 on Violence and Harassment, and the Maritime Labour Convention 2006. They also highlighted the importance of ensuring equal rights for both female and male workers regarding additional paid leave for workers with children up to 15 years old and providing extended opportunities for war veterans to take a 60-day leave after demobilization.