Can Ukraine Meet Council of Europe Criteria?

Without doubt, the Ukrainian parliamentary delegation is in for a hard time, as evidenced by the late November PACE's draft resolution prepared by the experts Tunne Kellam of Estonia and Anna Severinsens of Denmark. The only thing positive it shows is Ukraine's amicable settlement of disputes, avoidance civil war and large-scale conflicts, along with the fact that the new Constitution was adopted within one year from Ukraine's accession, whereupon Ukraine became a party to a number of CE conventions. The rest of the document is in an expressly negative vein.

Among other things it is pointed out that the executive authority continues to exercise control and is resolved to achieve political power and retain it, at times acting contrary to the law, which could have a negative effect on the future presidential elections; that decisions made by the Constitutional and Supreme Court are not carried out, just as corruption and crime continues to rise; that this resolution must be submitted to the European Parliament, European Commission, World Bank, IMF, and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe, proposing to take this document into account when cooperating with Ukraine, so as to help this country solve certain problems.

Numerous unpardonable delays in solving specific problems are mentioned such as the absence of progress in reforming the judiciary and prosecutorial systems; absence of careful investigation into cases of police/militia brutality, torturing detainees and prisoners; lack of effective supervision of the militia by independent institutions and judicial authorities; conspicuously drawn-out procedures to transfer management of the penal system to the Ministry of Justice; absence of precise differentiation between state administrations and bodies of local self-government, the new status of Kyiv and Sevastopol, Constitution of the Crimea, Crimean Tatar participation (i.e., those having permanent residence on the peninsula) in the presidential campaign, October 1999, etc.

The draft resolution stresses that Ukraine has frankly ignored its obligations concerning capital punishment; official sources have it that from November 9, 1995 to March 11, 1997, 212 persons have been executed. The authors of the draft consider that bodies of state authority of Ukraine, including Verkhovna Rada, are to a considerable extent responsible for not complying with the commitments Ukraine undertook when joining CE, particularly in terms of enacting, within one year, a framework document on Ukraine legal policy with regard to human rights, one on legal and judiciary reform, new Criminal and Criminal Procedural along with Civil and Civil Procedural Codes, and a new law on political parties. If these documents are not put into effect, and if the death penalty is not abolished before the PACE session opens in June 1999, the draft resolution envisages the initiation of proceedings, as per PACE resolution, to discontinue the Ukrainian parliamentary delegation's authority until such time as all these commitments have been fully implemented; the Council's Cabinet of Ministers will further be advised to begin proceedings to terminate Ukraine's representation.

In other words, Ukraine has practically failed to carry out its CE obligations. CE experts agree that the country's power elite is to blame, for theirs was a typically Soviet approach: sly, ambiguous, relying on the old principle of come what may. They made many pompous declarations and formally reaffirmed their adherence to the newly signed international accords. This did not work and is a major inference of Ukraine's three years of CE membership. The Council dispatched its experts and the latter turned out well-versed in the Ukrainian bureaucratic routine. Indeed, they appreciate honest and diligent cooperation, openly discussing all problems; they really are eager to help us reach European standards.

Unfortunately, this CE pressure on our administration fails to meet with proper understanding in Ukraine. But how could it have been otherwise, considering that the general public lacks information about all the specific commitments undertaken by its government? Even worse, people do not even seem much interested. At the time Ukraine was admitted to CE there was much official pomp, and no one seemed to stop to think whether Ukraine would actually be able to comply with its obligations. On the other hand, who knew what they were all about except a handful of top-level bureaucrats? CE Summary #190, listing all of Ukraine's official promises, appeared in print (published by non-governmental organizations) only after Ukraine's admission and was no longer publicly discussed.

Obviously, this situation is unpleasant for all those in power, especially in the executive branch, as is the fact that after publishing the PACE draft resolutions steps have been taken in the right direction (e.g., enactment of the Crimean Constitution, President Kuchma's submission to Parliament of a bill to ratify the European Convention's Sixth Human Rights Protocol, that is, abolition of capital punishment. Unfortunately, this activity is shown only when threatened with CE sanctions. Once again the demanding question is whether Ukraine can comply with CE's strictly democratic requirements in the near future? Or perhaps we are merely deceiving ourselves? The draft points to the positive aspect of the new Criminal Code already accepted by Verkhovna Rada in its first reading. Yet the fact remains that it is even harsher than the previous one, inevitably resulting in an increment in the prison population, which, in turn, will make prison conditions worse, considering that Western experts believe Ukrainian penitentiaries expose their inmates to tortuous conditions. Unless Ukraine carries out its commitments in terms of fundamental human rights (e.g., freedom of expression, testimony, and protection against tortures and brutality), it will be unable to implement the European Social Charter for at least another several decades. So why sign it in the first place? This and many other questions remain to be answered.

EDITOR'S NOTE

The problem broached by Mr. Zakharov deserves the most serious attention. Indeed, sometimes external pressure seems the only way to make our government act along the lines of European civilization. Ukraine's participation in various international organizations offers an excellent opportunity for precisely such pressure. On the other hand, without a civilized opposition inside the country, such pressure from without will inevitably prove abortive. The Editors welcome all expert views in the human rights and international relations domains, as well as opinions voiced by all others who have something constructive to say on this subject.