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Until very recently human rights in Ukraine were better than those in most Freedom House.[1] However, after Viktor Yanukovych became president of Ukraine in 2010, Freedom House labeled Ukraine "Partly Free" in 2011, 2012 and 2013.[2] Amnesty International also signalled a significant deterioration of the observance of human rights in Ukraine in 2011.[3]
Ukraine signed but not yet ratified
NGO activities. Trade unions function, but strikes and worker protests were infrequently observed, even though dissatisfaction with the state of economic affairs was pervasive in the fall of 2008. Factory owners were seen as still able to pressure their workers to vote according to the owners’ preferences."[1] On October 20, 2009 experts from the Council of Europe stated "in the last five years the experts from the Council of Europe who monitor Ukraine have expressed practically no concerns regarding the important [process of the] formation of a civil society in Ukraine. Ukraine is one of the democratic states in Europe that is securing human rights as a national policy, as well as securing the rights of national minorities."[4] According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), "while civil society institutions operate mostly without government interference, police abuse and violations of the rights of vulnerable groups … continue to mar Ukraine’s human rights record."[5]
After [2] Among the recent negative developments, they mentioned “a more restrictive environment for the media, selective prosecution of opposition figures, worrisome intrusiveness by the Security Service of Ukraine, widely criticized local elections in October 2010 … and erosion of basic freedoms of assembly and speech.” This led Freedom House to downgrade Ukraine from “Free” to “Partly Free” in “Freedom in the World 2011.[2] Also in 2011 Amnesty International spoke of "an increase in the number of allegations of torture and ill treatment in police custody, restrictions on the freedom of speech and assembly, as well as mass manifestations of xenophobia.[3]
In Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index 2010 Ukraine had fallen from 89th place to 131.[6] Neighboring Russia’s press freedom was ranked at position 140.[7] The International Federation for Human Rights called Ukraine "one of the countries seeing the most serious violations against human rights activists" in December 2011.[8]
As of 17 January 2013 Ukraine lost all of its 211 cases at the European Court of Human Rights.[9]
Amendments to the constitution, which came into force, were detrimental for fair trial in that they re-introduced the so-called general supervision by the prosecutor’s office. Other serious problems included lengthy periods for review of cases because the courts were overloaded; infringement of equality of arms; non-observance of the presumption of innocence; the failure to execute court rulings; and high level of corruption in courts.[10] Independent lawyers and human rights activists have complained Ukrainian judges regularly come under pressure to hand down a certain verdict.[11]
According to Freedom House the judiciary has become more efficient and less corrupt since the Orange Revolution.[1]
Recent (since 2010) trails of high profile political figures[12] [16] and "selective prosecution of political opponents".[17][18][19] President Viktor Yanukovych stated late February 2012 these trails "didn't meet European standards and principles".[20]
In Ukraine’s provinces numerous, anonymous attacks[21] and threats persisted against journalists, who investigated or exposed corruption or other government misdeeds.[22][23] The US-based [24][25]
Ukraine's ranking in Reporters Without Borders´s Press Freedom Index has in the latest years been around the 90th spot (89 in 2009,[26] 87 in 2008[27]), while it occupied the 112th spot in 2002[28] and even the 132nd spot in 2004.[29]
Since Viktor Yanukovych was elected President of Ukraine in February 2010 Ukrainian journalists and international journalistic watchdogs have complained about a deterioration of press freedom in Ukraine.[30][31][32][33] Yanukovych responded (in May 2010) that he "deeply values press freedom" and that ‘free, independent media that must ensure society’s unimpeded access to information’.[30] Anonymous journalists stated early May 2010 that they were voluntarily tailoring their coverage so as not to offend the Yanukovych administration and the Azarov Government.[34] The Azarov Government denies censoring the media,[35] so did the Presidential Administration[36] and President Yanukovych himself.[37][38]
Reports indicate that in certain demonstrations protestors included a very large number of public sector workers forced to attend for free and people offered money to be present.[45] Others have complained that authorities are impeding arrival to demonstrations that do not serve their cause.[46][47] Marches and rallies have been banned by city councils and Ukrainian courts when they believed it "could pose a threat to public order".[48]
Reports of torture and ill-treatment by police persisted, as did unduly long periods of pretrial custody. Of major concern were the inhumane conditions in detention with overcrowded cells, appalling sanitary conditions and the lack of appropriate medical care. During the year numerous group suicide attempts took place in some penal colonies.[10][49][50]
The Ukrainian government has taken a number of positive steps to fight [24]
The Ukrainian asylum system barely functions due to a highly decentralized structure spanning several government agencies and departments. The process of creating a single migration system has been slow; political interference in the system is common and abuses of migrants and asylum seekers’ rights continue.[51]
There has been a growing awareness of human trafficking as a human rights issue in Europe. The end of communism has contributed to an increase in human trafficking, with the majority of victims being women forced into prostitution.[52][53] Ukraine is a country of origin and country of transit for persons, primarily women and children, trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation. The Government of Ukraine has shown some commitment to combat trafficking, but has been criticized for not fully complying with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, and for inadequate trafficking prevention efforts.[54]
Human trafficking is illegal, however the majority of convicted traffickers received probation instead of prison sentences. The government adopted a multi-year policy to fight human trafficking, however Ukraine remained a country of transit and destination for large numbers of trafficked persons.[55]
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