Common Country Assessment for Ukraine
United Nations Country Team Kyiv, October 2004
CONTENTS
1. 2.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY INTRODUCTION STRATEGIC ANALYSIS
2.1. ASSESSING HUMAN DEVELOPMENT FROM A HUMAN RIGHTS PERSPECTIVE 2.1. 1. Development Challenges in Reducing Poverty
Inadequate social assistance Small and medium size enterprises (SME) Summary of key challenges Responses 2.1.2. Development Challenges in Health Caused by Transition The tuberculosis epidemic Mother and child health Adolescent health Summary of key challenges Responses 2.1.3. Development Challenges Caused by Unequal Access to Quality Education Summary of key challenges Responses 2.1.4. Development Challenges Caused by Gender Inequality Disproportionate number of women representatives in decision-making bodies Domestic violence: a significant development concern Summary of key challenges Responses 2.2. THE STATUS OF GOOD GOVERNANCE AND THE RULE OF LAW
Democratization and human rights Human trafficking: a development challenge caused by transition Minorities in Ukraine Summary of key challenges Responses 2.3. THE HIV/AIDS EPIDEMIC IN UKRAINE
A growing epidemic Prevalent among younger people, injecting drug users and female sex workers The stigma of AIDS Mother-to-child transmission Summary of key challenges Responses 2.4. ENSURING A SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT IN UKRAINE
Clean drinking water Land degradation Energy Biodiversity Summary of key challenges Responses
3.
PROPOSED AREAS OF DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION Background Related strategic frameworks Proposed areas of cooperation
2
4 7 8 8 10 13 13 14 14 15 15 16 18 19 19 20 21 22 23 23 24 25 26 26 26 31 32 32 34 34 34 36 36 37 37 38 39 40 40 40 41 41 43 44 44 44 45
4. 5.
INDICATOR FRAMEWORK ANNEXES
5.1.
ROOT CAUSE AND ACCOUNTABILITY ANALYSES
47
Poverty Health Education Gender Governance and the Rule of Law HIV/AIDS Environment
74 74 75 79 80 83 92 97 104
5.2.
CCA PROBLEM TREE MATRIX
108
5.3.
ADAPTING THE MDGS TO THE UKRAINIAN CONTEXT
114
5.4.
POVERTY IN UKRAINE – SLOW BUT ENCOURAGING IMPROVEMENTS
115
5.5.
UKRAINE IS STATE PARTY TO THE KEY INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS TREATIES
115
5.6.
UKRAINE IS STATE PARTY TO THE KEY INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS RELATED TO CHILD LABOUR
116
SELECTED RECOMMENDATIONS BY UN TREATY BODIES RELATING TO WOMEN AND CHILDREN
116
5.8.
LIST OF MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS
118
5.9.
LIST OF THE UN COUNTRY TEAM – CCA/UNDAF STEERING COMMITTEE
119
5.7.
5.10. LIST OF CORE PARTICIPANTS IN CCA THEME GROUPS
120
5.11. LIST OF SOURCES
121
5.12. LIST OF ACRONYMS
123
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Since its independence in 1991, Ukraine has had to build the main institutions of a democratic government practically from scratch, while at the same time correct the structural problems inherited from the Soviet era, move to a market economy, as well as recover from the devastating consequences of the 1986 Chornobyl nuclear accident. Over the last decade Ukraine has had to struggle with the challenges of achieving and sustaining human development and of moving steadily towards a sound democracy that requires the promotion of a human rights culture and the building of a strong civil society. There are widespread aspirations presently in Ukraine that provide for a more favourable environment for progress in human development and the realization of human rights. The commitment to achieve the Millennium Declaration Goals (MDGs) is one, the ambition to become a member of the European Union (EU) is another. The Government has been actively seeking rapid integration through its programme of European Choice and has recognized that the low standard of living, among other things, is considered one of the main obstacles to Ukraine’s success. Nevertheless, Ukraine is in a favourable position to pursue EU economic integration, and to secure better market access for exports as well as to obtain WTO membership. Ukraine has become a country of transit for migrants, including refugees, on their way to Western Europe. With the enlargement of the EU in May 2004, Ukraine is now on the external border of the European Union, causing additional challenges to the management of migration while providing asylum to refugees. After a decade of economic decline since independence in 1991, Ukraine has experienced a breakthrough in economic growth and most trends and prospects remain highly positive. Ukrainian GDP increased by 20 per cent from 2000 – 2002 and this growth was sustained through 2003. The World Bank has noted that investments, wages, and incomes have all exhibited strong upward trends. Nevertheless, despite the recent positive economic trends, the poorer sectors of the population, especially those living in rural areas, continue to shoulder most of the burden of economic transition. This is particularly evident in regard to basic services in health and education, which have deteriorated for those who cannot afford the growing formal or informal payments for quality services, and are therefore essentially denied their enjoyment of these rights. While the Government has made the creation of a more effective social safety net a priority, together with a restructuring of expenditures and programmes in health and education, various social problems in the country such as unemployment, gender disparity of incomes and the inadequate existing social security systems are closely linked to stagnant productive sector development, the decline of economic competitiveness of Ukrainian industries in international and regional markets and weak private sector development. The Government of Ukraine attributes the low level of wages, pensions, and social benefits to an ineffective social security system, as well as high unemployment as the key factors driving poverty in the country. Poverty in Ukraine is singled out as the major challenge affecting the most disadvantaged and vulnerable groups such as single-parent families with young children, rural women and pensioners. One of the most revealing indicators of the stress the country suffered over the last decade stemming from transition from a Soviet republic to an independent nation, a market economy, and a democratic government, has been the dramatic overall decline in Ukraine’s population from 51.7 million in 1990 to 49.0 million in the year 2000. The fact that Ukrainian families have suffered greatly from the impact of economic decline and the stress of transition can also be seen in the significant increase in alcohol and drug abuse, suicide and domestic violence. Another indicator shows that life expectancy of the average Ukrainian male and female fell from 65.4 in 1990 to 62.4 in 2000, and from 74.9 to 73.6 years respectively. The growth of poverty has consequently resulted in the deterioration of living conditions and access to quality healthcare and quality education for all Ukrainians. This is also true for foreigners living on its territory, including refugees, many of whom live below the poverty line. In Ukraine, as in other countries, poverty is greatest among families with young children. One of the negative consequences of Ukraine’s economic transition period has been the involvement of children in illegal labour activities, an increase in the worst forms of child labour, and the growing number of children that have fallen victim to human trafficking. Another child rights issue that merits attention is the increasing number of children placed in public care primarily as a consequence of the difficulties of the transition period and the general impoverishment of the population. Demographic and health indicators reveal that a severe health crisis has developed in recent years and point to the numerous problems afflicting the healthcare system which have become more acute due to the impact of economic decline. Since 1995 Ukraine has had one of the fastest growing HIV/AIDS epidemics in the world. According to WHO, rates of morbidity due to tuberculosis and sexually transmitted infections are substantially higher in Ukraine than the average rates in western Europe. Tuberculosis (TB) 4
Executive Summary
is currently recognized as the most widespread infectious disease in Ukraine with the number of people diagnosed with the disease amounting to 1.4 per cent of the population. One of the key health challenges in Ukraine is the issue of iodine deficiency in light of the fact that every year 70 per cent of newborns in the country are not protected. Another indicator that demonstrates deteriorating health conditions is the low level of reproductive health for women and adolescents. All these conditions are primarily attributed to poverty, the poor economic situation that reflects on the inadequate social care system, the lack of accountability of the relevant governing bodies and lack of personal incentives to enjoy reproductive rights and good reproductive health. Even though the Constitution of Ukraine guarantees gender equality, the absence of an adequate policy on equal opportunities for men and women has contributed to significant inequalities that are slowing down the process of economic development and the building of a democratic society in which all members participate actively and freely in all spheres of life. At the top of the list of concerns is the absence of or low number of women in decision-making bodies, starting from the Verkhovna Rada. The Government has stated that gender equality is now a priority, particularly in relation to achieving the MDGs. The increasing incidence of domestic violence faced by Ukrainian society is another concern that also hinders development efforts. According to a survey carried out by the Ukraine Academy of Science Institute of Social Research, as many as 68 per cent of women in the country – or some 18 million people – are subjected to family violence and 20 per cent of them are known to suffer on a continual basis. Domestic violence merits attention both as a complex public health and human rights issue. Since independence, Ukraine has established a number of functioning government institutions and other formal requisites of an independent democratic nation, and achieved significant progress on the way to establishing a market economy. This has certainly been a remarkable achievement for a country with little democratic tradition and lacking important elements of a modern democracy such as a strong civil society, an independent media and a culture of human rights. At the same time, the Ukrainian political elites have not managed to take a lead in providing the people with economic, social and cultural well-being. Poor governance administration has been identified as one of the major root causes that has led to a number of grave social consequences. The system of governance in Ukraine is said to be undergoing a major transition towards developing more open, transparent and accountable institutions. One of the recurring issues in the area of governance is the inadequate quality of state policies and the lack of interaction between state institutions and civil society organizations, as well as directly with the citizens. This is a constraint that has prevented progress from being achieved in formulating and implementing economic and social policies, in making governance mechanisms more effective, as well as in raising the quality of life of Ukrainians. In recent years, considerable progress was achieved through the implementation of administrative reforms that were designed to make the ministerial side of the Executive Branch more efficient. The measures taken represent significant steps in the right direction since they are aimed at consolidating ministries and government agencies, reforming the decision making process by making it more streamlined, and holding ministers politically accountable, to name a few. There is still a need to further improve the quality of governance in this sector, for example, by making accurate information on government processes more accessible, which is crucial for effective participation by civil society, for the realization of all human rights and for ensuring accountability. In relation to this, measures are needed to provide mechanisms whose function is to facilitate participation. Of the three branches of government, the Judicial Branch is the least developed and needs strengthening to function effectively and independently. This branch also suffers from inadequate resources, lack of professional competence and deficiency in the training of judges, shortcomings in its procedural rules, lack of technical equipment and good facilities. Developing a culture of human rights in Ukraine is a major priority since a significant percentage of the population does not have a clear understanding of its human rights, although they are proclaimed in the national Constitution. Moreover, the population has not yet fully understood that promoting respect for civil and political rights strengthens democratic development, or that promoting respect for the rule of law is vital for ensuring accountability. Building a human rights culture entails, among other things, creating spaces for public dialogue and enabling citizen participation in governance and empowering civil society organizations (CSOs) through which people participate. There are several positive developments in this regard that are noteworthy. Human rights have been declared as one of the main Government priorities and Ukraine is a State Party to seven major international human rights treaties. However, as a general rule, the mechanisms of human rights monitoring are underdeveloped and lack adequate resources. The CCA also addresses the major human rights issues that are known to be of greatest concern in Ukraine. There is strong evidence indicating that Ukraine is one of the main countries of origin for traffick5
Executive Summary
ing of human beings for the purposes of forced prostitution and sexual exploitation. The rights of minorities such as the Crimean Tatars and the Roma population are also addressed. During the Soviet era, a number of factors contributed to severe environmental damage in Ukraine including rapid industrialization, intensive farming and a lack of effective pollution controls. The current state of the environment in Ukraine directly affects the quality of life of the population. According to estimates of the Ukrainian Centre of Social Reforms, only 15 per cent of the country’s territory can be considered as ‘environmentally or conventionally clean’, another 15 per cent is ‘mildly contaminated’, and the remaining 70 per cent makes up the ‘contaminated territories’. Ukraine has serious environmental problems mostly caused by man, bad resource management, and ultimately attributed to bad governance. The 1986 Chornobyl nuclear disaster is the most widely known and was also a product of bad governance. Poor environmental management has also produced environmental problems such as land erosion and has caused an energy inefficiency that is among the worst in the world. Other major environmental problems include access to clean drinking water, land degradation, energy and biodiversity. When the President of Ukraine signed the UN Millennium Declaration, the Government made an important commitment to address and find solutions to critical human development issues as a matter of national priority. It is clear that if Ukraine is to meet the challenges posed by its European Choice, in order to integrate into the European Union, it must tackle poverty as a matter of national priority. The current trends in economic growth and poverty reduction create a window of opportunity for making progress through the adoption and implementation of strategic social policies that are pro-poor and structural reforms in the social sector that will ensure a steady decline in poverty. The proposed areas of cooperation outlined in Section Three are intended to build on the growing synergy arising from Ukraine’s recent economic growth; its aspirations to integrate with the EU and the WTO; commitments to achieve the MDGs; legal obligations to respect, promote and protect the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of all the people living in the country; and, commitments related to protection of the environment.
6
Introduction
1. INTRODUCTION In 1997 the Secretary General of the United Nations underscored the interlinkages between peace and security, poverty reduction and sustainable human development, as well as the promotion of and respect for human rights. This important message formed the basis of his reform agenda for the United Nations with the aim of making it a more effective institution for world peace and development in the new millennium. He further called for a unified approach towards development goals at country level that led to the formulation of the Common Country Assessment (CCA) and the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) as new strategic tools for the UN system. In the Secretary General’s 2003 Plan of Action on Strengthening Human Rights Related United Nations Action at Country Level, the importance of developing the capacity of UN country teams to integrate human rights in the CCA and UNDAF was strongly emphasized as ‘crucial for achievement of the objectives’ of the Plan. Following the Guidelines for the preparation of the CCA, the United Nations Country Team in Ukraine (UNCT) has strived to identify the major development challenges faced by the country and their root causes. In order to achieve a comprehensive assessment the UNCT underwent an extensive consultation process with the Government and numerous stakeholders. Several activities were carried out as part of the CCA preparatory process including the participation of some UNCT members in a global training workshop held in April 2004 in Bangladesh, on CCA preparation, and a separate country workshop on the application of the human rights-based approach to development was organized in Kyiv. A Steering Committee was set up with the heads of UN agencies and thematic groups were established on poverty, health, education, gender, HIV/AIDS, governance and the rule of law, and the environment. Regular meetings were held with stakeholders and partners, and Government representatives, NGOs, academics, and representatives of vulnerable groups were included. The thematic groups carried out a causal analysis in order to identify the underlying and root causes of the key development issues and agreed on the indicator framework to be used in the assessment. The thematic groups also identified the most important responses to development challenges and, to some extent, the national capacities of those responsible for ensuring the realization of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, as well as the capacity of individuals to claim them. (See Annex 5.1.) The preparation of the CCA was coordinated and guided by the Office of the Resident Coordinator in Kyiv. Special attention was given to development challenges in relation to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and other goals and targets of UN international conferences. These include Ukraine’s commitments arising from its ratification of a number of international human rights instruments and conventions covering the environment. Selected pertinent recommendations and observations issued by the international human rights treaty bodies to Ukraine upon the review of State Party reports were included. They are significant and merit attention given that the State of Ukraine has a duty by virtue of its ratification of the corresponding international human rights treaties to answer periodically to the monitoring treaty bodies on the progress achieved and obstacles encountered in the implementation of the conventions. The current CCA prepared in 2004, together with the UNDAF, will be the basis for the new cycle of programmes and projects for the period 2006-2010. The CCA draws on a wide range of comparable analyses available from individual UN agencies, the World Bank, and other international organizations working in the field of development and human rights. Although the scope of the CCA is broad, it focuses primarily on the selected areas that were identified by the Government and the UNCT as being the most critical at this stage for the subsequent preparation of the UNDAF. Accordingly, the CCA addresses four major development areas: human development, governance and the rule of law, HIV/AIDS, and the environment, which cover the key issues that were raised during the consultation process. Given the magnitude of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Ukraine, a whole section was devoted to addressing the problem. The need to identify the most vulnerable sectors of society and minority groups that may not have equal access to certain social services and may require special attention was underscored during the preparation of the CCA. The indicators were drawn from a number of available sources previously prepared by the Government, UN agencies, the World Bank and others.
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2. STRATEGIC ANALYSIS 2.1. ASSESSING HUMAN DEVELOPMENT FROM A HUMAN RIGHTS PERSPECTIVE Ukraine is the second largest country in Europe, covering an area of 603,700 square kilometres and according to the 2001 census, its population is about 48.4 million with 67 per cent living in urban areas.1 Ukraine declared its independence from the Soviet Union on 24 August 1991 and became a member of the Council of Europe in 1995. Since its independence the country has had to build the main institutions of a democratic government practically from scratch, while at the same time correct the structural problems inherited from the Soviet era, move to a market economy, as well as recover from the devastating consequences of the 1986 Chornobyl nuclear accident. One can reasonably conclude that over the last decade Ukraine has had to struggle with the challenges of achieving and sustaining human development and of moving steadily towards a sound democracy, which requires the promotion of a culture of human rights and the building of a strong civil society. The human development paradigm places people at centre-stage of development and seeks to expand choices for all people – women, men and children. This concept alone is new for a society that during the authoritarian Soviet era did not have many choices and little control over individual lives. The purpose of human development is to create an enabling environment in a peaceful and pluralistic society in which all human beings lead secure and creative lives in dignity and can enjoy their civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights. Policies of equitable growth, expansion of social opportunities and the strengthening of democracy enhance human development efforts. Moreover, it is now widely understood by the international community that human development cannot be achieved without the realization of human rights and conversely, human rights cannot be realized and enjoyed without the achievement of human development. Thus, human development and human rights are interrelated and mutually reinforcing since they share a common vision and purpose. Human rights are those rights that have been recognized by the Member States of the United Nations and protected by numerous declarations starting with the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, and international legal treaties, more commonly referred to as covenants and conventions. Human rights are premised on liberties and freedoms and on the principles of universality, equality and non-discrimination, equitable access to public resources, participation, justice, and respect for the rule of law. Given that human rights are inalienable entitlements, the principles and standards provided in the international normative framework increasingly guide human development efforts. The Millennium Declaration recognizes the importance of human rights and the 189 Member States that signed it resolved to strengthen their capacity at country level to implement the principles and practices of human rights, including minority rights, women’s rights, children’s rights, the rights of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers.2 Moreover, all programmes of development cooperation, policies and technical assistance are expected to further the realization of human rights as laid down in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other human rights instruments.3 Ukraine is State Party to the seven major international human rights instruments of the United Nations that provide for minimum human rights standards and a normative framework and the country is committed to achieving the Millennium Declaration and Millennium Development Goals. (See list of MDGs on page 119). Nevertheless, the principle that human rights are interrelated and indivisible is not yet widely recognized in Ukraine society. Although during the Soviet era the health, education and housing provided to the population by the State were regarded as entitlements, nevertheless, promoting a culture of human rights in a society that has not traditionally enjoyed civil and political rights requires major efforts to encourage participation in all sectors of society. Consequently, in light of the present socio-economic conditions in Ukraine it is essential to promote economic, social and cultural rights and civil and political rights as indivisible and interdependent in order to strengthen national capacity to realize all human rights. The CCA examines all development challenges in light of the MDGs and human rights principles and standards, which are complementary and mutually reinforcing. Among other things, this requires recognizing people as claim holders (or rights holders) and therefore as key actors in their own development, rather 1
Figures from the paper on ‘Health Care System in Transition – profile on Ukraine’ prepared by the European Observatory on Health Care Systems, June 2004 2 Paragraph 25 and 26 of the Millennium Declaration 3 UN Common Understanding on the Human Rights-Based Approach to Development 7, May 2003
8
Strategic Analysis
than passive recipients of benefits. It also means placing more emphasis on preventing exclusion, concentrating on the disadvantaged and more vulnerable sectors of society. In addition, the promotion of the rule of law, transparency and accountability are recognized as playing a pivotal and central role in achieving human development goals. Accordingly, in analyzing the root causes of development challenges, the following principles were considered and the corresponding questions asked: Universality – All human rights are universal, therefore, all the people of Ukraine should be able to enjoy all their human rights.4 Equality and non-discrimination – All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and all individuals are entitled to all their human rights and fundamental freedoms without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Therefore, all the people of Ukraine, including non-citizens, are entitled to all their human rights regardless of their sex, race, etc. Which are the sectors of society excluded or not enjoying equal status that deprives them of enjoying their rights?5 Participation – Every person and all peoples are entitled to active, free and meaningful participation in, contribution to, and enjoyment of civil, economic, social, cultural and political development in which human rights and fundamental freedoms can be realized. Therefore, are all the people of Ukraine able to participate in their own development and are there opportunities for participation?6 Accountability – By voluntarily accepting the obligations in the human rights instruments and the corresponding domestic laws, the State and its wide range of actors who are recognized as duty-bearers, have a duty to respect, protect and fulfil human rights and to take steps toward their realization by undertaking legislative, administrative, judicial and other appropriate measures.Therefore, do the relevant authorities in Ukraine at the State, local and community levels comply with their duties? If not, do they lack the capacity for compliance? Are there mechanisms in place for those deprived of their rights and entitlements to seek appropriate redress?7 These principles are relevant for conducting the causal analysis and for understanding who constitute the poor, who are the most deprived and which areas are the most disadvantaged or which sectors do not have equal access to health and education services. They are also helpful for identifying where there are structural causes preventing or hindering the realization of rights.They further help to highlight where there are patterns of inequality and discrimination that are obstacles to development goals. Ultimately, analyzing the root causes helps to identify where development programmes should concentrate efforts. Ukraine’s commitment to human development is discussed in a Government report on the steps taken thus far towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals during the period 2001–2015. The Ukrainian Millennium Development Goals Report explains that the goals were adapted to fit the specific conditions in the country’s development in order to adjust strategic development priorities to the MDGs.8 The report outlines the key development concerns in the country where efforts will mainly focus on the following:9 z z z z z z
Poverty reduction Quality lifelong education Sustainable environmental development Improved maternal health and reduced child mortality Reducing and slowing down the spread of HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis Gender equality
In the report the Government “recognizes the need to work closely with all sectors of society, including non-governmental organizations, civil society and business.” (See Annex 5.3., for a summary of a national debate that was held on the need to adapt the MDGs to the Ukrainian situation provided by World Bank Economic Studies on Ukraine.) There are conditions currently in Ukraine that provide for a more favourable environment to make progress in human development and therefore achieve the MDGs, as well as the realization of human
4 Article
1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) Article 2 of the UDHR 6 1986 United Nations Declaration on the Right to Development 7 UDHR, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 8 Millennium Goals Ukraine, published by the Ministry of Economic and European Integration of Ukraine, 2003 9 Ibid, p. 6 5
9
rights. The World Bank points out that Ukraine is indeed in a favourable position to pursue EU economic integration, and to secure better market access for exports. This is partly due to Ukraine’s comparative advantage of a relatively cheap and highly skilled labour force. “Deep integration with the EU and lower labour costs offer a potentially powerful combination for propelling Ukraine toward convergence to EU standards and eventual membership at a rapid pace.”10 At the same time, according to the World Bank, the realization of the European Choice agenda requires a major transformation in the country “from a largely closed and insider economy, based on informal relations, special privileges, and a handful of dominant politicized business groups, to an economy based on rule of law, transparency, and commitment to a level playing field for business and investment.”11 The World Bank recognizes also that Ukraine holds a favourable negotiating position for WTO membership. In accordance with EU requirements and WTO accession, numerous laws, regulations and standards have been changed and many more are expected to be changed. In this regard the World Bank further points out that joining WTO is vital, for it will help Ukraine to achieve deeper integration with the EU and world economy and facilitate access to foreign markets. While Ukraine has already taken important steps necessary for entry to the WTO, it will be important for the Government to continue to “signal in a strong and unambiguous manner its determination to join the WTO as quickly as possible.”12 In light of these national objectives the Government has indicated that sustaining economic growth has become a priority along with poverty reduction, progress in human development and the strengthening of the middle class. In other words, the challenge for the Government will be to ensure that the benefits of growth reach the entire population and reduce the incidence of poverty. At the same time future economic growth in Ukraine will depend increasingly on improving the overall climate for business, investment and fair competition, and being able to adapt quickly to the market conditions that tend to change rapidly. The recent positive economic trends in Ukraine are largely the result of a growing private sector and greater competition. For example, the share of the non-state sector in industrial output reached an estimated 80 per cent by 2002 and small businesses and entrepreneurs increased their official share of employment from 13 per cent of the work force in 1997 to an estimated 22 per cent by 2002.13 Agricultural reforms are expected to pave the way for the development of a thriving private sector in rural areas.14 In addition, there is evidence of increasing competition within the business environment. Nevertheless,“the business environment continues to suffer from high uncertainty, unequal economic conditions and selectivity in the application of laws and regulations.”15 Despite the recent positive economic trends, the poorer sectors of the population, especially those living in rural areas, continue to shoulder most of the burden of economic transition. This is particularly evident in regard to basic services in health and education, which have deteriorated for those who cannot afford the growing formal or informal payments for quality services and are essentially denied their enjoyment of these rights. While the Government has made the creation of a more effective social safety net a priority, together with a restructuring of expenditures and programmes in health and education, various social problems in the country such as unemployment, gender disparity of incomes and the inadequate existing social security systems are closely linked to stagnant productive sector development, decline in economic competitiveness of Ukrainian industries in international and regional markets and weak private sector development.16
2.1.1. Development Challenges in Reducing Poverty MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOAL: Poverty Reduction Target 1 Halve the number of people whose daily consumption is below US 4.30 measured in average Purchasing Power Parity (PPP)
10
Ukraine – Building Foundations for Sustainable Growth, A Country Economic Memorandum: Volume 1, World Bank Study, Draft as of April 2004, p.viii 11 Ibid. 12 Ibid, p.88 13 Although it is not clear how much this increase reflects greater incentives for many citizens to register as individual entrepreneurs. 14 World Bank Study Ukraine, p. xv 15 Ibid. 16 According to information provided by UNIDO
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Strategic Analysis
Target 2 Reduce the share of the poor by one third (based on a nationally-defined poverty level) Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights recog nizes the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions. In the human development discourse, poverty is being increasingly recognized as a denial of human rights.From a human rights perspective,poverty is examined in a multidimensional manner and it goes beyond estimating the lack of income by using the principles of equality and non-discrimination in order to address its root causes and identify individuals or groups that are socially excluded, disadvantaged or vulnerable. A critical consideration is whether the poor have the possibility of participation and whether they are regarded as the principal actors of their development or whether they are merely viewed as passive recipients. It has also been recognized and underscored repeatedly in the human development discourse that transparent and inclusive governance is an important component for actual poverty reduction.Thus, transparency and accountability are regarded as essential for bringing about institutional change for poverty reduction.Poverty in Ukraine is therefore being assessed in this CCA from this broader perspective. After a decade of economic decline since independence in 1991, Ukraine has experienced a breakthrough in economic growth and most trends and prospects remain highly positive.Ukrainian GDP increased by 20 per cent from 2000–2002 and this growth was sustained through 2003.The World Bank has noted that investments, wages, and incomes have all exhibited strong upward trends.17 UNDP points out that unemployment has fallen, household income increased significantly and some progress is being seen in the reduction of poverty. Although socio-economic advancement and prosperity for the Ukrainian people is the Government’s overall stated goal,including the reduction of poverty, the evidence shows that significant human deprivation remains. The Thematic Group on Poverty identified as the major challenges the need for development efforts to focus on the most disadvantaged and excluded segments of the population in order to ensure a significant reduction of poverty. The Government of Ukraine attributes the low level of wages, pensions, and social benefits to an ineffective social security system, as well as high unemployment as the key factors driving poverty in the country.18 The estimated rate of unemployment according to the ILO definition shows a steady decline from a high of 12 per cent in 1999 to an estimated 9.1 per cent in 2003. There are regional differences showing a higher unemployment rate in the western part of the country.The low level of wages is a major issue, considering that there is a large gap in earnings in different spheres of the economy with some employees being paid wages that are below the monthly living minimum for an able-bodied adult.This is in violation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which provides that the State recognizes the right of everyone to work under just and favourable conditions including remuneration that provides all workers with fair wages,as well as the duty of the State to take steps to safeguard this right.19 There are gender differences in the level of wages with women earning 30.7 per cent less than men, a major factor that contributes to their risk of poverty.20 Poverty in Ukraine is singled out as the major challenge affecting the most disadvantaged social groups such as single-parent families with young children, rural women, and pensioners. One of the most revealing indicators of the stress the country suffered over the last decade stemming from the transition from a Soviet republic to an independent nation, a market economy, and a democratic government, was the overall dramatic decline in Ukraine’s population from 51.7 million in 1990 to 49.0 million in the year 2000. Another indicator shows that life expectancy of the average Ukrainian male and female fell from 65.4 years in 1990 to 62.4 in 2000, and from 74.9 to 73.6 respectively.21 Ukraine has made some progress in reducing extreme poverty. According to official statistics, the share of population whose daily consumption does not exceed US$ 4.3 (calculated in PPP terms) was recently recorded at 9.6 per cent. In other words, according to the Government report on the MDGs, in the last few years the proportion of the general population that lives in extreme poverty decreased from 14 per cent to 11 per cent.This was achieved through real increases in pension levels,from a gradual increase in the minimum wage,and from a gradual decline in the rate of unemployment.22 17
Country Assistance Strategy for Ukraine (CAT), a document of the World Bank, Sept. 29, 2003, p. 1 Millennium Development Goals, published by the Ministry of Economy and European Integration of Ukraine, 2003, p. 8 19 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, articles 6 and 7 20 Gender Issues in Ukraine – Challenges and Opportunities, UNDP Ukraine 2003, p. 28 21 Ukraine Human Development Report 2001, published by UNDP Ukraine – Demographic Profile p.96 22 Ibid, p. 8 18
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Calculating how many people have fallen below the poverty line is controversial in light of the various ways of measuring poverty. Assessments vary with some indicating that between 28 per cent and 45 per cent of the population live in poverty.23 The World Bank provides a poverty line for Ukraine (as of July 2003) equal to 2,423 Ukrainian Hryvna (UAH) annually, in terms of adult equivalent expenditure, for a headcount poverty rate equal to 25.6 per cent.24 In identifying those who constitute the poor based on an absolute poverty line drawn at 25 per cent of median expenditures, the figures show that the share of the poorest population has decreased. Measures of poverty calculated on the basis of data obtained through household surveys indicate that there is strong evidence that poverty drawn at 25 per cent of median expenditures fell from 27.3 per cent in 2000 to 17 per cent in 2002, in large cities.25 By contrast, the poverty levels in rural areas during the same period remained higher with 42 per cent of rural dwellers included among the poor. The response to growth in rural areas has been the weakest with persistent poverty remaining, particularly among rural women. The higher poverty levels in the countryside may be explained by the fact that the rural population includes a higher share of pensioners. Many households with dependent pensioners are concentrated around the poverty line due to low pensions that have stood at an average of US $25.6 monthly (2002 figures), making them income poor. At the same time, household surveys do not take into account that in rural areas many households are able to count on food production from their own plots of land. Poverty rates remain higher, that is, above 40 per cent, among the unemployed, pensioners over the age of 85 and social pensioners. They are also higher among workers in the informal sector and have risen to more than 40 per cent for families with children that primarily depend upon cultivating their own plot of land. The majority of the poor can be traced to families with three or more children and the elderly: 51 per cent of households in poverty included children26 and 37 per cent persons of pensionable age.27 The poverty rate of female-headed households was estimated at 28 per cent as opposed to 25 per cent among men; meaning that such households are not significantly poorer than those headed by men. There is a correlation between the number of years and level of education attained by the head of household and poverty with those with only a primary education more likely to be among the poor. A negative trend has been observed in the growing number of families with children living in extreme poverty. Nearly twothirds of all households with five or more children are living in extreme poverty.28 The same holds true for many refugees, who face difficulties in access to work or employment. In summary, despite some signs indicating poverty rates are decreasing, from all the calculations one can conclude that a significant share of the Ukrainian population is living in some form of poverty or state of impoverishment and social exclusion. As a general rule, the current social conditions prevent them from enjoying all their human rights, from claiming them or seeking appropriate redress. Article 32 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child recognizes the right of the child to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child’s education, or to be harmful to the child’s health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development. One of the negative consequences of Ukraine’s economic transition period has been the involvement of children in illegal labour activities, an increase in the worst forms of child labour, and the growing number of children who have fallen victim to human trafficking. The main factors that encourage child labour and trafficking include levels of unemployment, low-income levels, and the overall social transformation taking place whereby existing social norms have disappeared to a large extent and have not yet been replaced by new ones. The worst forms of child labour in Ukraine include child prostitution, working street children and children employed in rural areas. Primarily as a consequence of the difficulties of the transition period and the general impoverishment of the population, there has been also an increase in the number of children placed in public care. More and more children are being abandoned immediately after birth by their mothers. These children are frequently born to drug addicted mothers, women with HIV/AIDS, or are born with some form of disability. The institutionalization of children with disabilities is often caused by the lack of information available to parents on the nature of the disability and on the family’s future prospects for caring for the 23 Poverty
Reduction for Prosperity – Strategic Framework, published by UNDP Ukraine 2003 p.4 According to CAT, p.6 25 According to information provided by UNDP Ukraine 26 World Bank Economic Studies – Ukraine, 2000-2003 27 See, CAT at p.6 28 World Bank Economic Studies – Ukraine, 2000-2003 24
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Strategic Analysis
child or the possibility of medical rehabilitation. In some cases children are removed from their families and the parents are deprived of parental rights due to moral and ethical factors that lead to their neglect and abuse. These include cases where the parents are chronic alcoholics, serving time in jail, engaged in prostitution, or participating in other illegal or criminal activities.29
Inadequate social assistance The former Soviet system provided a social safety net that included a number of benefits and privileges granted to certain vulnerable persons such as those with disabilities, the elderly, and mothers with many children. Like many other CIS countries, from 2000, Ukraine has reduced or eliminated many of those social privileges. Nowadays, the existing social safety net fails to target the more vulnerable sectors or groups in society that should be eligible for a number of entitlements. Moreover, in addition to the limited budgetary resources allocated to social assistance, there is evidence of unequal distribution of benefits that results in the more economic prosperous segments receiving a larger share of additional monthly social assistance than the poorest and neediest families. Social programmes targeted towards specific categories of the population can be divided into five major categories (whose beneficiaries are not mutually exclusive): social privileges, Chornobyl benefits, housing and utilities allowance (housing subsidy), family benefits; and support for low-income families.30 As a general rule, these programmes are mostly under-funded and do not target the poor. The social privileges that are a legacy of the former Soviet era and consist of cash and in-kind benefits such as housing and housing maintenance, transportation, medical drugs and services, have been reduced significantly. The inadequacy of the social assistance system is directly related to a number of State economic policies aimed at predominantly macro-economic stabilization, including the exchange rate, inflation targeting, fiscal adjustment, and the goal of maintaining reserves at a sufficient level. They have all contributed to creating a set of problems in the social sphere that depend heavily on support from the national budget. The slowness of structural reforms and privatization, for example, have led to the ineffective use of scarce public resources by an excessively bureaucratic and centralized public governance. At the same time poor revenue performance is caused primarily by a narrow tax base, which has been attributed to the existence of fiscal privileges and the significant impact of the “shadow economy.� Local budgets in rural and poorer areas often lack the capacity to provide acceptable social assistance. In addition, the low professional level and lack of management skills of those in public administration, as well as the absence of good governance practices further contribute to the inefficient and arbitrary nature of the social assistance system. Ukraine is considered to have one of the most complicated social assistance systems due to a number of factors, starting from the way the system is financed. Social programmes are financed from several different sources including the state budget, the local budgets, the pension fund and social insurance fund. Consequently, since many social assistance benefits are funded from local budgets, benefits are not provided evenly. Moreover, there are different rules and criteria for eligibility of benefits such as household income and the number and age of children, arising from the numerous laws, codes, decrees and other normative acts that were issued by different branches of government. Also, the harmonization of the legislation, various instructions and regulations needs to be completed so that vulnerable groups with specific needs like refugees enjoy access to welfare benefits on an equal basis with the Ukrainian population. In general, the inadequacy of the social system, which is largely due to these complicated structures, leads to the conclusion that the whole system is in need of a major institutional reform.
Small and medium size enterprises (SME) A major consideration for Ukraine is the fact that a fair share of economic growth has been concentrated in large financial-industrial groups and wealth is being accumulated by a handful of privileged groups, therefore deepening the inequality of income levels in Ukraine. Small and medium size enterprises are victims of excessively complicated tax compliance procedures and administrative regulations while there are plenty of subsidies, tax exemptions and other privileges granted to particular influential groups. According to World Bank estimates the total loss from unjustified tax privileges and exemptions is worth eight billion UAH, i.e. about 10 per cent of the total consolidated budget revenues. Limited 29 Thematic
Study on Causes of Institutionalization and Future Prospects of Young People Leaving Public Care, a document provided by UNICEF Ukraine 30 Ibid.
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opportunities for entrepreneurs and fair competition also result in serious constraints on the welfare of the greater population. While other countries also suffer from ‘insider’ type economies, which function on the basis of informal relations, special privileges, and a handful of dominant ‘politicized’ business groups, Ukraine appears to be a particularly extreme example.
Summary of key challenges It is clear that if Ukraine is to meet the challenges posed by its European choice, in order to integrate with the European Union, it must tackle poverty as a matter of national priority. The current trends in economic growth and poverty reduction create a window of opportunity for making progress through the adoption and implementation of strategic social policies that are pro-poor and structural reforms in the social sector that will ensure a steady decline in poverty. Immediate challenges include attaining higher real wages, higher pensions, lower unemployment and a recovery in social spending. Given that poverty is most acute among families with three or more children or with children under three years of age, when mothers have limited employment opportunities, or for vulnerable groups with special needs like refugees, the challenge is to introduce an effective social support system that aims to prevent their social isolation with a view to empower them to become more involved in their own development. Other disadvantaged groups such as the elderly likewise need such support as do children, many of whom are increasingly vulnerable to institutionalization, exploitation and child trafficking. Improving the social safety net necessitates reallocating social programme expenditures to ensure that they are equitable and target the poor and most excluded, as well as restructuring the programmes for efficient implementation. It follows then that a major area that needs improvement is accountability in the handling of public money by strengthening internal and external controls and overall public oversight at both the national and local levels. Building the capacity of the public administration to meet their duties and obligations to identify groups excluded (or groups not fully included, such as refugees) and to ensure equitable allocation of resources is also an important task. Finally, facilitating the growth of small and medium size enterprises requires the adoption of effective measures by the relevant authorities. There is a need to formulate effective state policies for the protection of the rights of orphans and children deprived of parental care. It has been noted that unless social assistance is improved, more parents will eventually place their children in public institutions. The agencies that are designed to protect orphans’ rights currently face serious constraints due to the lack of human resources and professional training. Above all, compliance with the rights of the child as stipulated in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which was ratified by Ukraine, needs to be a requirement in the process of depriving parents of their parental rights and separating a child from his or her parents.31 As provided for in the CRC, institutionalization of the child should only be a measure of last resort and after having considered the best interests of the child. Moreover, any state policies addressing these should take into account the best interests of the child as a primary consideration along with the views of the child as stipulated in Articles 3 and 12 of the CRC. These principles are also relevant and applicable in terms of policies and programmes addressing working street children.
Responses In response to numerous challenges the Government of Ukraine has underscored the issue of poverty in the political and development agenda. Ukraine’s commitments in relation to the achievement of the MDGs have already been discussed. The ‘Presidential Decree on Poverty Alleviation’ dated July 15, 2001, which recognized for the first time the country’s poverty problem was another significant response. Regarding Ukraine’s aspiration to full integration into the European Union, strategic priorities include: ensuring stable economic growth and the social re-orientation of economic policy with a view to establishing a middle class; a relatively equitable distribution of income; and, the elimination of poverty through a better targeted social support and assistance framework.32 The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights recommended that Ukraine evaluate the economic reform policies with respect to their impact on poverty, and make efforts to adjust its programmes in a manner consistent with safeguarding the economic, social and cultural rights of the most vulnerable segments of society.33 Ukraine has a formidable legal framework for combating child labour beginning with the basic ILO conventions that have 31
Article 9 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child Poverty Reduction for Prosperity – Strategic Framework, published by UNDP Ukraine, 2003, p. 4 33 Concluding Observations and Recommendations issued by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (E/C.12/Add.65, 2001) 32
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Strategic Analysis
been ratified and other related international treaties on the rights of the child. (See Indicator Framework for list of conventions ratified.)
2.1.2. Development Challenges in Health Caused by Transition MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOAL: Improved Maternal Health and Reduced Child Mortality Target 1 Reduce maternal mortality by 17 per cent Target 2 Reduce mortality among under-fives by 17 per cent Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights pro vides that State parties recognize the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. The severe deterioration in health of the Ukrainian population is directly related to the economic crisis and overall impoverishment of many sectors of society with many people’s lives having been reduced to mere survival, having lost professional opportunities. The growth of poverty has consequently resulted in a fall in living conditions and decreased access to quality healthcare for all Ukrainians. The situation is equally acute for a large number of refugees and Roma who lack financial resources due to difficult access to gainful employment and who are not yet fully included in the social assistance programmes available for the most vulnerable groups in Ukraine. (See Indicator Framework for general population health indicators.) In recent years Ukraine has experienced a dramatic decline in population due to low birth rates and higher mortality rate among youth and adults. Between 1990 and 2002 the population decreased by over 3.3 million, while life expectancy at birth declined from 75 years for women and 66 for men in 1989, to 73.6 years and 62.4 respectively in 2002. Extensive migration has also played a role in Ukraine’s declining population. According to recent research conducted by UNFPA, Ukraine is currently experiencing a demographic crisis caused by a combination of depopulation and worsening of the population quality, where the deteriorated health of people is the major negative factor. The leading causes of adult deaths include non-communicable diseases – cardiovascular diseases and neoplasm –, suicide, homicide and accidents. In 2002, as many as 12,200 people committed suicide in Ukraine. The increase in deaths due to non-communicable diseases is mainly attributable to unhealthy lifestyles such as poor nutrition, smoking and drug and alcohol abuse, as well as coping with the stressful conditions related to poverty. In regard to sexually transmitted infections, since 1995 Ukraine has one of the fastest growing epidemics of HIV/AIDS in the world.34 According to WHO, rates of morbidity due to tuberculosis and sexually transmitted infections are substantially higher in Ukraine than the average in western Europe. A related and important factor is the crisis suffered by the national healthcare system, which has resulted in limited access to quality medical services for much of the population, particularly in rural areas. Consequently, the right of every Ukrainian to enjoy the highest attainable standard of health is in serious jeopardy. The main challenges identified by the Thematic Group on Health and underscored in the CCA include the tuberculosis epidemic, mother and child health and the health of adolescents. They were selected in light of the fact that tuberculosis has become an epidemic in Ukraine with high rates of morbidity, that maternal and child health are critical areas for human development and that improvement of women’s reproductive health in order to decrease maternal and child mortality was affirmed by Ukraine within the MDGs. The special emphasis on reproductive health is also based on it being the foundation of human health and with reference to the poor reproductive health of adolescent girls and women in Ukraine. In addition, adolescent health is a major issue of concern since all health indicators for this age group have worsened considerably over the last decade. Given the magnitude of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the country, it is fully discussed in a separate section in the CCA. (See Section 2.3.)
The tuberculosis epidemic Tuberculosis (TB) is currently recognized as the most widespread infectious disease in Ukraine with the number of people that have been diagnosed with the disease constituting 1.4 per cent of the population.35 In the year 2000, 29.8 thousand new cases of TB were diagnosed and by 2002, 9.9 thousand peo34 35
Ukraine and HIV/AIDS: Time to Act, Ukraine Human Development Report, Special Edition 2003, published by UNDP Ukraine, p. 4 Ukraine at the Threshold of the Tenth Anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development cited above, at p.6
15
ple had died of tuberculosis-related complications.36 A national programme for combating the disease was established by Presidential Decree in 2001. Despite noted efforts to control the spread of TB, there are new strains of the disease that have proven resistant to available multi-drug treatment. Although during the Soviet era, TB was successfully controlled, it was not cost-effective. Huge numbers of hospitals were set up for TB patients who were able to remain hospitalized for as long as ten months. This approach is not affordable in Ukraine today and, according to WHO, there is a need for TB facilities to be completely restructured and a cost-effective outpatient treatment established. In fact, since 1993 costeffective TB intervention has been available that is highly recommended by the World Bank, WHO and others at the international level and regarded as a major breakthrough for controlling the disease. This is the Directly Observed Treatment Short Course (DOTS). But what is most hindering an effective response to the TB epidemic is the lack of management capacity on behalf of the health system, which indicates a dire need to improve the performance of the system. Considering that during the last 11 years the number of people suffering from TB has more than doubled from 31.9 per 100,000 to 69.5 in 2001, and that the mortality rate due to TB has actually nearly tripled during the same period from 8.1 deaths per 100,000 to 22.4, it is important to note that the MDGs for Ukraine also include reducing the number of TB cases by 42 per cent.
Mother and child health In accordance with the Ukrainian Law on the Protection of Children signed by the President of Ukraine on 26 April 2001, a person is considered to be a child up to the age of 18. On a positive note, infant mortality, officially estimated at 11.3 deaths per 1,000 live births, is one of the lowest among countries in the region. The level of mortality among children under five years old remains relatively high at 14.9 as of 2001, despite a downward trend in the 1990s. Morbidity prevalence per 1,000 children among under-14 year olds rose steadily during the period 1990 to 2003. The most common cause of morbidity in that age group is respiratory disease (818.9 per 1,000 children), followed by infectious, parasitological and skin diseases (59.7), diseases of the digestive system (52.4), and traumas and poisoning (45.4). Another positive development in relation to child survival is the high immunization coverage for polio, measles and tuberculosis, reaching 97 per cent in 1999.37 Hepatitis B immunization was introduced into the National Immunization Programme in 2003 with funding from the Global Alliance on Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) and the Vaccine Fund, and coverage reaching 76 per cent in the same year.38 Existing policies, parental and health care specialist practices and knowledge in the area of infant and young children’s nutrition are very poor.39 Official figures indicate that 40.7 per cent of infants up to six months old are exclusively breastfed while stating at the same time that 96 per cent of infants under six months old are given water or tea.40 The International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes is not ratified and there are flagrant violations of the Code in health care facilities. Evidence from many countries indicates that to decrease infant mortality further in settings like Ukraine maternal care practices should: i) be child and family centered (with family friendly conditions in health care facilities), ii) promote evidence-based health care practices, iii) ensure exclusive breastfeeding for infants up to six months old, and iv) promote early stimulation of the child. This new concept has recently been pre-tested in a number of maternity hospitals in Ukraine and has shown successful results. For example, in Donetsk Regional Centre for Mother and Child Health Care after only five months of implementation newborns in need of intensive care fell from 23 per cent to 9.6 per cent, hypothermia decreased from 59 per cent to 2.3 per cent, and breastfeeding within an hour of birth increased from 25 per cent to 83.3 per cent.41 Another important public health problem in Ukraine is deficiency of vital micronutrients in the diet of women and children, particularly iodine, iron and folic acid. The results of a 2002 assessment confirmed that mild iodine and iron deficiency exists throughout the country with northern and western regions showing severe signs of iodine deficiency. 70 per cent of newborns are not protected from irreversible brain damage and the loss of 10–15 per cent of their cognitive abilities as a result of iodine deficiency disorders. It is estimated that if no action is taken to eliminate iodine deficiency the losses will amount to about 651.7 million Ukrainian Hryvna (UAH) or 122.3 million US dollars during the next five years.42 36
Ibid. Data provided by UNICEF Ukraine. 38 Ibid 39 JSI Mother and Infant Health Assessments 2003 and 2004 40 Early Childhood: Situation, Problems, Perspectives of Development. 2003. State Institute of Family and Youth Problems. 41 Data provided by UNICEF in Ukraine. 42 Ibid. 37
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Strategic Analysis
Surveillance of birth defects based on international standards has shown 2.1 neural tube defects per 1,000 births. These defects, which cause severe disability or death, could be reduced by 75 per cent with folic acid supplementation. It should be remembered that the State has a duty to take steps to eliminate iodine deficiency, particularly since it has the capacity to do so, in light of its having ratified both the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child both of which address the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable of physical and mental health. The health of children directly depends on the reproductive health of women. According to the latest national census (2001) the number of women of childbearing age in the country (15-49 years old) is 12,516,747.43 During the last decade the Government of Ukraine put considerable effort into improving women’s reproductive health. Pursuant to the International Conference on Population and Development Programme of Action, The National Family Planning Programme 1996-2001’ and the ‘National Programme on Reproductive Health for 2001–2005’ have been successfully implemented in the country according to evaluations by the Ministry of Health and UNFPA, which is confirmed by the significant improvement in major reproductive health indicators. (See Indicator Framework for Reproductive Health Indicators.) Changes in policy have led to some positive developments in women’s reproductive health. Hence, maternal mortality (per 100,000 live births) decreased from 36.2 in 1995 to 18.9 in 2003.44 The main reasons for maternal mortality are extra-genital (somatic) diseases that complicate pregnancy and childbirth and account for 36 per cent of such deaths (including diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, renal disease and rheumatic lesions.). The number of abortions (per 1,000 women of reproductive age) also decreased from 56.5 in 1996 to 23.4 in 2003. The same year, for the first time in Ukraine, there were no cases of maternal mortality from abortion. In order to further reduce the maternal mortality ratio in Ukraine, development of the national reproductive health care system should be continued with special focus on the prevention, early diagnosis and treatment of extra-genital pathologies, along with prevention of unwanted pregnancies and abortions. In addition, the quality of maternal health care services require improvement, including making them family-friendly. Ukraine still has some way to go in reducing the importance of abortion as a family planning method considering that in 2003 there were 72.8 abortions per 100 live births. In addition, abortion remains the main cause of women’s infertility, the prevalence of which is 0.29 per cent. Oral contraceptive use has increased from 4.8 per cent in 1998 to 12.4 per cent in 2003, and for IUDs prevalence has been stable at around 14.5 per cent-14.9 per cent. Despite the increased prevalence of oral contraceptives, 60 to 70 per cent of sexually active women continue using less effective methods of family planning, which should be changed. This may be due to the underlying causes of poor women’s reproductive health that include: Low awareness and concern about own reproductive health and lack of demand for good reproductive health care services; Low awareness of reproductive rights; Insufficient availability, accessibility, affordability and quality of reproductive health services and commodities; Insufficient state funding of targeted national programmes; Lack of accountability among governing institutions for information, prevention and care related to reproductive health; Malnutrition during pregnancy; Poverty worsening in proportion to the number of children in a family. Ensuring health care for the population is one of the key obligations of the State as proclaimed in the Ukrainian Constitution adopted in 1996. From the accountability perspective, overall, it is the national public health care system that has a duty to provide the information and medical services for reproductive health protection. Other duty bearers include the educational system, families and communities that should provide education and create incentives that lead to a public demand for better reproductive health care services. A significant role in the improvement of reproductive health in Ukraine is played by international donor organizations. 43 Health 44
of Women in Ukraine in 2003 – Ministry of Health of Ukraine (MOH), Medical Statistics Centre, Kyiv, 2004 Data of the Maternal and Child Health Directorate, MOH, 2004
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Adolescent health Adolescence in Ukraine covers the age of 14 to 17 years inclusively. According to the first national population census conducted in 2001, over 3 million adolescents in this age group live in Ukraine. The census also provides that the share of adolescents and youth under 28 years of age amounted to 11 per cent of the general population.45 UNICEF reports that as of 2001 all health indicators for 15–17 year old adolescents had worsened considerably with a higher number of cases of tuberculosis, sexually transmitted infections and drug and alcohol abuse. The number of children with disabilities also increased.46 Regarding adolescent morbidity respiratory diseases is still the number one cause, but the second most common cause of illness is linked to the endocrine system. The increase in morbidity can be attributed to a combination of factors including the rise in adolescent tuberculosis, and drug and alcohol abuse. According to Ministry of Health data, the prevalence rate of various diseases among adolescent girls aged 15–17 has increased by 50 per cent compared to 1996.47 The morbidity structure in adolescent girls under 14 is the following: respiratory disease (48.3 per cent), digestive system disease (8.1 per cent), endocrine system disease (6.4 per cent). Among girls aged 15–17: respiratory disease (30.7 per cent), endocrine system disease (10.6 per cent), digestive and urinary system disease (9.4 per cent). A matter of special concern should be somatic diseases in girls aged 15–17 that can complicate future pregnancy and baby birth: diabetes (14.5 per 10,000), rheumatism (25.2), chronic glomerulonephritis (9.0), and congenital cardiovascular disease (37.3).48 Given the fact that reproductive health is the basis of human health, the reproductive and sexual health of adolescents and youth in the Ukraine merits sustained support and attention. There is concern about the low level of knowledge of what is referred to as a culture of sexual behaviour and the need for responsible reproductive behaviour among adolescents and young people. Inadequate knowledge among adolescents about sexual life has been reported by 35.8 per cent of boys and 30.7 per cent of girls aged 12–14, 21.0 per cent of boys and 30.3 per cent of girls aged 15–18 and 22.5 per cent of boys and 29.2 per cent of girls in the 19–20 age group. A recent UNFPA supported survey noted that only 8.8 per cent of sexually active girls aged 15-18 and 14.4 per cent of girls aged 19–20 used oral contraceptives. The figures for condom use by male partners were 30.7 per cent for males aged 15–18 and 51 per cent for males aged 19-20, which is very low.49 About a tenth of girls aged 15–18 among those surveyed had some disease of the genitourinary system. Statistics show an increase of 55 per cent in pelvic inflammatory disease among girls aged between 15–17, which poses a major risk factor to future infertility. Gonorrhoea incidence (per 100,000 respective population group, 2003) in the under-14 age group was 4.1 among girls and 0.2 among boys. In the 15-17 age group the respective figures were 38.9 and 33.9. Syphilis incidence has been registered as 3.6 among girls and 2.7 among boys under 14, and 61.1 among girls and 14.6 among boys aged 15-17.50 The number of abortions has substantially decreased over the last 10 years: from 0.21 in 1993 to 0.10 in 2003 among girls under 14 and from 31.0 to 6.60 among girls aged 15–17 (all indicators are per 1,000 girls). A substantial number of adolescent abortions take place privately and are not recorded in official reports. In the meantime, the rate of adolescent abortions remains high compared with average European indicators, meaning there is room for further improvement. The root causes of the deterioration in the reproductive sexual health of adolescents and youth are primarily attributed to poverty, the poor economic situation in the country that reflects on the inadequate social care system, the lack of accountability of relevant governing bodies and lack of personal incentives to enjoy reproductive rights and good reproductive health. The duty to promote and protect reproductive sexual health and reproductive rights of adolescents mainly lies within the Ministry of Health, the Ministry for Family and Youth Affairs with its system of social services for youth, as well as with national NGOs working in the area of youth health, reproductive health and safe behaviour promotion. 45 Ibid, p.6 46
Situation Analysis on the State of Children and Women in Ukraine, produced by the Centre for Social Expert Examination and Forecasts and commissioned by UNICEF Ukraine, 2001, pp. 12-14 47 State of Maternal Health in Ukraine – Kyiv. Ministry of Health, 2004. p.216 48 Reproductive and Sexual Health of Adolescents in Ukraine: Situational analysis, Kyiv, Ukrainian Family Planning Association, 1999, 2004 49 Ibid. 50 Ibid.
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Strategic Analysis
Summary of key challenges This section has highlighted the major challenges and root causes of the most critical health problems in Ukraine. Although the economic crisis may have caused an increase in poverty in society and resulted in an impoverished health system, the health inequalities are often caused by the inefficiency of the current system and by the lack of accountability by those groups of individuals who are in a position of authority to initiate the necessary changes. First and foremost, policy decisions and budget allocations should take into account the need to correct the chronic lack of access to health care services by the poorest sectors of the population. It follows then that the major challenges in the health area include: the need to ensure the right of every Ukrainian to enjoy the highest attainable standard of health and refugees who receive international protection in Ukraine (ie. According to the 1951 Convention, refugees shall enjoy the same rights as nationals and according to Art. 20 of the Refugee Law, “persons granted refugee status shall enjoy the same rights as Ukrainian citizens including to (…) healthcare, medical treatment and medical insurance”); the lack of management capacity on behalf of the health system and low efficiency in human and logistical resources indicates a dire need to improve the overall performance of the health system; the need for TB facilities to be completely restructured and a cost-effective outpatient treatment established; the need for strong political commitment in the form of legislation, which would require all salt for human consumption to be iodized; the need to increase awareness of reproductive health among women, adolescents and even among many medical professionals; the need to promote healthy lifestyles among children and adolescents. Upon reviewing Ukraine’s report submitted to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, the Committee drew attention to its general recommendation No. 24 on Women and Health and recommended comprehensive research into the specific health needs of women, including their reproductive health, the full implementation of a life-cycle approach to women’s health, the financial organizational strengthening of family planning programmes and the provision of wide access to contraceptives for all women and men. The Committee further urged the State to reinforce programmes of sexual and reproductive education for girls and boys in order to foster responsible sexual behaviour and further discourage abortion as a means of birth control.51
Responses Some positive developments are worth noting, particularly in the area of women’s reproductive health. The Government has committed itself to improving maternal and child health by reducing the maternal mortality ratio by 17 per cent, as well as the mortality rate of children under five, as part of its efforts to meet the MDGs. However, the MDGs specify a fall in the mortality among the under-five age group by twothirds and in the maternal mortality ratio by three-quarters by 2015. A number of tasks have been deemed policy priorities including52: Carrying out health education campaigns that promote healthy lifestyles, family planning, reproductive health, safe motherhood, and early cancer detection; Organizing health awareness campaigns among women that include regular and frequent visits to the doctor; Encouraging breastfeeding by introducing it in maternity wards; Developing medical and organizational technologies to ensure the delivery and birth of healthy children and treat those with disabilities; Developing further integrated reproductive and sexual health care services to improve availability, accessibility and quality of these services; Improving governance in the health care system to promote organizational and individual accountability at central and local levels; 51
Concluding Observations and Recommendations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (A/57/38/Part II, paras. 271-301, 2002) 52 Millennium Development Goals, p. 20
19
Stimulating demand for better health in the population and changes for safer sexual behaviour. The National Programme on Reproductive Health for the period 2001–2005, whose main objective is to improve reproductive health in the country, is considered to be a sufficient political and strategic tool for overcoming many of the aforementioned problems. However, implementation of the programme and logical continuation of its activities after 2005 would require technical and financial support from the international donor community, where the UN could play a leading role based on its experience and knowledge base.53 Until recently Ukraine did not have any integral State plan in the public health sphere. This situation changed after the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved the Inter-Branch comprehensive Programme ‘Health of the Nation’ for the period 2002 – 2011 (in 2002) by special resolution.The Programme was developed in line with the European ‘Health for All’ policy comprising interventions aimed at dealing with a broad spectrum of urgent challenges in public health.
2.1.3. Development Challenges Caused by Unequal Access to Quality Education MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOAL: Quality life-long education Target 1 Raise enrolment rates by 2015, in comparison with 2001 Target 2 Raise the quality of education Article 13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights recog nizes the right of everyone to education. States Parties agree that education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and the sense of dignity, and shall strengthen respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. Ukraine has traditionally enjoyed high standards in education and general enrolment rates have exceeded the levels of many middle-income countries including the proportion of the population with higher education. In recent years, however, the quality of education has declined, as has the number of children enrolled in pre-schools and secondary schools throughout the country. Aware of this, the Government of Ukraine has set goals that are in keeping with its commitment to achieve the MDGs. Thus, it has decided to raise enrolment rates and raise the quality of education as a matter of priority.54 In connection with this the Government has also initiated an education reform strategy that includes redefined priorities for the sector and improved service delivery from pre-school up to tertiary education. The strategy is contained in the National Doctrine for Development of Education in Ukraine in the 21st century. The challenges include ensuring that all children (including those seeking asylum and those who have received refugee protection in Ukraine) receive schooling of equal quality, and school curricula and teaching practices that are appropriate to the needs of a new market and labour economy. While the Government appears to be on the right track it should give priority to providing compulsory quality education for all, regardless of the child’s socio-economic status or geographic location. For example, children in rural or poorer regions are inadequately served by the education system. Special attention should be paid to ensuring the right to education since it is not being enjoyed by disadvantaged communities and excluded groups such as populations living in remote or peri-urban areas. For example pre-school education is provided for only 45 per cent of the total number of pre-school age children in Ukraine, while the figure in some regions is much lower: 22 per cent in Ivano-Frankivsk region and 26 per cent in both Lviv and Rivne regions.55 The Government should also continue to secure access to education for refugee children, taking into account their special needs so that they have a real opportunity to access quality education through, for instance, language and catch-up classes. In short, there is ample evidence that the current education system tends to increasingly favour the better off urban population. In light of these factors, the Thematic Group on Education identified the lack of equal access to quality education and low enrolment in secondary and pre-school education as the major challenges in the education sector. 53
Ibid, p. 51
54 Ibid, p.12 55
Early Childhood: Situation, Problems, Perspectives of Development. 2003. State Institute of Family and Youth Problems.
20
Strategic Analysis
The key issue concerning secondary education is equal access to quality education. The Law on Education states, “citizens of Ukraine have the right to receive education in state educational institutions free of charge regardless of gender, race, nationality, social and financial status, specialization, philosophy, party membership, religious preferences, state of health, place of residence and other reasons.” In addition, equal access to education needs to be ensured for asylum seeker and refugee children as stipulated by the Law of Ukraine on Refugees. Although one would presume that these laws guarantee equal access for all children to quality education, in practice, this is not the case. In spite of the assurances provided in the law, children that are gifted or talented and those from families that are better off socially and economically have a major advantage. Schools have emerged that are deemed ‘elite schools’ that require parents to pay additional attendance fees. These schools are often located far from the districts where low-income families live. In 2002, 38 per cent of rural students could not continue their studies in upper secondary schools because they were located too far from their homes. These are significant obstacles to the enjoyment of the right to education for children from low-income families. Other factors that help limit equal access to quality education for children from lower income families include the early selection of primary school age children by ‘elite schools’, the closed entrance examination procedure, and consideration of the parents’ social status during the admission process.56 It should be noted that these practices are contrary to existing regulations that govern the admission procedure for children to secondary school. Children of minorities such as the Roma are particularly disadvantaged when it comes to education and show a low enrolment and high drop out rate. This is primarily due to poverty and the discrimination and stigmatization associated with this minority group, as well as major cultural and language barriers that discourage Roma parents from sending their children to school. A high number of Roma children are erroneously placed in ‘special schools’ for the handicapped or mentally retarded simply because school authorities do not know how to address their specific needs, ethnic language and social behaviour. In regard to education quality, the curriculum has not been completely transformed to the new demands of the developing society. The old Soviet approach to content development with its overemphasis on polytechnic training at the expense of humanities, the extensive reliance on rote memorization and inadequate attention given to developing other skills and techniques that lead to individual problem solving and creative thinking, are all perceived as obstacles to Ukraine’s further development of the education sector, and consequently, to development efforts. There has also been a drop in the quality of teaching with many qualified teachers leaving the sector. The quality of education is further affected by the absence of a monitoring system, which would help identify the weakest elements and allow the needed improvements to be made. In terms of low enrolment, regarding primary education, the level of enrolment in 2001 was 99.2 per cent. However, the rate of enrolment in secondary schools is considerably lower, with the share of the population between 15–17 years of age attending secondary schools and completing grades 10–12 estimated at 56 per cent in 2002. It should be noted that many students in this age group are in technical vocational training. In regard to pre-school enrolment, a sharp decline was recorded between 1990–1996, and since then the level has ranged between 38 and 40 per cent, and in 2003 it rose to 45 per cent. This figure indicates that access to pre-school is not equally available for all children. Despite the many known advantages of a preschool education, the Government has pointed out that even if women’s level of employment increases and personal incomes go up, nevertheless, many families will choose not to enroll their small children. A new law regarding pre-school was adopted in 2001, which allows families to provide pre-school education at home. It is evident that this area requires a more in-depth appraisal in order to assess the situation and understand the reasons why pre-school is not valued by a significant percentage of Ukrainian families. Another factor that has been identified as hindering progress in education is the existence of a centralized education governance system and its slow decentralization process. This hampers the development of local initiatives, management capacity building, and decision-making, including the possibility of enabling youth to participate in the process.
Summary of key challenges Ukraine faces formidable challenges in the area of education. As noted above, not all children receive schooling of equal quality, particularly those living in rural or mountainous areas or poorer regions. Access to quality education in general is also more difficult for refugee children. Thus, public financing should give priority to providing quality compulsory education for all as required by the Convention on the Rights of the Child and Ukraine’s national legislation. This right should be guaranteed regardless of the 56
Reform Strategy for Education in Ukraine, published by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, 2003, p. 43
21
children’s or their families’ socioeconomic status or geographic location. Moreover, there is a need to pay special attention to the needs of at-risk communities and poor rural areas. Upon reviewing Ukraine’s report to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the treaty body recommended that the State take all necessary measures to allocate the required resources to effectively implement the 1991 Law on Education. Among other things the Committee recommended that the State promote the participation of parents and communities, especially ethnic minorities, in school governance in order to improve enrolment rates and monitor the quality of education.57 (In this regard more disaggregated data is needed on the enjoyment of the right to education by ethnic minorities and Roma children in Ukraine.) The Committee on the Rights of the Child also issued recommendations pursuant to its review of Ukraine’s State Party report to the treaty body on the progress achieved in the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. It recommended that the State: z
z z z
z
ensure the availability of free primary education and accessibility to all children in the State, giving particular attention to children in rural communities, children from Roma, Crimean Tatar and other minorities, as well as children from disadvantaged backgrounds, to good quality education, including in their own language; undertake the necessary steps to increase the number of pre-school establishments; ensure that legislation on compulsory education is enforced, including by providing the appropriate resources for this purpose; ensure that education reforms are implemented with sufficient preparation and support to schools to implement the reform, including extra funding and teacher training, and establishes a quality evaluation process for the new programmes; improve the quality of education in the whole country in order to achieve the goals mentioned in article 29, paragraph 1, of the Convention and the Committee’s General Comment No. 1 on the aims of education; and ensures that human rights education, including children’s rights, are included in school curricula.58
Responses While there are important challenges in the education sector, which was also severely affected by the budget cuts arising from the economic crisis, there are signs that the Government is responding with strategic political directions in order to transform the system. Among other things the Government has issued new laws and regulations aimed at improving the system together with a reform strategy that targets lifelong learning and equal access to education. This commitment to reform the education system is shared by local government. It is evident that Ukraine needs to make every effort to meet the Millennium Development Goals and ensure that all children will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling. For this purpose, more reliable data provision and monitoring are needed. The following key steps have been highlighted in connection with achievement of the MDGs that involve59: creating an effective mechanism to carry out and monitor the provisions of the National Doctrine of the Development of Education and other laws and regulations; defining standards for infrastructural support to educational institutions; providing free and accessible pre-school and public education and equal access to higher education; assisting poor families in paying for education; updating the qualitative and quantitative parameters that determine budgeting standards and implementing a variety of approaches to non-state education financing. In addition, in order to increase the enrolment of students the Government has recognized that there is a need to: optimize the network of institutions and increase financial support for learning; enforce the state school bus and teacher programmes; provide targeted state support to orphans, the disabled, children from poor families and talented youth.
57
Concluding Observations and Recommendations of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (E/C.12/1/Add.65, 2001) 58 Concluding Observations and Recommendations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC/C/15/Add. 191, 2002) 59 Millennium Development Goals, p. 15
22
Strategic Analysis
2.1.4. Development Challenges Caused by Gender Inequality MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOAL: Gender Equality Target 1 Achieve a ratio of a least 30-70 for either gender in legislative and executive office Target 2 Halve the gap in incomes between men and women Article 3 of The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Article 3 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights provide that States Parties undertake to ensure the equal rights of men and women to the enjoyment of their civil and political rights and their economic, social and cultural rights. At the outset it needs to be emphasized that gender equality is a core commitment of the Member States of the United Nations and has been included as one of the MDGs. The importance of gender equality is reaffirmed by another international human rights instrument, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which Ukraine, by virtue of its ratification of the treaty, is bound to implement. Gender equality is also essential for sustainable human development and it plays a fundamental role in a country’s political, social and economic progress. Even though the Constitution of Ukraine guarantees gender equality, the absence of an adequate policy on equal opportunities for men and women has contributed to significant inequalities that are slowing down the process of economic development and the building of a democratic society in which all its members participate actively and freely in all spheres of life. The World Bank has noted that although the economic and social consequences of the transition period had different impacts on poor men and women, the differences between the needs of men and women are not always recognized in poverty analysis or considered in the selection and design of poverty reduction strategies.60 For the purpose of the CCA, the main gender inequalities that need to be addressed as a matter of priority were selected by the Thematic Group on Gender as key developmental challenges by taking into account their impact on development efforts and on the population, the level of Government response and the scope of the international commitments undertaken by the State, as well as the degree of human rights abuses that are related to gender inequality. Accordingly, the CCA focuses on the disproportionate number of women representatives in decision-making bodies and domestic violence. Some issues regarding the relationship between men and women in the labour market are also highlighted under this section.
Disproportionate number of women representatives in decision making bodies Article 7 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women provides that States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the political and public life of the country and shall ensure to women the right to vote in all elections on equal terms with men, and to be eligible for election to all publicly elected bodies. At the top of the list of concerns is the absence or low number of women in decision-making bodies starting from the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian National Parliament. Since independence women’s participation in the political system has declined when compared to the Soviet period when 30 per cent quotas for women were enforced in all decision-making bodies.61 In the 2002 elections, out of 450 parliamentarians, men constituted 94.9 per cent, whereas women made up a mere 5.1 per cent. The ratio between men and women elected by party lists is 1:14. Nowadays, many members of the Ukrainian Parliament come from the business sector and women who are not top executives or cannot count on substantial financial means may find it difficult to participate in a male dominated political environment. Only one woman is currently a member of the Cabinet of Ministers and all oblast Governors are men. Moreover, the number of women in Parliament is not growing despite the high level of education and professional potential and capacity of Ukrainian women. Some causes for this have been attributed to the lack of quotas and the absence of the law on gender, and the reluctance of women to participate due to their economic status combined with stereotypes regarding traditional roles. The media has also been identified as contributing to maintaining societal attitudes and stereotypes that help to keep women out of public life. Women have 60 World 61
Bank Economic Studies-Ukraine, 2000-2003 Parliamentary Hearing on Women in Ukraine, Kyiv 2004
23
a strong presence in the civil service sector, however, but only among middle managers and specialists. It has been noted that their presence drops sharply at the highest level where decisions are made. As a rule in most areas, the lower level of power, the more it is available to women. In the labour market, the level of employment is almost the same between men and women. Nevertheless, there are a number of gender inequalities that must be highlighted. The first is the issue of salary inequalities between men and women. Even though it is illegal to pay women a lower wage than men for similar work, the average monthly wage for women is 30.7 per cent less than for men. Employers are not equitable in their salary scales and therefore are in violation of the rights of their female employees, who may not be aware of their rights to seek legal address. Another concern is the incidence of sexual harassment in the workplace, which appears to be quite common. Again, the lack of awareness of their rights and the lack of legal remedy available to those who may have suffered sexual harassment is one of the immediate causes of this problem. Gender stereotypes have also resulted in the Ukrainian labour market becoming segregated with women belonging to the employment sector that has the lower status and the lowest wages.62
Domestic violence: a significant development concern The increasing incidence of domestic violence faced by Ukrainian society is another concern that also contributes to hindering development efforts. According to an Academy of Science Institute of Social Research survey, as many as 68 per cent of women in the country, or some 18 million people, are subjected to family violence and 20 per cent of them are known to suffer on a continual basis. As of early 2004 more than 83,000 persons were subject to police prevention and supervision for domestic violence with about 84 per cent of this figure composed of men. The 2002 law on ‘Domestic Violence Prevention’ is considered a progressive step taken by the Government. It identifies the legal and organizational basis for the definition and prevention of domestic violence, as well as the duties and obligations of different institutions. The law focuses on prevention measures and early intervention at the initial stages of conflict but is less oriented towards the criminal aspects of domestic violence that are deemed essential for its prevention and elimination. Since the law was adopted and came into force, the Ukrainian police have registered as many as 41,063 cases of domestic violence. According to official statistics the total number of cases of domestic violence is not known, as the collection of data only started since the law was adopted. It is known, however, that the rate of domestic violence is higher in areas that have suffered from industrial and economic decline, such as the Donetsk, Ivano-Frankivsk and Luhansk oblasts.63 A proper monitoring system is needed to reinforce the implementation of the law. One of the underlying causes for this phenomenon is the attitude within some sectors of Ukrainian society which tends to blame the victim’s behaviour rather than concentrating on the crime committed by the offender. For example, a significant number of the parliamentarians who passed the law also acknowledged that the ‘provocative behaviour of the victim may, to some extent, justify the offender performing an act of violence’.64 It is fundamental to underscore that the qualification of the victim’s behaviour as a justification for the offender is not compatible with international standards of human rights. There is also a high level of stigmatization of victims and an overall acceptance of the problem, despite its severity, as merely a ‘family issue’. Therefore, there is a need to increase awareness about domestic violence as a human rights issue and establish effective enforcement mechanisms. In addition, there is a need to provide counselling programmes aimed at prevention, to work with families, victims and offenders. Presently there are only two shelters for victims in the whole country, with little capacity. Cooperation between medical, social and legal authorities must be strengthened. There are no rehabilitation programmes available for offenders. There is also a need to build capacity in law enforcement agencies to address domestic violence and encourage the Ombudsperson’s office to become involved in handling such cases. In addition to the inadequate enforcement of the law mentioned above, other underlying causes of domestic violence have been identified including the unaccountability of offenders and the lack of alternatives available for the victims. In sum, the lack of awareness by victims of their rights coupled with the lack of effective social support and an available legal remedy, as well as the impunity of the offenders, are all major challenges to be met.
62 Gender
Issues in Ukraine – Challenges and Opportunities, published by UNDP Ukraine 2003 and Sida, p.29
63 Ibid, p.65 64
Ibid.
24
Strategic Analysis
Summary of key challenges After reviewing the most recent periodic report submitted in 2002 by the State of Ukraine to the CEDAW Committee, the international human rights treaty body that monitors compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the following conclusions and observations were issued that summarize many of the gender inequalities discussed above.Thus, they also represent the challenges to be met. z z z z z z
z
Introduce education and training programmes on CEDAW for judges, lawyers and law enforcement personnel, as well as awareness raising campaigns targeted at women. Develop policies and efforts directed at countering both direct and indirect discrimination against women. Increase the representation of women in elected and appointed bodies. Include in the legislation a definition of discrimination, enforcement procedures and remedies for violations of women’s rights. Place high priority on comprehensive measures to address violence against women in the family and in society. Ensure equal opportunities for women and men in the labour market to eliminate occupational segregation and introduce measures allowing for reconciliation between family and professional responsibilities. Design and implement comprehensive programmes in the education system and encourage the media to promote cultural changes regarding the roles and tasks attributed to women and men, to ensure the eradication of traditional sex role stereotypes in the family, employment, in politics and society.
As stated earlier, domestic violence merits attention as a complex public health and human rights issue. Although it is a social problem that primarily affects women and children and one that is increasingly being acknowledged by police and officials as a serious public concern, the police and legal system are ill equipped to respond effectively. The problem is further exacerbated by the lack of social services available to victims. Judicial reform should build on the recent aforementioned legislation and information campaigns that educate the public about their legal rights and increased access to legal services need to be strongly supported. Upon reviewing the report submitted by Ukraine, the Human Rights Committee recommended that the State should take positive measures, including the enactment and implementation of adequate legislation, training of police officers and sensitization of the population, to protect women from domestic violence.65 In preparation for the CCA, the UNCT Theme Group for Gender used a human rights-based analysis in order to identify the capacity of rights-holders to claim their rights on the one hand, and the capacity of duty-bearers, meaning those individuals or groups that have corresponding duties/obligations to fulfill those rights. The major capacity gaps and constraints were listed for the rights-holders identified as including men, women, children, families and communities. They include: lack of legislation on gender equality; prevalence of gender stereotypes; lack of gender sensitive education and human rights awareness; stigmatization; and, a poor system of social care and protection. The capacity gaps and constraints were listed for the duty-bearers, identified mainly as individuals responsible for decision-making that represent the Parliament, Ministries, State institutions and law enforcement agencies, NGOs, international organizations and research institutions. They include: lack of capacity and knowledge to recognize gender related issues; lack of gender sensitive materials and information; lack of inter-agency cooperation and coordination; inadequate system of data collection that is segregated according to gender; lack of monitoring system; and, lack of transparency in decision-making processes. Finally, for successful achievement of the MDGs related to gender and in order to make progress towards sustainable human development, gender sensitive policies should be introduced in Ukraine that include support to government for mainstreaming gender. Strengthening cooperation with researchers and statisticians to ensure gender desegregated data and analysis should be a priority. There is also a need to develop a cadre of gender specialists within the government in order to sustain the capacity to respond effectively to the wide range of areas in human development and others, such as governance, that have gender implications. Legal experts have revealed some de jure gender discrimination in various existing laws including the Family Code and Criminal Code. 65
Concluding Observations and Recommendations of the Human Rights Committee (CCPR/CO/73/UKR, 2001)
25
Responses The Government has stated that gender equality has become a priority particularly in relation to achieving the MDGs. A target of achieving a ratio of at least 30:70 has been set for either gender in legislative and executive office. A number of activities have been identified in support of gender parity at the highest levels in government and in the legislature that include66: z
elaborating legislative and institutional mechanisms to support gender equality, including introducing a gender quota if necessary; z introducing the practice of gender analysis of legislative and regulatory documents, and social and economic development programmes; z formulating a variety of educational programmes targeted at breaking gender stereotypes, as well as the necessary mechanisms to allow gender parity in the electoral nomination process; z involving the media in raising public awareness of gender issues in social and political contexts. Another positive development is the National Plan of Action adopted by the Cabinet to improve the status of women and introduce gender equality for the period 2001–2005. While it is regarded as a good initiative since it attempts to address critical gender and women’s rights issues in Ukraine, it is not sufficiently strategic and is more a list of activities to be undertaken by various actors. It leans more towards a traditional approach aimed at protecting women against exploitation, promoting cultural and family values, but fails to include a national gender mainstreaming strategy. It has, however, prioritized the collection and publication of desegregated data that will facilitate gender sensitive policymaking and programming. At the same time, a law on Gender Equality has been drafted and presented to the Parliament but was rejected due its proposal to impose a quota system of 30:70. However, it is expected that the proposed law will be presented for another reading.
2.2. THE STATUS OF GOOD GOVERNANCE AND THE RULE OF LAW Article 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights provides that everyone has the right to take part in government of his/her country, directly or indirectly through freely chosen representatives and that everyone has the right to equal access to public serv ice in his/her country.
Democratization and human rights Over the last decade, Ukraine has made some progress towards becoming a modern European democracy after 70 years of a communist, Soviet dominated system. Since its independence Ukraine has established a number of functioning government institutions and other formal requisites of an independent democratic nation, and achieved significant progress on the way to establishing a market economy. This has certainly been a remarkable achievement for a country with little democratic tradition, lacking important elements of a modern democracy such as a strong civil society, an independent media and a culture of human rights. At the same time, the Ukrainian political elites have not managed to take a lead in providing the people with economic, social and cultural stability, which has dramatically deteriorated during the last decade. Poor governance administration has led to a number of grave social consequences already discussed in the CCA under human development, including the spread of mass poverty, deteriorating general health, reduced life expectancy, mass emigration etc. It is obvious that in order to deal successfully with these and other acute social issues mentioned in this CCA, all branches of the Ukrainian Government will face a whole range of complex political and management decisions. This section examines the key issues that were identified by the Thematic Group on Governance that remain to be addressed or areas that need to be strengthened using the concepts of good governance and principles and standards of human rights that have been referred to earlier. Accordingly, both the governance institutions, which are comprised of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, and other elements of civil society, such as human rights organizations, media and other non-governmental organizations, are all discussed in order to identify the key challenges and the most noteworthy responses. Specific human rights violations that pose a threat to human security in Ukraine such as human trafficking and the situation of minorities such as the Crimean Tatars and the Roma population whose human rights need to be protected and respected are also noted.
66
Millennium Development Goals, p. 24
26
Strategic Analysis
Governance is the manner in which power is exercised in the management of a country’s economic and social resource for development. While it is understood that all countries have a system of governance, only those that enjoy good governance are seen as having the best results. Good governance has been defined in various ways. One definition provides that the ultimate objective of governance should be to enhance human development. UNDP provides that “a governance system is good if it addresses the allocation and management of resources in a way that responds to collective problems, and is characterized by participation, transparency and accountability, rule of law, effectiveness, and equity.”67 The system of governance in Ukraine is said to be undergoing a major transition towards developing more open, transparent and accountable, institutions. A recurring issue in the area of governance is the inadequate quality of state policies and the lack of interaction between state institutions and civil society organizations, as well as directly with the citizens. This is a constraint that has prevented progress from being achieved in formulating and implementing economic and social policies, in improving governance mechanisms to become more effective, as well as in raising the quality of life of Ukrainians. Previous reports on the governance institutions in Ukraine conclude that the country has much room for improvement in achieving human development. This can be accomplished by strengthening the quality of its governance institutions to become more in line with those of its neighbouring countries in Western Europe, which means ensuring transparency and participation.68 In recent years, considerable progress was achieved through the implementation of administrative reforms that were designed to make the ministerial side of the Executive Branch more efficient and pursuant to Presidential Decrees adopted between 199799. The measures taken represent significant steps in the right direction since they are aimed at consolidating ministries and government agencies, reforming the decision-making process by making it more streamlined, and holding ministers politically accountable, to name a few.There is still a need to further improve the quality of governance in this sector, for example, by making available and more accessible accurate information on government processes, which is critical for effective participation by civil society, for the realization of all human rights and for ensuring accountability. In connection with this, measures are needed to provide mechanisms whose function is to facilitate participation. Another area that needs reform is the civil service, which lacks efficiency due to low pay and therefore, has difficulty in attracting and retaining a high level of professional staff, and at the same time has an excessive number of staff performing functions that are no longer needed. The notion of partnership building with other sectors that have a governance function needs to be promoted and encouraged by the Executive Branch, in order for other key bodies within society such as the business sector and civil society to be included rather than be regarded as adversaries. The reforms identified within the Executive Branch that are considered as essential for attaining good governance are as follows:69 z
Administrative and civil service reforms designed to make government more efficient. z Concerted efforts to improve and guarantee access to information needed to increase transparency and the accountability of government to the people. z Continued efforts to work together with other partners towards the common goal of achieving human development and the realization of human rights. Ukraine’s National Parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, is generally considered to function in a more transparent manner than other organs of the State. The Constitution has established important checks and balances and there are a number of established parliamentary practices that maintain the system’s good performance. Formally, the public is able to participate in the law-making process through a number of mechanisms that include: parliamentary hearings; CSO analytical centres that serve to produce high quality analysis, analyze draft laws and produce a number of useful reports; freelance consultants that work with parliamentary committees; and the Internet which makes available proposed legislation on the Parliament’s website. However, this is all very limited and there is still a need to develop practical mechanisms for citizen participation in government decision-making. For example, merely two per cent of Ukrainians have actual access to the Internet, so it is not yet a significant channel for people to participate in the decision-making process. Access by average citizens to parliamentary hearings is also greatly limited in light of the challenging task of organizing preliminary public consultations on the issues that would be the subject of hearings.
67
Ukraine Human Development Report 2001 – The Power of Participation, published by UNDP Ukraine, p. 38 Ibid, p. 47 69 Ibid, p. 50 68
27
With regard to the legislative branch, there are a number of concerns that need to be highlighted. The first is that Ukraine’s election laws are incomplete and vague, leaving room for abuse without violations being penalized. There have been serious allegations regarding the lack of responsibility of election process participants, the misuse of administrative resources and an excess of ballots being supplied that could lead to abuse and manipulation. Another concern is the high degree of influence and control over the decisionmaking process by wealthy business groups. There is a perception that the national parliament has attained a disproportionate number of members from the business community, giving the business sector unfair influence over parliamentary decisions. There is also a need to strengthen freedom of the press to improve transparency in the election of parliamentarians and assure the flow of information as guaranteed by Ukraine’s Constitution. Access to information on the financing of political parties is very limited and controversial. It should be noted that the MPs have immunity, which corresponds to international practice, and all MPs serve for a four-year term. Under the current system, the mode of election to the parliament is mixed with half the seats allocated on a proportional basis to those parties that gain four per cent or more of the national electoral vote. The other 225 members are elected by popular vote in single-mandate constituencies. This approach allows political representation as well as regional representation in the Parliament. However, according to the new law pertaining to parliamentary elections the next elections will be operated under the 100 per cent proportional system. There is concern that due to the underdevelopment of the Ukrainian political party system, this law could deteriorate the representation of the Parliament and its connection with citizens because of the impossibility of smaller parties being represented. Apparently, it could also undermine the institutional capacity of the Parliament to manage the legislative process. One of the positive aspects pertaining to the functioning of the legislature is its capacity to draft laws and its important role in relation to the elaboration of the state budget.The current tendency in Ukraine is that the numbers of draft laws (and amendments to laws) submitted to Parliament has been on a continuous rise since 1992. During the second legislature there were 4600 legislative proposals and during the third this indicator increased to 7800; while during the first two years of the current fourth legislature more than 6000 legislative proposals have already been submitted to the Parliament. Among these 6000 proposals, 84 per cent were developed and submitted by Members of Parliament, 13 per cent – by the Government, 2.8 per cent – by President, 0.2 per cent – by the National Bank of Ukraine.70 The Parliament also plays an important role in the budget process by adopting a Budget Resolution, which provides a basis for the Government in elaborating the state budget. It also counts on the strong powers and role of the Parliamentary Committee on Budget, which provides final recommendations on draft state budget and the examination of relevant parts of budget expenditures by competent Parliamentary Committees in order to adopt appropriate budget solutions. In addition, the Parliament uses an Expert and Scientific Department within its Secretariat, as well as the Institute of Legislation, which are responsible for expertise and evaluation of draft laws (legal basis, policy alternatives, effectiveness etc). One of the challenges related to the functioning of the legislature is that parliamentary oversight effectiveness remains insufficient and is an obstacle to fully ensuring accountability and transparency of public administration at all levels. In particular, national legislation pertaining to parliamentary oversight is incomplete and contains a number of serious gaps including parliamentary rules and procedures which do not contain special provisions on oversight, or relations with parliamentary oversight institutions (POI). Thus, the status of POI does not fully correspond to international standards. For example, the scope of powers of the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine is not complete and does not meet the requirements of the Lima Declaration on auditing precepts. The competence of the Accounting Chamber covers only the expenditure part of the state budget, but neither the income part, public property nor enterprises. Of the three branches of government, the Judicial Branch is the least developed and needs strengthening to function effectively and independently. It suffers from inadequate resources, lack of professional competence and deficiency in the training of judges, deficiency in its procedural rules, lack of technical equipment and good facilities. It has been noted that biased court proceedings are common and improper influence on judges takes many forms including political pressure, inappropriate ex parte communications and bribes. Judicial independence is critical in order to ensure that the rule of law is respected and it is regarded as one of the key development challenges for Ukraine. Moreover, human rights can only be protected through an independent, impartial judiciary free from any form of pressure and supported by an autonomous and well-resourced justice system. According to the UN Basic Principles on the Independence of Judiciary, judicial independence enables judges to apply human rights principles and standards without fear of adverse consequences.
70
Information provided by UNDP Ukraine
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Strategic Analysis
As in many former Soviet Union countries, enforcement of court decisions is inadequate and judicial orders are not always supported or respected by other branches of government. Courts are not directly responsible for the enforcement of judgments. In civil cases, the burden of ensuring enforcement typically falls upon the plaintiff. Ukraine faces problems with enforcement of court decisions related to fines and money judgments with only up to 70 per cent of such court decisions being enforced. Ethnic and religious minorities are represented among judges; however, no statistics are available. Although some 25 per cent of the lower court judges are women, they assume leadership roles much less frequently and representation of women in higher courts is lower. In light of these major constraints and deficiencies, the public does not believe in the judicial system nor in its capacity to enforce the rule of law. According to the World Bank the court system is still perceived in the country as being very weak and there is a dire need for measures to strengthen the judiciary, including better training, pay, and monitoring of judges.71 A related issue is the need to introduce a human rights-based and effective system of juvenile justice. It has been noted by UNICEF and others, that the absence of a juvenile justice system in Ukraine is an urgent social problem.To date no separate judicial system that addresses the special needs of children and ensures that their rights are respected has been established. Despite the fact that some peculiarities are envisaged, such as a different system of punishment, special provisions and procedures, under the present arrangement juvenile cases are regularly considered within the adult system, which is contrary to international human rights standards.The Committee on the Rights of the Child has expressed concern with regard to the absence of specialized juvenile courts and juvenile judges.Given that the judicial system in Ukraine is currently under reform, there is a window of opportunity to introduce a new juvenile justice system.72 Over the last decade hundreds of civil society organizations (CSOs) were established in Ukraine that represent a wide range of interests and provide a voice for the people. This is a positive development that facilitates the participation of the civil society in general and is essential for fostering a culture of human rights. It has been estimated that there are currently close to 40,000 registered CSOs in Ukraine, but apparently only about 10 per cent are considered as fully operational and active and carrying out activities effectively.73 According to a survey of Ukrainian CSOs conducted by Counterpart Creative Centre in 2003, the CSO sector focuses mainly on children and youth (45 per cent) solving social issues (36 per cent), human rights (31 per cent), civic education (27 per cent), CSO development (17 per cent), culture and art (15 per cent), women (11 per cent) and health (10 per cent). These findings would place them as key partners supporting human development progress in Ukraine, however, the lack of opportunity for public participation is a major obstacle. The CSOs face constraints that jeopardize their sustainability due to an inadequate legal framework for their operations, specific legal barriers, the low number of people that they can attract to work with them, potential services, shortage of qualified staff, lack of resources and lack of high professional standards. The concentration of power in the Executive Branch has also contributed to preventing the development of a strong civil society that would be in a better position to establish more effective CSOs. There is a need to develop standards and provide space for CSO participation in service delivery within the parameters set by the state. Dependence on international donors remains a significant challenge for CSOs in Ukraine. In this regard it is clear that donors are providing limited types of grant support to the CSO community and the focus tends to be sectoral (i.e. mitigating HIV/AIDS, poverty reduction interventions) rather than institutional or organizational. Moreover, CSOs are unable to become financially independent partially due to the current law, which does not permit them to engage in profit-making activities, even in areas otherwise allowed by law such as education, healthcare, etc. Therefore, as a matter of priority, there is a need for the Government to create an enabling environment for CSOs, particularly a more favourable tax regime, which is currently a major obstacle to their viability. Ukrainian CSOs also suffer from lack of exposure and public acceptance. Many respondents to a CIVICUS study (2001) indicate that government and business are unwilling to collaborate with CSOs and do not view them as equal social partners. At the same time, public awareness of the role, importance and contribution of civil society is poor. Lastly, and directly related to the low public perception of their importance, is the self-regulation of CSOs. For example, transparency in decision-making processes and promotion of additional internal management systems are not regularly practised. 71 World
Bank Study: A Country Economic Memorandum, p. xvi Information provided by UNICEF Ukraine 73 World Bank Economic Studies Ukraine, 2000-2003 72
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A free media and the free expression of public opinion are essential for building a strong civil society, which is the foundation for democratic governance. The media in Ukraine is characterized as highly politicized, financially dependent and controlled by powerful groups. The media is owned either by the Government or the private sector, and there is an absence of public service broadcasting. Changes in media ownership, especially television, have left many sectors of the media subject to the control of influential groups that are linked to local authorities and which serve to prevent an independent, impartial, and critical coverage of the news. Station directors and newsrooms of both State and privately owned television receive weekly instructions or ‘temniki’, which suggest subjects and angles for news coverage. Amnesty International has stated in its reports that there are serious concerns about freedom of the media in Ukraine and the violence against journalists, including the deaths of two well-known journalists, and particularly the lack of speed in bringing the individuals responsible to justice. There is a need to ensure more transparency and access to information from a broad range of perspectives and reliable sources, which are essential for building a civil society and a good system of governance. Although Ukraine has established constitutional and legal guarantees for freedom of the press, there is a need to enforce these provisions by an independent judiciary. A well-developed system of human rights is another very important element of a strong civil society and a cornerstone of democratic governance. In Ukraine, developing a culture of human rights is a major priority since a significant percentage of the population does not have a clear understanding of their human rights, although they are proclaimed in the national Constitution. Moreover, the population has not yet fully understood that promoting respect for civil and political rights strengthens democratic development, or that promoting respect for the rule of law is vital for ensuring accountability. Building a culture of human rights entails creating spaces for public dialogue, ensuring an independent and free media and enabling citizen participation in governance by empowering both citizens and CSOs through which people can participate. In Ukraine this represents one of the more pressing challenges, but if met can improve the effectiveness and efficiency of governance. The Constitution of Ukraine provides human rights protection and establishes that international treaties in force are part of the national legislation and are binding and therefore recognized by the Verkhovna Rada. Apparently, there is consensus that national legislation, for the most part, conforms to international human rights standards and that the major issues are in regard to implementation, lack of transparency and participation. Human rights have been declared as one of the main Government priorities and Ukraine is party to seven major international human rights treaties, as noted earlier (see Annex). On a positive note, Ukraine has been submitting, as required of every State Party, periodic reports to the human rights treaty bodies that monitor the progress achieved in the implementation of each of the conventions. Some of these international human rights monitoring mechanisms of the United Nations such as the Human Rights Committee, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the CEDAW Committee, have raised a number of concerns with the Ukrainian Government regarding human rights violations in their Concluding Observations and Recommendations. These include: consistent allegations of torture, ill-treatment and police misconduct; the lack of effective legal and other measures to prevent and combat human trafficking; widespread violence and discrimination against women; abuse and discrimination against ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities; and the poor socio-economic conditions and difficult legal situation of internally displaced persons (IDPs). A number of international NGOs that monitor human rights also provide informative reports on specific human rights violations. For example, according to the 2003 Human Rights Watch World Report for Europe & Central Asia, Ukraine’s minority populations like the Roma face racism, discrimination, and intolerance. The system of human rights monitoring at the national level is carried out by a state established system, the Office of the Ombudsperson, and by non-governmental organizations. The mechanisms of human rights monitoring are underdeveloped and lack adequate resources. A highly positive response by the Government was the establishment of the Office of the Ombudsperson, which manages citizens’ complaints of abuse. The current Ombudsperson was elected by Parliament for a five-year term and appears to be highly regarded by the population in terms of her professional competence, impartiality, and credibility. There is a need to strengthen the capacity of this Office through the provision of human and materials resources to deal with the volume of complaints that it regularly receives.
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Strategic Analysis
Human trafficking: a development challenge caused by transition Article 6 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women provides that States Parties shall take appropriate measures, including legisla tion, to suppress all forms of traffic in women and exploitation of prostitution of women. Since independence, Ukrainians have enjoyed their right to freedom of movement, resulting in a number of migration patterns including the return of Ukrainian nationals (for example, Crimean Tatars) from other former Soviet republics, the migration to Ukraine (legal and illegal) from other developing countries including refugees, and a large number of Ukrainians migrating to other countries, particularly to western Europe. Trafficking of human beings, particularly women and children, is not only a human rights concern but has also become a migration issue, meaning that there are large numbers of people involved.There is strong evidence indicating that Ukraine is one of the main countries of origin for trafficking of human beings for the purposes of forced prostitution and sexual exploitation.74 The full scale of this grave human rights violation is unknown but available figures give some idea of the scope of the problem recorded thus far. For example, in 2003 there were some 234 cases of trafficking filed by the Anti-Trafficking Unit of the Ministry of Interior, relating to 413 victims. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has reported having assisted 1,153 victims of trafficking between 2000 and 2003. Interpol has also reported having received 742 notices from as many as 30 countries regarding trafficking crimes involving Ukrainians. According to the available data, the vast majority of victims of trafficking are women between the ages of 22 and 27. A few men have been involved as well, mainly in forced labour, and an increasing number of minors have also been identified as victims of trafficking. The trafficking of children in most cases is conducted for the purposes of illegal adoption, prostitution, the production of pornography or pornographic performances, or for organ transplant (although no official data is available for the latter).75 The causes of trafficking are numerous and stem mainly from the socio-economic hardships many Ukrainians are facing that make them more vulnerable to exploitation. The causes of trafficking are also related to gender inequalities found in the labour market, leading to lack of employment opportunities and to the overall gender discrimination that increases women’s dependency status within the family, sexual harassment, and to high levels of domestic violence. In light of these unfavourable conditions, a large number of women are seeking employment abroad, searching for a better quality of life for themselves and their dependents and are unaware of the potential dangers they could face. However, a recent study shows that awareness of human trafficking is getting higher among Ukrainians.76 Many victims of trafficking come from low-income households and most have a high level of education. From the 1600+ victims of trafficking IOM has assisted since 1998, over 55 per cent of the beneficiaries have completed technical school or have a university degree.77 The fact is that trafficking is a growing international phenomenon of a criminal nature that involves men and women who belong to powerful international networks that are able to operate due to vast economic resources and relative impunity. Trafficking of refugees to and through Ukraine is a challenge in terms of governmental capacity to protect and integrate them. Since the majority of asylum seekers are crossing the border illegally they are subject to detention by law-enforcement officials. Due to the lack of a smooth asylum application handover mechanism between the National Border Service, the Ministry of Interior and State Committee for Nationalities and Migration (SCNM), as well as the insufficient number of Temporary Asylum Seekers Accommodation Centres, asylum seekers might be easily expelled from Ukraine. The limited capacity of the Regional Migration Services (RMS) contributes to mass asylum applications being rejected on formal grounds, as stipulated by the Refugee Law. According to SCNM data, out of 1672 applications submitted since the Refugee Status Determination (RSD) procedures were commenced in 2002, a total of 1594 persons were rejected during 2002–2003 (84 per cent of total number who applied during these two years). Many of those asylum seekers who appeal to the judicial system remain undocumented and are subject to harassment and refoulement. The role of CSOs providing protection to refugees is limited since national legislation does not allow them to adequately represent asylum seekers and refugee’ interests before state bodies. Problems related to 74
Ibid, p. 54
75 Trafficking
in Children for Labour and Sexual Exploitation in Ukraine, Results of a Rapid Assessment Survey, produced by the Centre of Social Expertise of the Institute of Sociology, National Academy of Sciences, Ukraine, and the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) of the ILO, 2004, p. 7 76 Disposition Towards Labour Migration and Individual Trafficking Assessment. In the context of views on illegal migration and human trafficking in Ukrainian Society, executed by Ing Division for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Mission in Ukraine and funded by the Swedish International Development and Cooperation Agency (Sida), August-September 2004. 77 Data provided by IOM in Ukraine.
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asylum seeker and refugee housing, employment, education, medical aid, social and material assistance are acute. Intolerance and xenophobia from certain segments of the population aggravate the situation. Severe problems in local integration are illustrated by the fact that only 2,805 of the 5,284 persons that have been recognized as refugees since 1996 continue to be registered as residing in Ukraine as refugees as of March 2004. Since only limited numbers obtained Ukrainian citizenship, were resettled or returned to their home countries, it may be assumed that close to 2,500 unaccounted for refugees moved to Western Europe, even though they had been recognized as refugees in Ukraine.
Minorities in Ukraine The Ukrainian Constitution sets forth the principle of equality of all citizens before the law and non-discrimination, which is reaffirmed in the Law on National Minorities that also provides for equal treatment for citizens who are not ethnic Ukrainians. Nevertheless, there is evidence of local authorities failing to implement the law and of minorities having been denied their rights. This section addresses some human rights issues regarding minorities in Ukraine, particularly the Crimean Tatars and the Roma population. The complex challenges faced by Ukraine in relation to Crimea is a result of the largely spontaneous mass return of more than 260,000 Crimean Tatars since 1989 and the social and economic collapse following the break-up of the Soviet Union. In 2002, the total population of Crimea was 2,018,400 (excluding Sevastopol).78 According to data from the 2001 census, Crimea’s residents include people of 125 different nationalities, of whom 58 per cent are Russians and 24 per cent Ukrainians.79 As Ukraine and Crimea were largely unprepared for such a sudden influx of people, who had been forcibly deported in 1944, tensions quickly escalated to a point where widespread violent conflict seemed likely, with potentially destabilizing effects for Ukraine.Timely and concerted efforts by the Government and the international community have contributed to stabilizing the situation in Crimea during the 1990s to the extent that outbursts of tensions between ethnic groups were prevented from escalating. The vast majority of Crimean Tatars continue to find themselves in a marginalized and excluded position vis-?vis mainstream society.The Crimean economic situation is not steady as there is no real economic growth and prospects for development are unclear.Thus, in 2003 there was an increase in poverty in Crimea with the population becoming more dependent on the State, leading to public demonstrations. Consequently, most are living in isolated settlements in the rural steppe areas of the northern two-thirds of the peninsula,which often lack basic services such as water, gas and even electricity supply, as well as schools and health facilities. For many Crimean Tatar households, the only source of income comes from what they can produce and sell as surplus from their kitchen gardens. Unemployment is well over 40 per cent, according to the most conservative estimates. They have only belatedly been recognized as eligible recipients of land title under the ongoing land reform programme at a stage when most of the land has already been distributed. The Roma is one of the most vulnerable ethnic and cultural minorities in Ukraine. According to official statistics, there are approximately 50,000 living in Ukraine, but unofficial data claim over 120,000. It is estimated that the majority of the population does not have any official identification which results in their being treated as stateless and creates problems in ensuring their access to health and education services, among others. The Roma have the highest rates of unemployment (estimated at 90 per cent), illiteracy, and unhealthy living conditions with many living in settlements without access to clean water and electricity. Generally, Ukrainian society has expressed a negative attitude towards the Roma and there is ample evidence that they are victims of discrimination at government level, by social services, and by law enforcement officials. It should be noted that the lack of accurate information and reliable data regarding the Roma is a major obstacle for development efforts.
Summary of key challenges In light of the various aspects addressed above, three specific challenges have been identified that are relevant to all spheres of governance and thus merit attention. These are: z Low public accountability in government decision-making. z Although legal provisions for accountability are being adopted, they are not yet being implemented. A majority of the population has lost confidence in public accountability within the top branches of government. z The principle of respect for the rule of law is not followed. z This issue is closely related to a weak and ineffective judicial system and to the pervasive problem of corruption. 78 UNDP 79
Crimea Human Security and Development Report in 2002-2003, p.32 Ibid, p.36
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Strategic Analysis
Deficiencies in human rights protection and human security call for increasing human rights awareness among the population and strengthening the human rights monitoring system, as well as establishing mechanisms for legal redress that is accessible to the poor. Supporting the establishment of legal aid services is necessary as is encouraging pro-bono work. As noted earlier, the important role of civil society must be underscored as an essential component of democratic governance and for creating a culture of human rights. In addition to the obstacles facing CSOs in Ukraine already mentioned, one of the key challenges is the need to promote closer cooperation between Government, local authorities and CSOs. Civil society participation is critical in order to put poor people first in policy-making and it therefore becomes an essential strategy for poverty elimination that involves focusing on those sectors of society that are frequently excluded from the benefits of economic growth. Strengthening the advocacy role of the CSOs is also needed in order to redirect policies targeting the poor and excluded. Furthermore, to achieve effective participation of the civil society there must be guaranteed access to a wide range of information, an independent media and an effective and impartial judiciary. As was pointed out, there is a need to strengthen the judicial system, in particular the independence of the judiciary, which is essential for fighting corruption. It also requires widening people’s access to the judicial system and establishing alternative mechanisms for resolving disputes and for ensuring accountability and redress. Building a culture of human rights requires, among other things, monitoring the enjoyment of all civil and political rights and economic, social and cultural rights of all the people found within the jurisdiction of the Ukrainian State. It also entails focusing efforts on the most disadvantaged and excluded sectors and on minorities to ensure that their rights are respected and protected. In this context, the Committee on the Rights of the Child encouraged the State Party to establish within its structure either a Commissioner specifically responsible for Children’s Rights, or a specific section or division responsible for children’s rights especially responsible for addressing complaints made by children in a childsensitive manner.80 (See Annex 5.7. for additional recommendations issued by the human rights treaty bodies in regard to trafficking.) In a democratic system of participatory governance, media development is a fundamental component needed to ensure more transparency and access to information from a broad range of perspectives and reliable sources. Among the challenges facing Ukraine is the need for public service broadcasting, community-owned media and a media accountability system. In assessing the conditions that lead to child labour, sexual exploitation and child trafficking, it is essential to address the capacity of those that have a duty to protect the child from these human rights violations. The duty bearers therefore include parents and family, the authorities in the local community including schools, and the government authorities that have a duty to ensure that relevant laws and regulations are implemented, that law enforcement officers are responding effectively and the judiciary is bringing offenders to justice. In regard to the rights of refugees, national legislation and practice should be brought in line with the Geneva 1951 Convention (to which Ukraine acceded in 2002), the role of refugee-protecting CSOs and refugee communities as well as governmental support to refugee integration should be strengthened, adequate state financing of the SCNM/RMS should be ensured, and an adequate number of reception and accommodation facilities for asylum seekers should be constructed. In regard to the situation of minorities, for Crimean Tatars ethnic tensions, social conditions and poverty are expected to become more acute and will remain the main challenges for development and for the realization of their rights. In this context it is essential to continue to encourage and empower these disenfranchised communities and other ethnic groups such as the Roma to actively take part in decisionmaking processes that affect their daily lives as full citizens of society and to improve their living conditions. After reviewing Ukraine’s report to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the treaty body noted the efforts by the Government to facilitate the resettlement of Crimean Tatars but also reiterated its concern regarding their difficulties in acquiring Ukrainian citizenship as well as those experienced by the Roma.81
80 81
Concluding Observations and Recommendations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC/C/15/ Add. 191, 2002 Concluding Observations and Recommendations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (A/56/18, paras. 360-379,2001)
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Responses In the area of governance there are a number of developments and responses that are noteworthy. Some of these appear in the legislative environment with the adoption of more progressive laws that strengthen governance. For example, the Law on Local Self Government adopted in 1997 is comprehensive and provides a sound legal basis for local government. The main positive significance of this law in comparison with the previous one is that it divides competence between local self-governance and local State administration and is also in line with the new Budget reform. The Verkhovna Rada approved a new Budget Code, which allows for the first time the allocation of budgets for cities and communities on the basis of a transparent set of formulas. Recently, members of the legislature were of the view that the role of parliamentary committees should be increased and a new draft law on this issue was prepared and is currently under consideration. In a number of recent cases CSOs have been involved in substantive discussions on the development of social policies, for example, and the Parliament holds regular public hearings on a wide range of issues. It is therefore hoped that there will be more instances of such participation in public spaces. Another positive development is that the Ombudsperson was recently elected for a second term. The Government of Ukraine is currently implementing a series of measures aimed to improve transparency of public administration and citizen participation in policy development process. Particularly noteworthy is the recent adoption of Governmental Decree No.759 on activities of the central and local executive authorities designed to ensure openness, relations with the public and the media.82 The Decree further obliges all governmental authorities to: complete the process of institutionalization of the administrative division responsible for public relations and communication (the process was started in 2002); to appoint a communications person in local branches of the central governmental authorities; to take systematically into account the recommendations expressed in the media and received during consultations with public; and, to implement measures concerning creation of an electronic public reception point. Concerning public participation in decision-making it is useful to mention Decree No.854 issued on 31 July 2004, on improvement of conditions for wider citizen participation in the development and implementation of public policy. It recognizes citizen participation, openness and transparency of public administration as key priorities of the Government of Ukraine. This Decree further obliges the Government to: develop the rules and procedures for public consultations; create councils within all governmental authorities responsible for the coordination of activities related to public participation and consultation; envisage in state budgets the funds for conducting public consultation, public opinion research, satisfaction surveys etc. It is important to note that all these actions are currently in the process of implementation. Ukraine is increasingly active in its efforts to combat trafficking and it has included trafficking as a criminal offence in the Criminal Code, although it must still amend other legislation to fully comply with its international obligations. Ukrainian law enforcement agencies are working to combat trafficking and there is a Comprehensive Government Programme on Trafficking, however, there are serious obstacles including: limited financial resources, limited international and national cooperation, an overly complex bureaucracy and some cases of corruption.
2.3. THE HIV/AIDS EPIDEMIC IN UKRAINE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOAL: Reducing and slowing down the spread of HIV/AIDS Target 1 Reduce the rate of the spread of HIV/AIDS by 13 per cent
A growing epidemic In light of the magnitude of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Ukraine, the UNCT decided to devote a whole section to the topic in order to fully address the complex issues and numerous concerns involved. In the preparation of the CCA, the Thematic Group on HIV/AIDS identified which social groups are most at risk and the factors that have contributed to the growth of the epidemic, as well as the key development challenges including the human rights implications. Since 1995, Ukraine has had one of the fastest growth rates of HIV/AIDS in Europe and the CIS. It is estimated by UNAIDS/WHO that around 360,000 people are currently living with HIV in Ukraine.83 Official statistics capture only a fraction of the estimated epidemic. Since 1987, when the first cases of HIV infection 82 83
Decree was issued on 18 October 2004 UNAIDS Global Report 2004, p.196
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Strategic Analysis
were officially registered in the country, a total of 67,187 HIV-infected people have been registered.84 Many individuals avoid contact with health providers and are therefore not subject to official recording. For this reason the actual number of HIV-positive cases detected through serological screening exceeds the official statistics.The UNAIDS Global Report 2004 states that by the end of 2003, there had been 20,000 deaths from AIDS. In 2003 it was estimated that according to the best case scenario by 2010, as many as 43,000 persons will have died from AIDS and up to 89,200 in a worst case scenario.85 Thus, among the major concerns in Ukraine as it struggles with a transition economy and democratization is the growing HIV/AIDS epidemic, which has been attributed to the following conditions:86 z z z z z z z
socio-economic decline due to widespread poverty, unemployment, and growing income inequality; disintegration of families and communities, with increasing numbers of orphans, state wards and street children; frequency of HIV-related risk behaviour among young people, principally unprotected sex and sharing injecting drug equipment; deterioration in the education system thereby reducing its capacity to help youth develop skills to protect themselves from infection; gender inequalities that reduce women’s ability to protect themselves from HIV infection and increase the burden of care that falls on them; population instability reflected in both legal and illegal migration patterns; and, a growing illegal drug trade, the most directly linked driver of the epidemic.
These conditions were mainly caused by the devastating impact of the economic crisis during the 1990s that led to widespread poverty and increased the vulnerability of certain sectors of the population that were more disadvantaged and could not depend upon any social safety net. During this period the level of unemployment rose and living standards declined for many families that were destabilized by economic uncertainty. The enormous stress experienced by many Ukrainian families and individuals brought about changes in their behaviour including engaging in high-risk activities such as unprotected sex and substance abuse of both drugs and alcohol. More young Ukrainians began having sexual relations at a much younger age. One study conducted in 1999 found that 6 per cent of Ukrainian teens had their first sexual experience as young as 11–13 years of age and 11 per cent at age 14.87 Surveys also showed that a growing number of homeless children living in the streets engage in casual sex and are unaware of the risk of HIV infection. The number of divorces has continued to rise, as has the number of children abandoned at birth. These are just some of the factors that show the country is experiencing a disintegration of its social fabric. HIV infection varies by region with the eastern and southern parts of Ukraine being the most affected. These are also the regions with the highest numbers of injecting drug users (IDUs). According to data from the National AIDS Prevention Centre, the highest levels of HIV infection rates (outside Kyiv) are in Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Odessa, Mykolayiv regions and in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.88 Increasing infection rates have been masked by a decrease in testing among IDUs, due to the adoption of the law of March 1998 that codified the principle of voluntary testing for the first time in Ukraine. Evidence of the further rapid development of the epidemic in the country is shown by data on AIDS morbidity and mortality rates which have grown dramatically in recent years – an increase of 10 per cent since 1997, and now constitute 58 per cent of all registered cases of AIDS. 89 National statistics backed by estimates from international agencies and researchers suggest that the HIV epidemic is becoming generalized in some urban areas, specifically Odessa and Mykolayiv, where the prevalence among pregnant women has steadily exceeded 1 per cent.90 Although the most affected group still remains IDUs, an increasing incidence of heterosexual transmission of HIV has also been noted, which means that the population is at ever-greater risk.91 The combination of STI/drug abuse continues to be the major driving force of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Ukraine. One of the major concerns related to the 84
Ministry of Health of Ukraine, May 17, 2004 Ukrainian Institute of Social Researches, British Council, DFID ‘The Social and Economic Impact of HIV and AIDS in Ukraine: the new prognoses’, 2003 86 Ukraine Human Development Report on Ukraine HIV/AIDS, p.11 87 State Institute on the Family and Social Issues (2002b) as cited in Ukraine Human Development Report, Special Edition 2003, p.12 88 Ministry of Health, Maps, 2003 89 Data of the Ministry of Health, 2003 90 Ibid, p.1 91 Ukraine and HIV/AIDS: Time to Act, A Ukraine Human Development Report, published by UNDP Ukraine, 2003, p.4 85
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HIV/AIDS epidemic in Ukraine is tuberculosis (TB), which is already a major health problem. Rough estimates indicate that up to 10–15 per cent of TB cases are multi-drug resistant and that it has become the leading cause of death among people living with HIV/AIDS.
Prevalent among younger people, injecting drug users and female sex workers The epidemic is most widespread among younger people in Ukraine with official statistics showing that almost 50 per cent of new cases are found within the 20–29 age group. The largest number of male deaths has been mainly among the 30–34 year olds, whereas the mortality for women has been recorded in the 25-29 age group. HIV infections remain most prevalent among IDUs, ranging between 20 to 60 per cent with the highest numbers concentrated in southern and eastern cities of the country.92 Female IDUs are a particular group identified as more vulnerable to HIV infection than their male counterparts. This is because female IDUs tend to have sexual partners who also inject drugs and a significant number provide sexual services to get their drugs. Female sex workers are at a heightened risk of HIV infection because the sex trade is illegal in Ukraine and there has been a lack of official prevention programmes available to these women. Research conducted by the State Institute for Family and Youth Issues shows that for a large number of women prostitution has become the only adequate source of income.The fact that prostitution is illegal complicates efforts to estimate the number of people that are infected and the introduction of measures to limit the further spread of HIV. Men who have sex with men (MSM) are also a group that is largely inaccessible due to stigmatization, which keeps their activities underground, despite the fact that Ukraine decriminalized consensual sex between adult men in 1991. Since HIV/AIDS has been recorded in the country only 46 homosexual and bisexual men have been officially registered. This figure is so small that it raises questions about the social stigma of homosexuality in Ukraine. The prevalence of HIV/AIDS is also high among prisoners, which is mainly transmitted through unprotected sex and shared needles since a large number of inmates are injecting drugs. There are worrying signs that a generalized epidemic is developing more and more through sexual transmission in recent years. It is women who are increasingly infected with HIV every year. About 40 per cent of infected people are women who are mainly at the height of their reproductive years. The figures also show that as many as 60 per cent of HIV-positive women were under 25 years of age. Since 1999, this has resulted in a significant growth in the number of HIV-positive children. Thus far the HIV/AIDS epidemic has been concentrated in marginalized groups. Most HIV-positive children are being born into socially disadvantaged younger families with 85 per cent of their parents under 30 years of age. About 20 per cent of HIV-positive mothers abandon their children to the state to live under public care in medical facilities or in orphanages. Refugees and illegal immigrants represent another group that is more at risk of becoming infected with HIV/AIDS. Some 2003 estimates suggest that there are as many as 550,000 illegal immigrants in Ukraine and only 2,944 having refugee status.93 Most of the refugees are located in Kyiv and Odessa. This group faces a number of problems that help to increase their risk of HIV infection, including the lack of preventive services, unemployment and involvement in illegal activities.
The stigma of AIDS Another area of concern is the stigma that is associated with HIV/AIDS, which can be a significant factor in the low number of officially registered cases. There are widespread negative attitudes among Ukrainians toward people living with AIDS or HIV-positive. To a certain extent the negative attitudes stem from public misinformation and ignorance about the epidemic and of how it is transmitted. There is not enough advocacy and public education in place to increase awareness. It is known that many HIV-positive women, including pregnant women, have complained to the Ministry of Health of being refused medical assistance by health personnel.94 Some people believe that the epidemic is not their concern since there is a perception that it only affects certain social groups and that those who do not belong to these groups do not run the risk of becoming infected with HIV. The impact of the stigma and negative attitudes have the effect of isolating many HIV-positive mothers, for example, who tend to avoid contact with government agencies and do not seek medical assistance directly for delivery. Consequently, many women do not take care of their own health or of their children’s. 92
Ibid, p.7 State Statistics Committee of Ukraine, MICS, 2000, Household Survey 94 Children and Young People Affected by HIV/AIDS in Ukraine, thematic study prepared by Ukrainian AIDS Centre, Ministry of Health of Ukraine and UNICEF Ukraine, 2001 93
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Strategic Analysis
Discrimination by health care workers is most disturbing, particularly as it is in violation of professional ethics and Ukrainian law. In some cases, medical staff simply refuse to provide medical services, or they violate confidentiality and anonymity regarding HIV patients. The stigma also affects HIV-positive children who are often brought up in orphanages, while others are removed from childcare or schools, since public schools often reject them.
Mother to child transmission In light of the fact that the number of women infected with HIV is on the rise and with the overwhelming majority of HIV-positive women being young mothers, preventing mother-to-child transmission remains as one of the priority areas. This mode of transmission can occur during pregnancy, delivery and breastfeeding. In 2001 HIV transmission from mother-to-child was high – 27 per cent of HIV-positive mothers gave birth to HIV-positive children – but this figure has subsequently dropped to 10 per cent. This is due to the branch programme for 2001-2003 on Preventing HIV Transmission from Mother to Child that was adopted by the Ministry of Health in December 2001, and supported by UNICEF.
Summary of key challenges One of the major challenges identified relates to deficiencies in treatment and care, particularly the lack of available treatment. To date, only 197 patients (including children) are being treated with antiretroviral treatment (ARV), which is covered by the State budget or procured by international governmental/non-governmental organizations. (The Ministry of Health was, until recently, the main source of financing of ARV treatment.) WHO and UNAIDS estimate that between 10,000 and 15,000 HIV/AIDS patients are eligible for ARV treatment. Although the national health care budget is not able to cover existing treatment needs, there are substantial financial resources for care and treatment available from key international donors. The problem lies in the lack of coordination between the state authorities that have the responsibility to coordinate the treatment and care programme, and in the low level of managerial and leadership capacity within the government. For example, the capacity of the National AIDS Programme is very limited and needs to be technically and administratively enhanced in order to ensure effective resource allocation and efficient use of funds. There is also strong evidence of the lack of care for HIV infected patients. There is a need for national standards of care, pain management and psychosocial support. Hospice programmes and chronic care management are merely at the planning stage. Again, this is related to the lack of financial and human resources at the central level, within the Ministry of Health, which has led to inefficient and inadequate management of the whole National AIDS Programme. Although testing and counselling are principal elements of a comprehensive National AIDS Programme and a key entry point for treatment and care, a number of problems exist in this area. One is the absence of national standards for testing and counselling despite (according to the Ministry of Health) the existence of 127 testing laboratories. Information regarding the number of counsellors and their professional skills is not available. In addition, there have been reports regarding the lack of access to free testing and raising concerns about human rights abuses with HIV testing due to the right to privacy (confidentiality) not being respected. Although implementation of the first branch of the national programme to Prevent Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT) led to a decrease of the transmission rate, expansion and sustainability of other multi-sectoral programmes in the area of PMTCT are considered essential for further decrease of the transmission rate. Another major challenge is prevention in light of the growing number of young people and other vulnerable groups that are affected by HIV/AIDS. More efforts are needed to reduce the vulnerability of young people to the illegal drug trade in Ukraine. Among other things, this requires comprehensive training of medical and social services staff and initiating programmes and strategies to increase the cooperation and support of the police and the justice system. Prevention remains a major priority that requires information, education and communication activities. With daily access to children and teenagers, schools should be playing a more active role in providing information about HIV/AIDS and substance abuse. Among the recommendations provided to the State by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Committee on the Rights of the Child after reviewing Ukraine’s State Party reports are: the need to provide adolescents with access to reproductive health education and HIV/AIDS prevention programmes; the need to integrate respect for the rights of the child into the development and implementation of State HIV/AIDS policies and strategies with particular reference to 37
the International Guidelines on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights; and, the need to monitor the situation of children belonging to national minorities such as the Roma, that may be affected by HIV/AIDS, with the aim of eliminating all forms of discrimination that could block their access to education and care. The pervasive stigmatization and discrimination by the public towards people affected by HIV/AIDS is considered one of the largest obstacles to an effective response to the epidemic in Ukraine. The public attitude ultimately results in denying people living with HIV/AIDS their human rights to health and education, right to work, right to privacy and to equal treatment. The stigmatization and discrimination that is largely due to widespread fear and ignorance also serves to hamper efforts to prevent the epidemic from spreading further. Although international organizations have been calling attention to the human rights of those individuals living with HIV/AIDS, much more public awareness is needed for people living with HIV/AIDS to live in dignity.95
Responses In response to the number and complexity of the challenges, the Government of Ukraine has demonstrated strong political will to combat the epidemic in order to prevent mass spread into the general population and to alleviate the negative consequences among the Ukrainian people. Ukraine participated in the Millennium Summit and was an initiator of the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS held in May 2001. The Presidential Decree issued in November 2000 declared 2002 the ‘Year Against AIDS’. A Government Commission was set up to address HIV/AIDS, set priorities and coordinate efforts. Despite the establishment of the Commission, there is a lack of capacity for completion of multisectoral and multi-level HIV/AIDS strategic frameworks, and coordination and effective implementation of the national response. Among the Millennium Development Goals set by Ukraine, the Government is committed to reducing the overall rate of infection by 13% during the period 2001-2015 according to the three following indicators: the number of new HIV infections per 100,000; the number of AIDS related deaths per 100,000; and, the proportion of HIV-positive children born to HIV-positive mothers. Moreover, the Government report on the MDGs has stated that a broad range of coordinated actions must be undertaken that go beyond the medical aspects of the epidemic by also meeting the related socio-economic and educational challenges. This could include the following96: z z z z z
develop a concept for combating HIV/AIDS; introduce another new programme to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS; reduce the danger of HIV infection among vulnerable population groups; launch public information and education campaigns, especially among the young, to prevent AIDS and TB; prevent tuberculosis infection.
It is believed that Ukraine has the ability to achieve the MDGs, but only if the level of response in prevention and care is expanded, particularly a serious scaling-up of access to antiretroviral therapy (ARV), which will prolong and improve the quality of life of people living with HIV/AIDS. Currently, besides a focus on prevention (special attention is also being paid to supporting NGOs that are working on prevention97), more attention is being paid to expanding the access to treatment, care and support for people living with HIV/AIDS. It has been widely recognized that there is a need for the State to increase the provision of comprehensive care that includes antiretroviral therapy. It has therefore been recommended that the Government explore options for reducing the costs, domestic production of ARVs, and preferential terms for registering generic drugs, and negotiated price reductions from major pharmaceutical companies. The achievement of the MDG to reduce the overall rate of HIV infection requires an increase of the role of prevention by extension and strengthening of educational programmes; involvement of the media and private sector; and development and approval of protocols of VCT, which would help to ensure the rights of vulnerable groups to effective, qualified counselling. One positive development is that Ukraine was included as one of the priority countries in the European region selected to implement the WHO/AIDS Global ‘3 by 5’ Initiative. Another important development is that the Ukrainian Government and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis have a com95 Infra, p. 14 96 97
Millennium Development Goals, p.22 Organization of mother-to-child transmission prevention system in Ukraine – an overview prepared by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, Sept. 2003, p.6
38
Strategic Analysis
bined target that aims to provide up to 2100 patients with a one year course of ARV treatment by March 2005. Other positive developments include a national plan for effective response, the Fifth National Programme to ensure HIV prevention, care and treatment for HIV infected and AIDS patients for the period 2004-2008, and the Strategy Concept of the Government Action aimed at preventing the spread of the epidemic up to 2011. The new Criminal Code was also modified to include provisions for criminal responsibility in cases of violating confidentiality of HIV patients with regard to “disclosure of information derived from medical examination”. Considering the vast quantity of interventions and different standards of implementation of HIV/AIDS programmes by various stakeholders and partners, the key to achieve the MDGs as well as improve the effectiveness and efficiency of multi-sectoral and multi-level response would be the establishment of a single national coordination mechanism. Such a mechanism should involve, as well as governmental representatives, CSOs, representatives of vulnerable groups, and other stakeholders.
2.4. ENSURING A SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT IN UKRAINE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOAL: Sustainable Environmental Development Target 1 Increase the proportion of people with access to clean drinking water by 12 per cent by 2015 Target 2 Stabilize air pollution from stationary sources Target 3 Expand the network of natural and biospheric reserves and national parks to 10.4 per cent of the overall territory of Ukraine During the Soviet era, a number of factors contributed to seriously damage of the environment in Ukraine including rapid industrialization, intensive farming and a lack of effective pollution controls. The current state of the environment is directly affecting the quality of life of the population. According to estimates of the Ukrainian Centre of Social Reforms, only 15 per cent of the country’s territory can be considered ‘environmentally or conventionally clean’, another 15 per cent is ‘mildly contaminated’, and 70 per cent is described as ‘contaminated’.98 The environmental problems in Ukraine are mostly caused by human activity, bad resource management, and ultimately attributed to bad governance. The 1986 Chornobyl nuclear disaster is the most widely known example of a consequence of bad governance. Poor environmental management has also produced problems such as land erosion and caused energy inefficiency that is among the worst in the world. Other major environmental problems are mainly due to air pollution (86 per cent), unsafe drinking water (83 per cent), solid waste disposal (81 per cent) and deforestation (81).99 The Government has stated its commitment to achieve the goal of the Millennium Declaration aimed at ensuring environmental sustainability. In its report on the progress achieved towards meeting the MDGs, the Government has recognized that “the environmental situation in Ukraine can be described as a hidden crisis that has developed over the years because the laws for safely developing natural resources were largely ignored.”100 It has therefore resolved to adopt a new conservation ethic that will direct government activity towards addressing environmental concerns that have “the greatest negative impact on people’s health and on the living conditions of the poorest sectors of Ukrainian society.”101 Among the areas the Government has selected to address in light of their impact on the poor are: improving access to safe drinking water, cleaning up the environment and ensuring the management of natural resources.102 Other priorities include energy efficiency and compliance with the international environmental obligations of Ukraine. Environmental sustainability is identified as one of the long-term objectives the Government is emphasizing within the framework of European Choice.103 Described below are several environmental issues that have been identified by diverse actors including the Government, the World Bank and the UNCT as representing the major challenges for Ukraine and were selected by the Thematic Group on Environment as the priority areas for the CCA. Each area was chosen in light of the magnitude of the specific environmental problem, whether it is included as a MDG goal, and 98 Ukraine
Human Development Report 2003 – Decentralization, published by UNDP Ukraine Ukraine Human Development Report 2001, p.36 100 Millennium Development Goals, p.16 101 Ibid, p.17 102 Ibid. 103 Country Assistance Strategy for Ukraine, document of the World Bank, p.13 99
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its impact on human development. It was noted during the causal analysis exercise that for all the selected areas, clean drinking water, land degradation, energy and biodiversity, poor environmental management is one of the underlying causes, which is rooted in the overall weak governance.
Clean drinking water The lack of permanent access to clean drinking water is an important environmental, as well as a health issue in Ukraine. The Dnipro Basin has been described as a classic example of unsustainable development due to the legacy of attempts to transform an agricultural region into a major industrial one in a few decades. More than ten years ago a number of pollutants made the water undrinkable in many areas. These pollutants derived from inadequate sewage treatment facilities, direct discharge of industrial waste, excessive fertilizers, and untreated animal waste.104 The river was also contaminated by the runoff from areas affected by the Chornobyl accident. Since independence substantial progress has been made towards cleaning up the river but much remains to be done. One of the obstacles in assessing the situation is that data differs considerably. According to one survey conducted in 1999 by UNICEF and the SSC, 98 per cent of the country’s population had permanent access to safe drinking water. Yet, water samples analyzed that same year showed that the water failed to meet the government’s norms for safe drinking water. A subsequent survey conducted by UNDP concluded that only 64 per cent of respondents had running water in their homes.
Land degradation Although Ukraine’s soil is widely recognized for its fertility and agricultural qualities, soil degradation due primarily to intensification and expansion during the Soviet era has become a major concern. In 1998 changes took place in the structure of land resources and the area of arable land decreased by 27,800 hectares, with the area of tillage being reduced by 223,400 hectares. Most of the changes occurred as a result of different ownership and the abandonment of previously intensively tilled agricultural land. The redistribution of land has contributed to a considerable decrease in the amount of land conservation and restoration activities over the last decade. Another factor that has contributed to land degradation is the poor and inappropriate forestry practices that have led to deforestation, particularly in the Carpathian Mountain region, which has the highest level of poverty in the country and a frequency of natural disasters including floods and landslides.105 Forests in Ukraine have been a source of income for some people and due to unsustainable management, today, there are limited forest areas. For example, fast-growing trees with shallow roots were planted and consequently thousands of trees were blown down enabling the flooding of 100,000 hectares of arable land and causing major economic damage. Some forests were also contaminated by the Chornobyl disaster.
Energy Ukraine is one of the world’s most energy intensive countries due to several factors. Firstly, inefficient practices in key economic sectors, such as energy and heavy industry. Secondly, this is reflected by the losses in the heating sector in which 25-40 per cent losses in transmission and distribution are not uncommon. Ukraine has the greatest emissions level per unit of GDP among CIS countries. A recent inventory estimated that the total emissions in 1990 were 246 million tons of carbon equivalent, which placed Ukraine sixth highest in the world. Per capita emissions of CO2 were estimated at 4.75 tons of carbon per year. This figure significantly exceeds the levels in most European countries and is also one of the highest in the world. Problems in Ukrainian district heating are similar to those facing other countries of the former Soviet Union. A recent increase in fuel prices reaching world level with heat tariffs lagging behind has considerably worsened the financial state of all district-heating companies in the country. The level of service has worsened considerably as a result of lack of finance needed for modernization of technology resulting from the higher fuel prices, as well as the decreased ability of consumers to pay their heating bills. The high costs of the existing heat supply infrastructure also hinder the ability of companies to cover existing demands. Reducing ambient air pollution is the top priority in those highly urbanized areas of the country with heavy industry. Due to a decline in industrial activity over the last decade, air pollution has decreased in Ukraine by nearly 52 per cent. The main cause of air pollution is the product of industrial output from 104 105
40
Ukraine Human Development Report 2001, p.35 Environment Strategic Framework, prepared by UNDP Ukraine 2003, p.10
Strategic Analysis
the emissions of intensive industries. In order to reduce air pollution, Government efforts are aimed at fixing higher fees for industry as a way of encouraging upgrading of industrial technologies. Reducing polluting emissions from vehicles is another stated objective that includes improving fuel quality, prohibiting the import and sale of leaded gasoline, and implementing environmentally-friendly alternative technologies.106 There are efforts to reduce emissions from district heating plants and to shift to using cleaner fuels including gas, which help to reduce air pollution. It is widely known that the Chornobyl nuclear power plant accident in April 1986 has been devastating for Ukraine, causing not only environmental problems of enormous magnitude, but also contributing to social and economic problems for the people affected, many of whom are living in a state of continued impoverishment. Between 1990 and 2001, over 35,000 people were subject to mandatory resettlement from the contaminated zone. Another 31,000 moved out of the area on a voluntary basis. In 2001 it was estimated that about 2.3 million people were still living in radioactive contaminated territories, which poses a number of environmental challenges. The economy of the Chornobyl region collapsed following the accident. Due to the region’s severe economic decline many people and households have become dependent on government support payments to sustain their livelihoods. The support provided is inadequate, however, and this has caused a sharp increase in poverty. The negative health consequences have also been exacerbated by the poor living conditions. People living in the contaminated region continue to suffer from the effects of radiation, yet there is little awareness of how individuals can reduce their radiation exposure. Radiation exposure has been linked to an increase in rates of cancer, immune system disorders, development abnormalities and chronic conditions, especially among children. It has also resulted in higher suicide rates, alcoholism and drug abuse, STI and HIV/AIDS. Negative social behaviour such as vandalism has also risen and other incidences of crime have been noted. Due to the sharp decline in public spending in the region, there has been a deterioration of infrastructure including schools, community centres, and facilities and services. Access to safe water supplies and proper sanitation has become a major common problem for many of the local people. The challenge is to mitigate the socio-economic and environmental consequences caused by Chornobyl and improve the living conditions for people in the affected areas, since they represent an important disadvantaged and vulnerable group in Ukraine.107
Biodiversity Ukraine has a rich biota, which comprises more than 25,000 species of plants and fungi and 45,000 species of animals, some of which are endemic. Under particular pressure is the steppe landscape, mostly threatened by the fragmentation of habitats, agricultural pressure, development of infrastructure, and the conflicting interests of environmental preservation on the one hand, and of agricultural and forestry activities on the other. Two main migration routes for birds pass across Ukraine and some nesting sites are of great international importance. For instance, 90 per cent of the global population of martins nest on the islands of the Black Sea Biosphere Reserve. There is no special law or transparent system in Ukraine that regulates the use of biotechnological products in terms of registration and authorization for testing and use. Nor is there a procedure for the testing of biotechnological products, particularly, of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and for defining possible adverse effects on human health and the environment. The existing biological safety system does not regulate the import, export and transit of locally registered GMOs. Likewise, norms do not exist in Ukraine that regulate the charging of companies for violation of the applicable law and where the genetically modified organisms are found to possess hitherto unknown properties that may jeopardize human health or environment. Bearing in mind that the Ukrainian biological environmental safety system was launched in 1999 solely to meet the requirements of genetically modified agricultural crops, no criteria have been worked out to date for assessing the ecologically sound use of genetically modified animals, microorganisms and non-agricultural plants, nor have methodologies and regulations been designed for related tests.
Summary of key challenges In light of the complex environmental situation in the country, a number of challenges have been highlighted above. The main concerns are related to clean drinking water, land degradation, energy inefficiency and biodiversity.
106 107
Ibid. Building Local Self-Reliance in Chornobyl Affected Areas of Ukraine in 2003, a report of UNDP Ukraine, 2004, p.6
41
Ensuring clean drinking water has already been underlined as one of the MDGs. In regard to land degradation, the Principal Directions for Land Policy, Requirements of Land Conservation, Sustainable Use and Restoration, recognize the following specific challenges: z z z z z z
Planting of shelter belts must be continued to protect soil against wind erosion; Ploughing of banks of rivers, streams and other bodies of water should be stopped. The lands should be converted into meadows to protect them from water erosion; Special technologies need to be introduced, especially in dry steppe regions with high risk of windstorms; The land use structure should be optimized, so that land with a protective role or lands with low productivity are withdrawn from intensive agricultural use; Antiquated water-intensive technologies need to be modernized; A programme of landscape and biodiversity conservation in agricultural areas needs to be developed.
The inconsistent regulatory and legal policies, lack of information, and absence of incentives to save energy also pose problems in increasing energy efficiency in Ukraine. A key challenge is building an adequate national infrastructure capable of handling the concerns raised in the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Kyoto Protocol, and ensuring the State’s compliance. The Ukrainian Government has taken several concrete steps to promote lower energy consumption and better energy efficiency. For example, the National Energy Conservation Information Network was set up to disseminate energy conservation information to the general public, and efforts have also been undertaken to strengthen the role of Ukraine’s non-governmental organizations and the private sector in raising public awareness of the benefits of energy efficiency. Possibly the key challenge in the years ahead will be to find a balance between Ukraine’s energy needs and strengthening the country’s commitment to environmental protection. Chornobyl remains a major development priority, particularly if it is viewed from the extent of deprivation that the citizens living in those contaminated regions are facing, which denies them the enjoyment of so many of their civil, political, economic and social rights. It has been noted that budget constraints and a lack of adequate data have hampered Ukraine’s efforts to address health and environmental threats from its nuclear plants. Nevertheless, the State has a duty to take appropriate measures, as a matter of priority, to improve the living conditions of those populations that 17 years after the Chornobyl accident have become so impoverished. Regarding the children of Chornobyl, the Committee on the Rights of the Child recommended that the State Party: a) continue to improve the special health care provided to children affected by the Chornobyl disaster, including psycho-social care; b) strengthen its efforts to detect and prevent diseases related to nuclear contamination; c) focus more on a long-term developmental approach to assisting people through, inter alia, supporting UN initiatives in this area; d) take all appropriate measures, including seeking international cooperation, to prevent and combat the damaging effects of environmental degradation on children, including pollution of the environment and food products.108 With regard to the issue of biodiversity, the major concern of the Ukrainian Government is related to the implementation of the Cartagena Protocol on Biological Safety to the Convention on Biological Diversity. As noted earlier, there is no special law or transparent system in Ukraine that regulates the use of biotechnological products in terms of registration and authorization for testing and use, among other things. At the international level, Ukraine is State Party to 17 international conventions and 5 protocols in the area of environment and, in addition, seven multilateral documents are currently being prepared for ratification. The main obstacle to their successful implementation is that at both the national and international level, Ukraine is showing signs of an overall weakness in environmental governance; meaning the State lacks capacity to perform its functions due to a number of factors. These include the absence of clear mandates, insufficient and poorly developed communications systems between Ministries, low level of professional human resources, and other aspects related to accountability that lead to the inefficient utilization of limited technical, financial and human resources. Moreover, a lot still needs to be done to develop an institutional framework, strengthen capacity of different national institutions, and improve the coordination among them to adequately address global environmental challenges. 108
42
Concluding Observations and Recommendations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC/C/15/ Add. 191, 2002)
Strategic Analysis
Responses The Chornobyl accident has played an important role in increasing awareness in Ukraine of the importance of environmental protection.The country has been actively involved in most of the international conferences that were convened by the United Nations over the last decade on numerous environmental issues. Ukraine participated in the World Summit for Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002, where it reaffirmed its commitment to advancing sustainable development. Although Ukraine has produced numerous policies and adopted important legislation in response to the severe environmental conditions in the country, it is difficult, from the data available, to assess to what extent these laws and policies are being implemented in order to measure progress. A positive sign is that there appears to be considerable awareness of the importance of protecting the environment and a number of Ministries, institutions, NGOs, and other bodies are focusing on achieving sustainable development. Ukraine has issued a number of important documents stating its commitment to environmental issues along the line of sustainable development principles. For example, Ukraine’s transition to sustainable development was presented in a presidential address to the Parliament entitled, ‘Ukraine: the Path into the 21st Century, Strategy for Economic and Social Development for 2000-2001’. Other important documents include the ‘Main Areas of Social Policy for the Period up to 2004’, ‘Strategy for Poverty Alleviation’, ‘Concept of Healthcare Development for the Population of Ukraine’, and ‘Main Areas of Land Reform’. As part of the national preparation for the World Summit on Social Development (WSSD), a National Progress Report on Implementing Provisions of Agenda 21 of the Decade of 1992-2001 was produced.The main principles of the state environmental policy are stipulated in the relevant articles of the 1996 Constitution. 5 document, ‘The Principal Directions of the State Policy of Ukraine in the Field of Environment Protection, Use of Natural Resources and Ensuring Environmental Safety’, approved by Parliament in 1998, provides the national approach to the long-term systemic solution to environmental problems. It stipulates the rational use of natural resources, determines the priorities for environmental protection and the mechanisms for their achievement. Ukraine ratified the UN Convention on Biological Diversity in 1994.Within the framework of this Convention,the Government has been working to provide protection, environmentally sustainable use and restoration of biological and landscape diversity. In an effort to create the appropriate legislative foundation for biodiversity protection, the Law of Ukraine on the Plant Kingdom was adopted by Parliament in 1999 with a later edition in 2001.The law governs the protection, utilization and conservation of Ukraine’s rich biota. Ukraine also ratified the UN Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1996 and ratified the Kyoto Protocol in 2004, which committed the State to stabilize its greenhouse emissions for the period 2008-2012. In addition Ukraine ratified the UN Convention on Desertification in 2002, which requires Ukraine to comply with its provisions in regard to land degradation. Another important response worth highlighting is the existence of the Public Council of NGOs, comprising of 23 national NGOs registered by the Ministry of Justice,which is the main partner of the Ministry of Environment. The Council’s role is to improve the Ministry’s coordination with civil society and assist government in meeting its environmental management objectives. Although it is viewed as independent, the Council has a limited role influencing policy-making processes due to the lack of appropriate legislative frameworks and their overall weak professional capacity.This is a body that may merit strengthening its capacity. Finally, it should be noted that Ukraine considers multilateral cooperation in regard to environment protection important, not only for resolving global environmental problems, but also for: improving the condition of Ukraine’s own environment; undertaking measures aimed at integrating the country into the European community; enhancing national laws; and, meeting the goals set at the UN international conference and summits.
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3. PROPOSED AREAS OF DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION Background This section of the Common Country Assessment (CCA) identifies the potential areas of development cooperation for the UN system with the national authorities in Ukraine and other development partners in response to the challenges noted in Sections 1 and 2.The areas of cooperation correspond to the next step in the preparation of United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF), which will lead the formulation of Country Programme Documents (CPDs) and Annual Work Plans (AWPs) of UN agencies for the period of 2006-2010. In identifying these potential areas of cooperation, the UN Country Team considered national priorities, especially the Government’s commitments to achieve the MDGs, and its legal obligations in the area of promoting and protecting civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, as well as those related to the protection of the environment. In the identification process, the UNCT took into account the following criteria that were used as a guide to short list the areas of cooperation from the larger group of challenges identified: z z z z z z z
Causes identified at different levels, especially those common to major development challenges (See Annex: CCA Matrix); Priority needs, rights and capacities of claim holders especially the most vulnerable, excluded and disadvantaged (See Annex: Accountability Analysis); Priority needs and capacity gaps of duty bearers (See Annex: Accountability Analysis); Opportunities for developing national capacities; Potential for longer-term impact on national goals and priorities; Comparative advantages of UN agencies in the human development and human rights spheres; Comparative advantages of development partners to respond to challenges in a substantive and cost-effective manner.
Related strategic frameworks The UNCT also took into account Ukraine’s aspirations to integrate with the European Union. Consideration is thus given to the Strategy of Ukraine’s Integration with the European Union that was adopted by Presidential Decree and to the priority areas that have been identified in the Common Strategy of the European Union on Ukraine. It should be noted that many of the priority issues raised in the Common Strategy of the EU were similar to or complemented the ones identified during the CCA process. These are: z
Consolidation of democracy, the rule of law and public institutions in Ukraine z Cooperation in the field of environment, energy and nuclear safety z Cooperation in the field of justice and home affairs. In response, the Government produced the Strategy for Ukraine on European Integration in which it recognizes that the following areas need to be improved or strengthened in order to comply with the requirements of the European Union: Approximation of Ukraine’s legislation to EU legislation means, among other things, guarantees of human rights, reform of the legal system to bring it in line with European standards, including legislation dealing with the protection of life, health, and the environment. It also requires participation in relation to the conventions of the Council of Europe, which is considered an important element for reforming the legal system. Political consolidation and strengthening of democracy which, among other things, shall be aimed at safeguarding political stability both in Ukraine and on the whole European continent, strengthening democratic principles in Ukrainian society and strengthening the rule of law. It is recognized that European integration would help to create a civil society in Ukraine. Adaptation of the Social Policy of Ukraine to EU standards includes reforming the systems of insurance, labour protection, pension guarantee, employment policy and other branches of social policy according to EU standards and gradual achievement of the common European level of social security and protection of the population. Sectoral cooperation includes, among other things, coordination and interaction between Ukraine and EU in the fields of justice, prevention and fighting organized crime and drug trafficking. 44
Proposed Areas of Development Cooperation
Cooperation in environment protection is recognized as a public policy priority determined not only by the consequences of the Chornobyl accident, but by the general environmental conditions in Ukraine. The legal framework includes compliance with the international treaties and agreements on environment safety that Ukraine has ratified. Moreover, in its Country Assistance Strategy for the period 2004-2007 the World Bank has likewise stated that the aim is to “support the European aspiration of Ukraine by continuing to facilitate institutional developments that can lead to a business-friendly environment and a more inclusive and responsive government, and emphasizing the need to build the European aspiration from the top, through reform of institutions and policies, and from the bottom, through the strengthening of civil society and the consequent increase in accountability of public officials.“109
Proposed areas of cooperation Thus, within this national and international context, the proposed areas of cooperation are intended to facilitate subsequent prioritization by the UNCT as part of the UNDAF, CPD and AWP processes. The following proposed areas of cooperation are aimed at providing an overall framework where the different UN agencies can provide policy advice, technical cooperation and service delivery: 1. Improving vital health indicators z
z
z z z z z z
Strengthening coordination between the state authorities that are responsible for coordinating the treatment and care programme for HIV/AIDS, and increasing managerial and leadership capacity within the government that deals with this area; Preventing the further spread of HIV/AIDS through information, education and communication activities and in particular by providing adolescents with access to reproductive health education and HIV/AIDS prevention programmes; Further expanding access to treatment, care and support for people living with HIV/AIDS and increasing the provision of comprehensive care that includes antiretroviral therapy; Promoting respect for the human rights of those individuals living with HIV/AIDS and increasing awareness among the public in order to reduce stigma and discrimination; Restructuring TB facilities and establishing a cost-effective outpatient treatment; Developing further integrated reproductive and sexual health care services to improve availability, accessibility and quality of these services; Improving maternal health and reducing child mortality through comprehensive and targeted approaches that also include health education and awareness campaigns; Advocating for the adoption of legislation that requires all salt for human consumption to be iodized.
2. Promoting human rights and gender equality z
z z z
z z
109
Increasing awareness on human rights issues among the population in regard to the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights that should be enjoyed by all – men, children, women – as well as the most disadvantaged and more vulnerable groups, including refugees; Taking special measures to increase the representation of women in elected and appointed bodies at the highest levels of decision-making; Strengthening human rights monitoring capacity at the national and local level and establishing mechanisms for legal redress that is accessible to the poor; Involving the media in addressing all forms of existing discrimination and inequalities both de jure and de facto in order to increase awareness of grave human rights concerns such as human trafficking and domestic violence; Strengthening efforts to protect all children from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child’s education; Ensuring the full and equal enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms of Crimean Tatars, Roma, other minorities and refugees.
Country Assistance Strategy for Ukraine, p. ii
45
3. Promoting inclusive prosperity z z z z z z z
Reducing poverty by attaining lower unemployment rates, higher wages, higher pensions; Addressing the inadequate and inequitable social system and lack of social guarantees; Addressing the shadow economy with its mass hidden employment; Reducing poverty by expanding access to quality health services and quality education for all, including refugees, and by improving the performance of the health and education systems; Responding to other consequences of poverty that affect the most vulnerable social groups and results in violations of their rights including child labour and institutionalization of children; Ensuring that all children have access to quality education, paying particular attention to children in rural communities, children of minority, refugee, and other disadvantaged groups; Addressing unsatisfactory environmental conditions that especially affect the poor.
4. Institutional reform and capacity building for democratic governance z z z z z z z z z
z z
46
Strengthening national capacities in health, education, employment and social welfare institutions; Strengthening the professional capacity of public administration, particularly the civil service; Supporting efforts to reform the judicial system to make it independent, accessible and efficient and to ensure respect for the rule of law; Promoting policies and practices that ensure accountability and transparency in the handling of public money and in the decision-making process; Supporting efforts to further the decentralization process; Facilitating inclusive participatory approaches in order to increase the involvement of civil s続続ociety, which is essential for improving the governance process; Developing standards for CSOs, strengthening their capacity, and providing public spaces for their participation; Promoting closer cooperation between governmental institutions and CSOs; Strengthening efforts to prevent human trafficking and domestic violence including the training of law enforcement officials, care workers, judges and other professionals with a view to prosecute and punish offenders; Supporting efforts aimed at strengthening environmental governance in order to make significant progress in addressing the main environmental challenges highlighted in the CCA; Supporting harmonization of legislation, regulations and instructions related to the international instruments ratified by Ukraine so that all persons within its territory can exercise and enjoy their rights.
Indicator Framework
4. INDICATOR FRAMEWORK INDICATOR FRAMEWORK 1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
Demography and general overview of the economic and social situation Demography1 Population Population, total (mn)
49.710
49.291
48.457
48.003
47.442
Female population (%)
53.56
53.50
53.49
53.49
53.50
Male population (%)
46.44
46.50
46.51
46.51
46.50
Urban population (%)
67.90
68.00
68.18
68.17
66.48
Rural population (%)
32.10
32.00
32.02
31.93
33.52
Population growth rate (%)
-0.79
-0.81
-0.82
-0.77
-0.74
Population under 1 (mn)
0.385
0.381
0.358
0.387
0.405
Population under 1, female (mn)
0.187
0.184
0.174
0.188
0.197
Population under 1, male (mn)
0.198
0.197
0.184
0.200
0.208
Population under 5 (mn)
2.174
2.069
1.974
1.904
1.931
Population under 5, female (mn)
1.056
1.004
0.962
0.926
0.938
Population under 5, male (mn)
1.117
1.064
1.012
0.978
0.993
Population aged 0-14, total (mn)
9.060
8.723
8.372
8.036
7.712
Population aged 0-14, female (mn)
4.434
4.268
4.096
3.932
3.773
Population aged 0-14, male (mn)
4.626
4.455
4.276
4.104
3.939
Population aged 15-64, total (mn)
33.894
33.869
33.690
33.512
33.335
Population aged 15-64, female (mn)
17.614
17.602
17.496
17.390
17.285
Population aged 15-64, male (mn)
16.280
16.267
16.194
16.122
16.050
Population aged 65+, total (mn)
6.925
6.909
7.042
7.177
7.317
Population aged 65 and above, female (mn)
4.643
4.611
4.678
4.745
4.814
Population aged 65 and above, male (mn)
2.282
2.298
2.364
2.432
2.503
Age dependency ratio (dependents to workingage population) (%)
47.16
46.15
45.75
45.40
45.08
Life expectancy at birth (years)
68.32
67.91
68.33
68.32
68.24
Male (years)
62.95
62.44
62.77
62.70
62.64
Age distribution
Mortality
47
Female (years)
73.74
73.55
74.08
74.13
74.06
Adult mortality, male (per 1,000 male)
16.0
16.7
16.6
17.3
17.6
Adult mortality, female (per 1,000 female)
14.0
14.0
14.0
14.3
14.8
Crude death rate (per 1,000)
14.8
15.3
15.3
15.7
16.0
Suicide and self-inflicted injury, all ages (per 100,000)
27.95
28.21
25.72
24.48
...
Suicide and self-inflicted injury, all ages (per 100,000 male)
51.69
52.29
48.67
45.73
...
Suicide and self-inflicted injury, all ages (per 100,000 female)
8.65
8.68
7.24
7.24
...
Transport accidents, all ages (per 100,000)
13.04
14.12
17.37
18.82
...
Tuberculosis, all ages (per 100,000)
20.24
22.31
22.55
20.49
...
Selected alcohol related causes (per 100,000)
168.14
175.28
180.73
186.73
...
Cerebrovascular diseases, 0-64 (per 100,000)
54.09
54.51
51.68
49.73
...
Malignant neoplasms, 0-64 (per 100,000)
110.87
109.17
106.90
104.52
...
Ischaemic heart disease, 0-64 (per 100,000)
123.00
128.00
126.56
132.98
...
Newborn children (mn)
0.389
0.385
0.376
0.391
0.409
Crude birth rate (per 1,000)
7.8
7.8
7.7
8.1
8.5
Birth rate, children born outside marriage (%)
17.4
17.3
18.0
19.0
19.9
Average age of pregnancy (years)
24.3
24.4
24.6
24.8
Total fertility rate (births per woman)
1.1
1.1
1.1
1.1
1.1
Labour force, total (mn)
25.232
25.112
25.003
24.914
...
Employment to working age population ratio (%)
73.2
73.9
72.8
72.4
72.1
Agriculture employment (% of total employment)
20.5
20.5
19.7
...
...
Employees, agriculture, female (% of female employment)
17.7
17.9
17.4
...
...
Employees, agriculture, male (% of male employ- 23.3 ment)
22.9
21.9
...
...
Industry employment (% of total employment)
31.8
31.4
30.8
...
...
Employees, industry, female (% of female employment)
25.7
24.1
22.3
...
...
Employees, industry, male (% of male employment)
37.6
38.3
38.8
...
...
Services employment (% of total employment)
41.8
42.4
43.9
...
...
Employees, services, female (% of female employment)
52.1
53.4
55.3
...
...
Employees, services, male (% of male employment)
32.0
32.1
33.0
...
...
Unemployment rate (%), ILO methodology
11.9
11.7
11.1
10.1
9.1
Fertility
Labour Force
48
Indicator Framework
Unemployment, female (% of female labour force)
11.5
11.7
11.0
...
...
Unemployment, male (% of male labour force)
12.2
11.7
11.2
...
...
Youth unemployment rate (% of total labour force aged 15-24)
26.2
24.0
...
...
...
Unemployment, youth female (% of female labour force aged 15-24)
25.9
25.3
...
...
...
Unemployment, youth male (% of male labour force aged 15-24)
26.5
23.0
...
...
...
Nominal GDP (bn UAH)
130,442.0
170,070.0
204,190.0
225,810.0
263,228.0
Official exchange rate UAH/US$ p.a.)
4.130
5.440
5.372
5.327
5.332
CPI inflation
119.2
125.8
106.1
99.4
108.2
Food
126.2
128.4
107.9
97.7
110.9
Non-food
110.6
108.9
100.2
101.6
101.5
Services
111.9
131.2
105.3
103.4
105.4
WPI inflation
115.7
120.8
100.9
105.7
111.1
Consolidated budget revenues
25.2
28.9
26.9
27.4
28.5
Enterprise profit tax
4.9
4.5
4.1
4.2
5.0
Personal income tax
3.4
3.8
4.3
4.8
5.1
Land tax
0.8
0.8
0.8
0.8
0.8
VAT
6.4
5.6
5.1
6.0
4.8
Excise tax
1.4
1.3
1.3
1.8
2.0
Receipts to Chornobyl Fund
0.2
0.1
0.0
…
…
Other revenues
8.1
12.8
11.4
9.9
10.8
Consolidated budget expenditures (% of GDP)
26.7
28.3
27.2
26.7
28.7
Expenditures on domestic economy
5.5
4.3
4.1
3.2
4.6
Social protection
3.2
3.5
4.1
5.6
4.9
Culture
7.1
7.7
8.4
9.4
10.1
Defense
1.2
1.3
1.5
1.6
2.0
Public management
1.2
2.0
1.8
3.8
3.8
Elimination of Chornobyl disaster consequences
1.1
1.1
0.9
–
–
Other expenditures
–
–
–
–
–
Economic overview1
Prices (Dec-Dec % change)
Public finances (% of GDP)
49
Fiscal balance (% of GDP)
1.5
-0.6
0.3
-0.7
0.2
Net indirect taxes
…
…
11.6
10.9
10.9
GDP at factor cost
…
…
88.4
89.1
89.1
Agriculture
…
…
14.4
13.0
10.9
Extracting industries
…
…
4.2
4.4
4.4
Manufacturing
…
…
17.4
17.9
19.7
Production and distribution of gas, electricity and water
…
…
5.5
5.1
4.7
Construction
…
…
3.6
3.4
3.8
Trade
…
…
11.0
10.9
11.3
Transport
…
…
12.0
12.2
12.1
Education
…
…
4.4
4.8
4.8
Health protection
…
…
2.9
3.3
3.2
Other
…
…
14.4
15.6
15.9
Financial intermediation (residual)
…
…
-1.4
-1.4
-1.6
Consumption
77.0
75.3
76.6
75.4
77.1
Private consumption
57.2
56.6
56.9
57.0
56.8
Public consumption
19.8
18.6
19.6
18.4
20.3
Investments
17.4
19.7
21.8
20.2
20.1
Gross investments
19.3
19.7
19.7
19.2
19.1
Changes in inventories
-1.9
0.0
2.1
1.0
0.9
Net export
5.5
5.0
1.6
4.4
2.8
Export of goods and services
54.3
62.4
55.5
55.1
58.6
Import of goods and services
-48.8
-57.4
-53.8
-50.7
-55.9
GDP growth (except for 2002)
99.8
105.9
109.2
105.2
109.3
Consumption
96.3
102.0
109.3
105.0
112.9
Private consumption
98.1
102.5
109.6
109.5
112.6
Public consumption
92.1
101.0
110.4
93.3
116.0
Investments
83.0
124.6
117.9
98.5
111.9
Gross investments
100.1
112.4
106.2
103.4
112.2
Changes in inventories
…
…
…
…
…
Export of goods and services
97.8
121.5
103.5
107.4
110.4
Import of goods and services
83.3
123.8
106.0
103.3
116.5
Structure of economy (% of GDP)
Growth rates (annual % change)
Net export
50
Indicator Framework
Balance of payments, mn US$, CAB
1,658
1,481
1,402
3,173
2,891
Merchandise trade balance
244
779
198
710
-269
Export
13,189
15,722
17,091
18,669
23,739
Import
-12,945
-14,943
-16,893
-17,959
-24,008
Services balance
1,577
627
415
1,147
1,557
Export
3,869
3,800
3,995
4,682
5,214
Import
-2,292
-3,173
-3,580
-3,535
-3,657
Income net
-869
-942
-667
-606
-581
Earnings
98
143
167
163
254
Payments
-967
-1,085
-834
-769
-835
Current transfers net
706
1,017
1,456
1,922
2,184
Earnings
754
1,136
1,516
1,967
2,270
Payments
-48
-119
-60
-45
-86
Capital and financial account
-704
-1,331
-1,171
-2,288
-1,938
Capital account
-10
-8
3
15
-17
Capital transfers
-10
-8
3
10
-14
Financial account
-694
-1,323
-1,174
-2,303
-1,921
FDI net
489
594
769
698
1,411
Inflow
496
595
792
693
1,424
Outflow
-7
-1
-23
5
-13
Portfolio investments net
-86
-201
-866
-1,716
-922
Foreign securities
-11
-4
1
2
1
Domestic securities
-75
-197
-867
-1,718
-923
Other investments
-814
-1,318
529
-240
-365
Assets
-2,264
-449
-1,015
-781
-940
Liabilities
1,450
-869
1,544
541
575
Reserve assets
-283
-398
-1,606
-1,045
-2,045
Errors and omissions
-954
-150
-231
-885
-953
Credits to real sector (mn UAH balance e.o.p.)
11,787.0
19,121.0
27,792.0
41,199.0
65,086.0
Agriculture
…
745.0
1,676.0
2,593.0
4,611.0
Extracting industries
…
683.0
848.0
1,265.0
1,735.0
Manufacturing
…
5,670.0
9,020.0
11,856.0
16,239.0 51
Production and distribution of gas, electricity and water
…
477.0
872.0
1,507.0
1,765.0
Construction
…
378.0
636.0
856.0
1,442.0
Trade
…
7,479.0
9,917.0
15,214.0
24,241.0
Transport
…
860.0
1,219.0
1,560.0
2,405.0
Education
…
20.0
27.0
36.0
48.0
Health protection
…
24.0
87.0
79.0
219.0
Public administration
…
16.0
25.0
64.0
151.0
Households
…
958.0
1,389.0
3,257.0
8,054.0
Freight traffic activity (bn ton x km)
388.0
394.1
394.0
411.3
454.8
Railways
156.3
172.8
177.5
193.1
225.3
Sea
14.1
8.6
10.1
8.8
9.9
River
5.6
5.9
3.7
4.2
4.7
Truck haulage
18.2
19.3
18.5
20.6
21.7
Pipelines
193.8
187.5
184.2
184.2
192.7
Passenger traffic (thousand persons)
7,911
7,780
7,657
7,711
7,713
Railways
487
499
468
465
477
Sea
3
4
5
5
7
River
2
2
2
2
2
Automobile
2,502
2,557
2,722
3,069
3,298
Air
1
1
1
2
2
Trams
1,457
1,381
1,334
1,196
1,132
Trolleybus
2,735
2,582
2,332
2,141
1,922
Subway
724
754
793
831
873
Land ownership
40,419.0
40,308.0
38,421.0
38,150.0
37,877.0
State agricultural enterprises
32,354.0
32,067.0
28,030.0
26,746.0
25,418.0
Private agricultural enterprises
2,146.0
1,998.0
1,848.0
1,668.0
1,520.0
Private farms
5,919.0
6,243.0
8,543.0
9,736.0
10,939.0
Change in ownership and privatization (number of privatized enterprises)
5,177
5,201
6,023
6,150
6,546
State
1,488
1,596
1,556
1,461
1,405
Communal
3,689
3,605
4,467
4,689
5,141
Agriculture
101
131
71
66
43
Extracting industries
8
5
12
13
11
52
Indicator Framework
Manufacturing
212
230
268
307
313
Production and distribution of gas, electricity and water
5
4
32
55
46
Construction
109
102
120
115
120
Trade
2,039
1,694
2,329
2,370
2,562
Transport
45
44
135
154
135
Education
62
88
87
89
78
Health protection
73
84
98
130
127
Public administration
122
149
31
30
30
Number of SME
197,127
217,930
233,607
253,791
255,507
Agriculture
4,589
7,839
10,157
11,649
‌
Extracting industries
316
429
543
659
732
Manufacturing
29,486
33,405
36,160
38,805
40,890
Production and distribution of gas, electricity and water
451
663
949
1,331
1,570
Construction
16,175
18,323
19,882
21,576
22,931
Trade
100,148
101,113
100,248
102,067
103,679
Transport
6,598
8,483
9,887
11,423
12,403
Education
1,439
1,672
1,876
2,132
2,314
Health protection
1,859
2,042
2,395
2,793
3,027
Public administration
237
208
180
221
234
SME employment (thousand employees)
1,677.5
1,709.8
1,807.6
1,918.5
1,880.7
Agriculture
65.3
110.9
130.7
143.7
‌
Extracting industries
3.7
4.9
6.1
7.1
7.9
Manufacturing
318.7
346.0
367.1
394.6
416.1
Production and distribution of gas, electricity and water
9.2
12.0
15.9
20.8
24.3
Construction
183.4
198.2
217.0
219.2
228.2
Trade
693.9
572.9
527.5
494.7
502.9
Transport
67.0
77.6
88.3
100.6
109.3
Education
17.7
21.2
23.8
26.3
28.5
Health protection
15.9
17.8
21.0
23.6
25.6
Public administration
2.4
2.4
2.1
2.5
2.7 53
Human Development Poverty and income distribution1 Income/Poverty Poverty: population below national poverty line (%)
27.8
26.4
27.2
27.2
...
Urban (% of population below urban poverty line) (0)
...
...
...
...
...
Rural (% of population below rural poverty line) (0)
...
...
...
...
...
Proportion of population living on less than $1 per day (PPP) (%)
2.92
...
...
...
...
Poverty gap at $1 per day (%)
0.62
...
...
...
...
Share of poorest quintile in national consumption
...
...
...
...
...
Kyiv City
0.113
0.129
0.089
0.077
...
Large Cities
0.315
0.311
0.295
0.216
...
Small Cities
0.302
0.288
0.324
0.269
...
Rural Areas
0.298
0.311
0.324
0.313
...
Total
0.294
0.294
0.316
0.256
...
Proportion of population living on less than $4.3 a day (PPP) (%)
14
11.9
11
9.6
...
Poverty: population below national poverty line (%)
27.8
26.4
27.2
27.2
...
Urban (% of population below urban poverty line) (0)
...
...
...
...
...
Rural (% of population below rural poverty line) (0)
...
...
...
...
...
Poverty depth (% of total population)
23.3
23.8
25
23.9
...
GINI index (0)
0.28
0.29
0.3
0.29
...
Percentage share of consumption: highest 20% (0)
37.79
...
...
...
...
Percentage share of consumption: lowest 20% (%)
8.8
8.7
8.5
8.7
...
Public expenditure on social security and welfare (% of GDP) (0)
...
...
...
...
...
Average monthly total expenditure per household (UAH)
426.5
541.3
607
658.3
736.8
1
0.3
Poverty rates by location, 1999–20022
Percentage of population with monthly average total expenditure per capita, UAH under 60.0 (%) 54
5.1
1.9
1.4
Indicator Framework
60,1–90,0 (%)
15.5
8.5
6.4
4.3
2
90,1–120,0 (%)
21.1
13.8
11
8.8
5.6
120,1–150,0 (%)
17.7
16.5
13.9
11.7
9.1
150,1–180,0 (%)
13.1
14.6
13.9
13.2
11.4
180,1–210,0 (%)
9.6
12.1
11.5
12.3
11.2
210,1–240,0 (%)
5.8
8.5
9.2
10.5
11.1
240,1–270,0 (%)
3.7
6.3
7.7
8.6
10.1
270,1–300,0 (%)
2.6
4.4
5.9
6.1
7.2
300,1–360,0 (%)
5.8
13.4
7.8
9.2
11
above 360.0 (%)
...
...
11.3
14.3
21
Prevalence of underweight children under five years of age (%)3
6.4
...
...
...
...
Population below minimum level (2100 kkal) of dietary energy consumption (%)
32.6
25.6
25.9
23.2
...
Proportion of household income spent on food for the poorest quintile
...
...
...
...
...
Average daily supply of calories (per capita)
2565
2661
2758
2800
...
Prevalence of underheight children under five years of age (%)
15.4
...
...
...
...
Prevalence of families that consume iodized salt (%)4
4.63
...
...
31.3
…
73.20
73.90
72.80
72.40
72.10
Unemployment rate (%), ILO methodol- 11.90 ogy1
11.70
11.10
10.10
9.10
Unemployment rate (%), national data1
4,3
4,2
3,7
3,8
3,6
Informal sector employment as percentage of total employment
...
...
...
...
...
Under-5 mortality (per 1,000 live births)
17.5
16.0
14.6
13.6
12.90
Infant mortality (per 1,000 live births)
12.8
11.9
11.3
10.3
9.60
Measles immunization (% of children under 12 months)
98.0
98.8
98.8
98.9
99.0
Food Security and Nutrition
Employment Employment to population of working age ratio (%)
Health1 Child Mortality and Welfare
55
Number of employees under 15
715
716
704
323
Female
…
228
265
318
140
Male
…
487
451
386
183
Proportion of children under 15 working
...
...
...
...
...
Number of deaths from complications 488 during pregnancy and delivery or postdelivery, per 100,000 live births1
463
448
402
382
Number of deaths from haemorrhage 2.57 during pregnancy and delivery or postdelivery (per 100,000 live births)
2.08
2.39
1.54
...
Number of deaths from toxaemia during pregnancy and delivery or postdelivery (per 100,000 live births)
1.80
2.08
1.86
1.79
...
Total health expenditure (% of GDP)
4.3
4.2
4.3
...
...
Public health expenditure (% of GDP)
2.9
2.9
3.1
3.3
3.7
Health expenditure, private (% of GDP)
1.4
1.4
1.4
...
...
Physicians (per 100,000 population)
460
462
468
469
471
Hospital beds (per 100,000 population)
965
950
966
973
966
Immunization coverage (% of children of respective age) – against DPT
98.4
98.8
99.1
98.8
99.0
– against poliomyelitis
98.0
97.8
99.0
99.0
99.1
– against TB
97.5
97.9
98.1
97.8
98.1
– against Hepatitis B
…
…
87.6
21.8
72.6
Contraceptive prevalence rate (% of women aged 15–49)
67.5
71.6
...
...
...
Births attended by skilled health staff (%), expert assessment
99.1
99.1
99.1
99.1
99.1
General birth rate
…
7.2
7.3
8.1
8.5
General mortality
…
13.6
15.2
15.7
17
Maternal mortality
25.2
24.7
23.9
21.8
18.9
– blood loss
…
27
26
18
9
– septic conditions
…
20
17
10
9
– gestoses
…
14
9
11
9
– somatic pathology
…
19
12
20
28
– other
…
19
27
29
22
Infant mortality
…
11.9
11.3
10.3
9.7
Reproductive and Maternal Health5
including cases of:
56
Indicator Framework
Total abortions
…
408,865
346,432
323,343
292,616
Abortions per 1000 women of reproductive age
…
32
27.2
25.8
23.4
Abortions per 100 live births
…
106
92
84
72.8
– children (0-14)
…
0.09
0.1
0.1
0.1
– adolescents (15-17)
…
8.58
7.74
7.03
6.6
Oral contraceptive prevalence per 1000 … women of reproductive age
70.2
92
108.3
124.2
IDU prevalence per 1000 women of reproductive age
145.6
147.3
149.2
147.6
Abortion frequency in
…
Major somatic pathology frequency per 1000 gravidas – anemias
…
39.1
39.3
39.4
38.4
– gestoses
…
9.3
10
10.6
10.6
– cardiovascular diseases
…
5.8
6.2
6.5
6.7
– genito-urinary diseases
…
12.8
14.1
15.5
16.7
– female
…
8,495.00
8,308.00
7,553.00
6,673.00
– male
…
17,562.00
16,494.00
…
13,781.00
– female
…
32.00
31.60
29.10
26.00
– male
…
76.40
72.40
…
62.40
– female
…
24,173
19,639
16,159
13,668
– male
…
21,072
18,167
…
12,489
– female
…
91.30
74.70
62.30
53.20
– male
…
91.70
79.70
…
56.50
Gonorrhoea incidence, cases
Gonorrhoea incidence, rate
Syphilis incidence, cases
Syphilis incidence, rate
Infertility rates Female (per 1000 women of reproductive age) – prevalence
…
3.00
2.90
2.90
2.99
– incidence
…
1.00
1.00
1.00
0.96
– prevalence
…
0.34
0.31
0.33
0.34
– incidence
…
0.17
0.16
0.16
0.16
Male (per 1000 men of reproductive age)
57
Housing and Sanitation Average floor area per person, sq. metres
20.45
20.70
21.00
21.30
21.60
Proportion of population with access to improved sanitation
...
...
...
...
...
Proportion of housing in urban areas with access to: centralised water supply
...
75.3
75.6
76.1
76.2
centralised sewerage system
...
73.7
74.3
74.7
74.8
Proportion of housing in rural areas with access to: centralised water supply
...
17.9
17.9
18.2
18.7
centralised sewerage system
...
12.9
13.2
13.7
14.2
Primary school enrollment, net (%)
...
67.17
81.51
...
...
Male (%)
...
...
81.41
...
...
Female (%)
...
...
81.60
...
...
Proportion of pupils starting grade 1 who reach grade 5 (%)1
96.00
95.50
95.70
95.90
96.00
Female (%)
96.00
95.50
96.10
96.20
96.40
Male (%)
95.90
95.40
95.20
95.60
95.70
Youth literacy rate, total (% of people aged 15–24)
99.88
99.88
99.89
99.89
...
Male (% of females aged 15–24)
99.91
99.92
99.92
99.92
...
Female (% of males aged 15–25)
99.85
99.85
99.86
99.86
...
Adult literacy rate (age 15 +) (%)
98.70
98.80
99.00
99.00
99.00
Male (%)
99.46
99.49
99.51
99.54
...
Female (%)
99.74
99.75
99.75
99.76
...
Net enrollment rate for children aged 3-4 in preschool programmes
39
40
41
48
48
Net enrollment rate for children aged 5 in preschool programmes
...
...
...
...
...
Net enrollment rate for children aged 6-9 in primary programmes
86.4
91.3
98.1
99.2
98.9
Male (%)
86.6
91.3
98.2
99.3
99.0
Female (%)
86.1
91.3
98.0
99.2
98.7
57.3
60.2
64.0
Education1
Net enrollment rate for children with a secondary education Net enrollment rate in post-secondary institutions for those aged 18–22 58
49.9
53.4
Indicator Framework
Male (%)
46.6
49.5
52.4
54.5
57.7
Female (%)
53.3
57.5
62.4
66.2
70.6
Number of graduates from post-secondary institutions
...
...
...
...
...
Cumulative gross rate of persons undergoing retraining or professional development
...
...
...
...
...
Proportion of current state education standards that comply with those of the EU
...
...
...
...
...
Ratio of literate females to males (%)
1.00
1.00
1.00
1.00
...
Number of first year school children (thousands)
566
612
560
500
458
Preschool institutions enrollment, net (%)
45.4
44.7
46.3
48.7
51.1
Male (%)
45.6
45.0
46.8
49.2
51.8
Female (%)
45.1
44.4
45.7
48.2
50.3
Primary school enrollment, gross (%)
81.98
81.98
81.98
...
...
Male (%)
82.59
82.59
82.59
...
...
Female (%)
81.34
81.34
81.34
...
...
Combined gross enrollment ratio (%)
75.8
77.3
78.6
79.3
...
Female (%)
76.4
78.4
81.0
82.1
...
Male (%)
74.8
76.3
78.0
78.5
...
Number of preschool institutions, thousands
17.2
16.3
15.7
15.3
15
In urban areas
7.8
7.4
7.1
6.9
6.7
In rural areas
9.4
8.9
8.6
8.4
8.3
Number of children in preschool institutions (per 100 places)
87
88
90
92
93
In urban areas
98
99
100
102
103
In rural areas
58
56
58
61
63
Number of children in secondary education institutions (per 10,000 of population)
1369
1372
1347
1323
1259
Public spending on education (% of GDP)
3.6
4.2
4.7
5.6
5.8
Public spending on education (% of total spending)
13.5
14.7
17.2
20.3
19.8
11.1
11.2
11.4
Public spending on education of different levels (% of total spending) Preschool and primary
12.8
11.1
59
Secondary
45.7
36.2
37
40.2
41.7
Higher
20.6
32.3
31.9
34
30.9
Ratio of girls to boys in primary education (%)
105.6
105.2
105.4
105.2
105.6
Ratio of girls to boys in secondary education (%)
99.2
99.7
100.1
100.4
100.3
Ratio of girls to boys in tertiary education (%)
90.1
88.8
87.3
85.6
...
Ratio of literate females to males, 15-24 year olds
...
...
...
...
...
Share of women employed in wage employment in the non-agricultural sector (%)
...
...
...
...
...
Proportion of seats held by women in nation- 8.1 al parliament
8.1
8.1
8.1
8.1
Gender ratio in local governments
...
...
...
...
...
Gender ratio in oblast governments
...
...
...
...
...
Gender ratio in rayon governments
...
...
...
...
...
Gender ratio in municipal governments
...
...
...
...
...
Gender ratio in village governments
...
...
...
...
...
Gender ratio in rural office
...
...
...
...
...
Gender ratio among high-ranking state officials (grades 1 and 2)
...
...
...
...
...
Ratio of average wages of women to men (%) 72.38
70.91
69.72
69.28
...
Industry (%)
63.60
63.90
64.30
...
...
Agriculture (%)
91.40
93.70
93.70
...
...
Trade (%)
71.50
71.10
74.30
...
...
Health protection (%)
87.20
89.30
86.20
...
...
Social protection (%)
92.20
93.60
91.10
...
...
Education (%)
70.00
80.20
78.70
...
...
Public administration (%)
78.50
85.60
84.00
...
...
Gender-related Development Index (GDI)
0.740
0.746
…
…
…
Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM)
0.394
0.400
0.403
…
…
Female administrators and managers (% of all 51.50 administrators and managers)
52.50
57.90
60.50
...
Female professional and technical workers (% 81.50 of all professional and technical workers)
80.90
79.80
80.10
...
Gender1
60
Indicator Framework
Governance and the Rule of Law International legal commitments on human rights Status of ratification of, reservations to, and reporting obligations under, international human rights instruments HUMAN RIGHTS INSTRUMENTS
DATE OF ADHERENCE BY UKRAINE
DATE IT ENTERED INTO FORCE
International Bill of Human Rights International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
Signature: 20 March 1968
23.03.76
Ratification: 12 November 1973 Declaration: Article 48.p.1.
Optional Protocol to the ICCPR (right to individual communication)
Accession: 21 July 1991
23.03.76
Second Optional Protocol to ICCPR (abolition of death penalty)
Signature: -
11.07.91
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)
Signature: 20 March 1968
Ratification: 03.01.76
Ratification: 12 November 1973 Declaration: Article 26.p.1.
Prevention of discrimination International convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD)
Signature: 7 March 1966
04.01.69
Ratification: 7 March 1969 Declaration: Article 17.p.1.
Amendment to Article 8 of CERD
Acceptance/approval: 17 June 1994
-
International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid
Signature: 20 February 1974
18.07.76
International Convention Against Apartheid in Sports
Signature: 16 May 1986
Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, ILO[2] (No.111)
Ratification: 4 August 1961
15.06.60
Convention Against Discrimination in Education
Ratification: 19 December 1962
22.05.62
Protocol Instituting a Conciliation and Good Offices Commission to be Responsible for Seeking a Settlement of any Disputes Which May Arise Between States Parties to the Convention Against Discrimination in Education
Signature: -
24.10.68
Equal Remuneration Convention, ILO (No.100)
Ratification: 10 August 1956
Ratification: 10 November 1975 03.04.88
Ratification: 19 June 1987
Ratification: 23.05.53
61
Rights of women Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)
Signature: 17 July 1980
03.09.81
Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
Signature: 7 September 2000
Amendment to article 20.p.1. of CEDAW
Acceptance/Approval: -
-
Convention on the Political Rights of Women
Signature: 31 March 1954
07.07.54
Ratification: 12 March 1981 22.12.00
Ratification: 26 September 2003
Ratification: 15 November 1954 Declaration: Article 7
Rights of the child Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
Signature: 21 February 1990
02.09.90
Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflicts
Signature: 7 September 2000
Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography
Signature: 3 September 2000
Amendment to article 43(2) of CRC
Acceptance/Approval: 3 July 2003
18.11.02
Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, ILO (No. 182)
Ratification: 14 December 2000
19.11.00
Ratification: 28 August 1991 12.02.02
Ratification: 23 June 2004 18.01.02
Ratification: 3 July 2003
Slavery, servitude, forced labour and similar institutions and practices Slavery Convention (signed at Geneva on 25 September 1926 and amended by the Protocol)
Accession: 27 January 1959
07.12.53
Supplementary Convention on the Signature: 7 September 1956 Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar Ratification: 3 Dec 1958 to Slavery
30.04.57
Forced Labour Convention, ILO (No.29)
Ratification: 10 August 1956
01.05.82
The Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, ILO (No.105)
Ratification: 14 December 2000
17.01.59
Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others
Accession: 15 November 1954
25.07.51
Final Protocol to the Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others
Accession: 15 November 1954
25.07.51
62
Indicator Framework
Human rights in the administration of justice Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT)
Signature: 27 February 1986
26.06.87
Amendments to article 17(7) and 18(5) to CAT
Acceptance/Approval: 17 June 1994
-
Optional Protocol of CAT
Signature: -
-
Ratification: 27 February 1987
Acceptance: Ratification: Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court
Signature: – 20 January 2000
01.07.02
Acceptance: Ratification: Freedom of information Convention on the International Right of Correction
Signature: -
24.08.62
Acceptance: Ratification: -
Freedom of association Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, ILO (No.87)
Ratification: 14 September 1956
04.07.50
Right to Organise and Bargain Collectively Convention, ILO (No. 98)
Ratification: 14 September 1956
18.07.51
Workers’ Representatives Convention, ILO (No. 135)
Ratification: 3 September 2003
30.06.73
Labour Relations (Public Service) Convention, ILO ( No. 151)
Ratification: -
25.02.81
Employment Policy Convention, ILO (No.122)
Ratification: 19 June 1968
15.07.66
Convention Concerning the Promotion of Collective Bargaining, ILO (No. 154)
Ratification: 16 May 1994
11.08.83
Convention Concerning Employment Promotion and Protection of Employment, ILO (No. 168)
Ratification: -
17.10.91
Convention Concerning Indigenous and Ratification: Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries, ILO (No. 169)
05.09.91
Minimum Age Convention, ILO (No. 138) Ratification: 3 May 1979
19.06.76
Employment
(Minimum age specified: 16 years) 63
Marriage, family and youth Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages
Signature: -
09.12.64
Ratification: -
Social Welfare, progress and development International Convention on the Signature: Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families Ratification: -
01.07.03
Nationality, statelessness, asylum and refugees Convention on the Nationality of Married Women
Signature: 15 October 1957
11.08.58
Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness
Signature: -
Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons
Signature: -
Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees
Accession: 10 June 2002
22.04.54
Protocol to the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees
Accession: 4 April 2002
04.10.67
Ratification: 3 December 1958 13.12.75
Ratification: 06.06.60
Ratification: -
War crimes and crimes against humanity, including genocide Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide
Signature: 16 Dec 1949
Convention on the Non-Applicability of Statutory Limitations to War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity
Signature: 14 January 1969
12.01.51
Ratification: 15 Nov 1954 11.11.70
Ratification: 19 June 1969 Declaration: Articles V and VII
Humanitarian law Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field
Ratification: 3 August 1954
21.10.50
Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of the Armed Forces at Sea
Ratification: 3 August 1954
21.10.50
Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War
Ratification: 3 August 1954
21.10.50
Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War
Ratification: 3 August 1954
21.10.50
64
Indicator Framework
Protocol additional to the Geneva Convention Ratification: 21 January 1990 of 12 August 1949, and relating to the protection of victims of international armed conflicts Declaration: Article 90 (Protocol 1)
07.12.78
Protocol additional to the Geneva Convention of 12 August 1949, and relating to the protection of victims of non-international armed conflicts (Protocol II)
Ratification: 21 January 1990
07.12.78
UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime
Signature: 12 December 2000
29.09.03
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime
Signature: 15 November 2001
25.12.03
Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrant by Land, Sea and Air, supplementing the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime
Signature: 15 November 2001
28.01.04
Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Their Parts and Components and Ammunition, supplementing the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime
-
not yet in force
Signature: 15 December 1994
15.01.99
Transnational organized crime
Safety of UN and associated personnel Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel
Ratification: 17 August 1995
Declarations, principles, guidelines and recommendations included in the UN list of human rights instruments have not been included in this list due to their nature Compliance of Ukrainian Legislation with International Standards in the Area of Human Rights6 UN Treaty Bodies on Human Rights UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (A/56/18, paras.360-379, 2001)
UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (A/57/38/Part II, paras.271-301, 2002)
Status of implementation To make Ukrainian legislation com- Is not fulfilled pliant with article 1 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination To make the Ukrainian legislation Is not fulfilled compliant with international standards concerning the definition of ‘discrimination’. To make Ukrainian legislation com- Partly fulfilled. pliant with international standards Amendments were concerning measures on protection introduced to the national legal normaof violated rights. tive acts. A Presidential Degree on Improvement of Women’s Social Status was adopted. Recommendation
65
UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (E/C.12/1/Add.65, 2001)
UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC/C/15/Add. 191, 2002)
66
To make Ukrainian legislation compliant with international standards concerning approval of temporary special measures foreseen by part 1 of article 4 of the relevant Convention.
Partly fulfilled. Relevant legal normative acts were adopted. The New National Plan of Action on improving Women’s Status and supporting implementation of gender equality in society was adopted. Its implementation is planned for 2001 – 2005.
To regularly review the legislation in accordance with article 11, paragraph 3 of the Convention with a view to reducing the number of barriers that women face in the labour market
Partly fulfilled. Some legal normative acts have been reviewed, but no systemic review of legislation has been done.
To develop a procedure for attending to the specific needs of refugees, in particular unaccompanied child refugees.
Ukraine has signed the Convention on Refugees (1951), and improved national legislation but has not developed realistic mechanisms as a result of general economic problems.
To review current legislation in order to ensure full compliance with the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and strengthen the mechanisms of all legislation relevant to the Convention. (para.13)
The review has not been fully conducted. Complex changes to the legislation have not been made
To amend the legislation defining torture to be compatible with article 37a of the Convention. Partly fulfilled.
The legislation has been amended generally defining torture (article 127, Criminal Code of Ukraine, Newsletter of Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, 2001, N2526, p.131). Special references to children have not been made, but life imprisonment is not applied to persons under 18 years old. (article 64 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, Newsletter of Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, 2001, N2526, p.131).
Indicator Framework
To ensure that legislation on compulsory education is enforced, including through the provision of appropriate resources for this purpose.
Partly ensured as a result of general economic problems.
Written appeals submitted for consideration in accordance with paragraph 1–3 Part.3 Article.17 Law of Ukraine,‘On the Ombudsperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine’ in 1998–20017 Accepted appeals Total appeals submitted for consideration, 4,748.00 number Total appeals submitted for consideration, % 100.00
5,211.00
6,794.00
…
…
100.00
100.00
…
…
Proceedings started, number
1,644.00
1,917.00
2,670.00
…
…
Proceedings started, %
34.60
36.80
39.30
…
…
Clarified steps that should be taken by the person appealing, number
412.00
349.00
509.00
…
…
Clarified steps that should be taken by the person appealing, %
8.70
6.70
7.50
…
…
Sent by competent bodies, %
2,692.00
2,945.00
3,615.00
…
…
Sent by competent bodies, number
56.70
56.50
53.20
…
…
Analysis of complaints received according to the categories of rights Type of violated rights Civil, number of complaints
8,891.00
9,402.00
11,581.00
…
…
Civil, % Social, number of complaints Social, % Economic, number of complaints3,204.00 Economic, % Private, number of complaints Private, % Political, number of complaints Political, % Cultural, number of complaints Cultural, % Total
55.50 2,627.00 16.40 3,204.00 20.00 769.00 4.80 368.00 2.30 160.00 1.00 16,019.00
54.10 4,250.00 24.50 2,651.00 15.30 973.00 5.60 77.00 0.40 19.00 0.10 17,372.00
49.00 5,598.00 23.60 4,254.00 18.00 2,084.00 8.80 113.00 0.50 21.00 0.10 23,651.00
… … … … … … … … … … …
… … … … … … … … … … …
Types of human rights violated according to written complaints to the Ombudsperson, 2000–2001 Civil, including Right to fair court protection of human rights and freedoms, number
…
4,424.00
5,293.00
…
…
Right to fair court protection of human rights and freedoms, %
…
47.00
45.70
…
…
Freedom from violation of rights by enforcement body officers, number
…
1,856.00
2,391.00
…
…
Freedom from violation of rights by enforcement body officers, %
…
19.70
20.60
…
…
67
Right to complain, number
…
1,728.00
1,889.00
…
…
Right to complain, %
…
18.40
16.30
…
…
Rights of imprisoned individuals, number
…
513.00
856.00
…
…
Rights of imprisoned individuals, %
…
5.50
7.40
…
…
Right to renew rights of repressed and rehabili- … tated individuals, number Right to renew rights of repressed and rehabili- … tated individuals, % Right to citizenship, number …
272.00
131.00
…
…
2.90
1.10
…
…
223.00
437.00
…
…
Right to citizenship, %
…
2.40
3.80
…
…
Freedom of movement, number
…
154.00
287.00
…
…
Freedom of movement, %
…
1.60
2.50
…
…
Human rights in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and … other bodies, covered by legislation, number Human rights in the Armed Forces of Ukraine … and other bodies, covered by legislation, % Right to redress for injury, number …
151.00
262.00
…
…
1.60
2.30
…
…
81.00
35.00
…
…
Right to redress for injury, %
…
0.90
0.30
…
…
Right to social protection, number
…
1,932.00
1,946.00
…
…
Right to social protection, %
…
45.50
34.80
…
…
Right to housing, number
…
954.00
1,314.00
…
…
Right to housing, %
…
22.40
23.50
…
…
Right to pension, number
…
811.00
1,108.00
…
…
Right to pension, %
…
19.10
19.80
…
…
Right to health protection, medical care and medical security, number
…
290.00
500.00
…
…
Right to health protection, medical care and medical security, %
…
6.80
8.90
…
…
Right to adequate living standard of individual and his/her family, number
…
149.00
420.00
…
…
Right to adequate living standard of individual and his/her family, %
…
3.50
7.50
…
…
Right to safe environment for health and life, number
…
54.00
231.00
…
…
Right to safe environment for health and life, %
…
1.30
4.10
…
…
Right to education, number
…
60.00
79.00
…
…
Right to education, %
…
1.40
1.40
…
…
Right to property, number
…
959.00
2,027.00
…
…
Right to property, %
…
36.10
47.60
…
…
Right to labour, number
…
980.00
1,133.00
…
…
Right to labour, %
…
37.00
26.60
…
…
Property right to land, number
…
460.00
683.00
…
…
Social, including
Economic, including
68
Indicator Framework
Property right to land, %
…
17.40
16.10
…
…
Consumers’ rights to quality and safe products and … services, number
252.00
411.00
…
…
Consumers’ rights to quality and safe products and … services, %
9.50
9.70
…
…
Private, including Right to personal security, number
…
429.00
914.00
…
…
Right to personal security, %
…
44.00
43.90
…
…
Right to respect for dignity, number
…
415.00
834.00
…
…
Right to respect for dignity, %
…
42.70
40.00
…
…
Right to life, number
…
94.00
311.00
…
…
Right to life, %
…
9.70
14.90
…
…
Freedom from interference into private and family … life, number
35.00
25.00
…
…
Freedom from interference into private and family … life, %
3.60
1.20
…
…
Political rights and freedoms
…
77.00
113.00
…
…
Cultural rights
…
19.00
21.00
…
…
Total
…
17,372.00
23,651.00
…
…
Status of follow-up to concluding observations of United Nations human rights treaty bodies
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
16036
Drug control and crime prevention8 Area under illicit cultivation of coca, opium poppy and cannabis Seizures of illicit drugs (in kg) – poppy straw – opium
…
…
…
…
110.2
– marijuana
…
…
…
…
5830
– amphetamine (gr)
…
…
…
…
3552.32
– heroin
…
…
…
…
3.4
– cocaine
…
…
…
…
0.08
– LSD (dose)
…
…
…
…
156
Prevalence of drug abuse
…
…
…
…
…
Number of intentional homicides per 100.000 inhabitants
…
…
…
…
…
Amounts of sown areas identified and destroyed (thousands of sq. m) – poppy
…
…
…
…
728.5
– cannabis
…
…
…
…
39.3 69
– wild cannabis
…
…
…
…
30.5
– Storage, production, transfer without intention of sale
…
…
…
…
31714
– Sale of drugs
…
…
…
…
17502
– Criminal groups liquidated
…
…
…
…
3780
– Organised criminal groups liquidated
…
…
…
…
22
– Running drug dens including production centres …
…
…
…
3368
– Use of funds received from illegal drug circulation
…
…
…
…
98
– Underground drug laboratories
…
…
…
…
224
– Stealing drugs
…
…
…
…
344
– Involvement in drug abuse
…
…
…
…
649
Number of complaints of extra-judicial executions …
…
…
…
…
Number of intentional homicides (per 100,000 population)1
…
…
…
…
11.0
Number of cases of complaints about the actions of officials that incur administrative penalties9
…
…
…
…
4400
– closed
…
…
…
…
668
– not considered
…
…
…
…
623
– satisfied
…
…
…
…
2200
Number of children officially registered every year 12.7 as left without parental care (thousands)1
13.4
13.4
14.4
14.0
– Per 100,000 persons aged 0-181
114.0
124.4
130.1
146.3
147.3
Number of crimes committed by minors (per 100,000 population)1
…
75
74
67
70
Number of minors charged with committing crimes (aged 14-18)1
17652
20016
19741
20104
21111
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
b. Percentage of population aged 15-24 with com- … prehensive correct knowledge of HIV/AIDS
…
…
…
…
Ratio of school attendance of orphans to school attendance of non-orphans aged 10-14
…
…
…
…
…
Prevalence of tuberculosis
…
…
…
…
…
Number of identified crimes in illegal drug trafficking
Liberty and security of persons
HIV/AIDS and other diseases1 HIV/AIDS Prevalence of HIV among pregnant females aged 15 24 (%)
Condom use rate of the contraceptive prevalence rate a. Condom use during last high-risk sex
70
Indicator Framework
Death rate associated with tuberculosis (per 100,000 of inhabitants) Male
28.9
37.9
41.2
41.7
36.5
Female
3.1
4.2
4.4
4.6
4.8
Proportion of tuberculosis cases detected and cured under directly observed treatment short course (DOTS) Number of new HIV-infection cases per 100,000
…
…
…
…
…
11.7
12.8
14.5
18.3
21.1
Number of AIDS-related deaths per 100,000
…
…
0,96
1,73
2,66
Rate of HIV transmission from mother to child (MTCT)
…
27
…
…
10
Proportion of HIV-infected children born to HIVpositive mothers (MTCT)
…
…
…
…
…
Number of new TB cases (including pulmonary TB) 54.6 per 100,000
60.4
69.5
76
77.5
Number of registered HIV-positive persons
26,146
29,775
34,109
41,252
45,092
infected through sexual transmission (adults)
4,372
5,755
7,268
9,923
12,081
blood transfusion from HIV-infected donors (adults)
3
1
4
8
10
other medical activity (adults)
7
7
8
9
8
drug use (adults)
20,272
22,141
24,225
27,851
28,879
from HIV-infected mother
891
1,198
1,582
2,296
2,942
other ways (adults)
6
6
5
0
…
unknown (adults)
595
667
1,011
1,165
1,172
Number of new infections
5,235
6,307
6,982
8,767
10,013
Male
3,757
3,947
4,284
5,310
5,753
Female
2,070
2,265
2,698
3,457
4,260
Persons aged 0-18
593
794
955
1,366
1,694
Number of HIV-positive pregnant women
819
997
1563
2022
2555
HIV-positive pregnant women (% of pregnancies)
0.30
0.30
0.40
0.50
0.65
Children born to HIV-positive mothers
545
730
957
1,282
1,515
Number of AIDS cases
718
917
1,224
1,664
2,256
Death rate associated with AIDS (adults)
253
415
498
819
1312
Persons aged 0-18
12
9
…
…
…
HIV-positive donors (adults)
332
320
367
…
…
Male (adults)
298
269
308
…
…
Female (adults)
34
51
59
…
…
Injecting drug users (adults)
179
145
132
…
… 71
Male (adults)
174
129
121
…
…
Female (adults)
5
16
11
…
…
Sex workers (adults)
115
138
198
…
…
Male (adults)
88
106
155
…
…
Female (adults)
27
32
43
…
…
Unknown (adults)
38
37
37
…
…
Male (adults)
36
34
32
…
…
Female (adults)
2
3
5
…
…
<20 (adults)
39
20
19
…
…
Male (adults)
35
16
13
…
…
Female (adults)
4
4
6
…
…
21-25 (adults)
95
103
113
…
…
Male (adults)
86
89
97
…
…
Female (adults)
9
14
16
…
…
26-30 (adults)
79
75
89
…
…
Male (adults)
71
63
75
…
…
Female (adults)
8
12
14
…
…
31-35 (adults)
68
58
73
…
…
Male (adults)
61
49
64
…
…
Female (adults)
7
9
9
…
…
36-40 (adults)
37
33
47
…
…
Male (adults)
32
24
41
…
…
Female (adults)
5
9
6
…
…
40< (adults)
14
31
26
…
…
Male (adults)
13
28
18
…
…
Female (adults)
1
3
8
…
…
per 100,000 children
8.8
9
9.1
8.8
9.2
per 100,000 adolescents
28
28.8
30.2
32.3
31.7
Environment1 Proportion of land covered by forest
16.70
17.30
15.60
15.60
15.60
1.45
1.47
1.61
1.68
1.68
TB Number of TB cases
Ratio of area protected to maintain biological diversity to surface area 72
Indicator Framework
Energy use (kg oil equivalent) per 1$ GDP (PPP)
0.81
0.76
0.71
…
…
Carbon dioxide emissions (per capita)
7.09
6.92
...
…
…
Consumption of ozone-depleting CFCs (ODP tons) ...
…
…
…
…
Proportion of population using solid fuels
...
…
…
…
…
Proportion of population with sustainable access to an improved water source (per cent of population)
97.70
98.00
…
…
…
urban
93.70
94.00
…
…
…
rural
99.50
100.00
…
…
…
Proportion of population drinking water that meets national standards for urban areas, %
...
…
…
…
…
Proportion of population drinking well water that meets national standards for rural areas, %
...
…
…
…
…
Volume of harmful waste into atmosphere from stationary sources of pollution (kt)
4,106
3,959
4,055
4,075
4,088
Total area of natural and biospheric reserves and national parks, as % of overall territory of the country Population density (people per sq. km of land area) Pollution to atmosphere from all sources (kt)
1.45
1.47
1.61
1.68
1.68
82.67
82.00
81.32
80.70
80.10
5,853
5,909
6,050
6,102
6,098
Pollution to atmosphere from movable sources (kt) 1,747
1,949
1,995
2,027
2,010
CO2 emissions, industrial (kt)
353,917
342,771
…
…
…
Sulphur dioxide (SO2) (kg per capita)
20.66
19.86
20.21
21.24
…
Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) (kg per capita)
6.68
6.51
6.74
6.42
…
Volatile organic compounds (kg per capita)
5.42
5.36
4.78
5.90
…
Toxic waste (kg per capita)
87,897
60,393
58,549
56,488
…
Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) emissions (ton per day)
499.885
…
…
…
…
Industrial solid waste (mn ton)
88.5
81.4
77.5
77.6
79.0
Improved sanitation facilities (% of population with access)
…
99.00
…
…
…
Improved sanitation facilities, rural (% of rural population with access)
…
98.00
…
…
…
Improved sanitation facilities, urban (% of urban population with access)
…
100.00
…
…
…
Data Sources: Statistics Committee of Ukraine, Millennium Development Goals Ukraine– 2003 and the National Human Development Report-2003 2 World Bank Economic Studies, Ukraine 2000–2003 3 Ministry of Health Survey, 1999 4 UNICEF Ukraine Iodised Salt Consumption Baseline Survey 5 UNFPA 6 CCA Theme Group on Governance and the Rule of Law assessment 7 Ombudsperson Reports 8 Ministry of Interior of Ukraine 9 Supreme Court of Ukraine
1 State
73
5. ANNEXES 5.1. ROOT CAUSE AND ACCOUNTABILITY ANALYSES 1.
Poverty a. Root cause analysis – Poverty in Ukraine b. Accountability analysis
2.
Health a. Root cause analysis – Health
3.
Education a. Root cause analysis – Low quality of education services b. Accountability analysis
4.
Gender a. Root cause analysis – High number of trafficked persons – Domestic violence against women – Disproportionate number of women representatives in decision-making bodies b. Accountability analysis
5.
Governance and the Rule of Law a. Root cause analysis – Low accountability to public in government decision-making – Deficiencies in human rights protection and human security – The principle of rule of law is not followed b. Accountability analysis
6.
HIV/AIDS a. Root cause analysis – Stigmatization of and discrimination against PLHA – Lack of care, treatment and support for PLHA – Increasing impact of HIV/AIDS on society – Increasing number of young people and vulnerable groups affected by HIV/AIDS b. Accountability analysis
7.
Environment a. Root cause analysis – Land degradation – Global threat to biological diversity b. Accountability analysis
74
Annexes
Root cause analysis: Poverty
Theme Group on Poverty 75
Accountability analysis Duty holders Ministry of Labour and Social Policy
State Statistics Committee
Role
Capacity gaps/Constraints
z
Labour market monitoring
z
Public works
z
Lack of state order for public works
z
Fostering labour force absorption by enterprises
z
Lack of coordination with private sector
z
Keeping record of unemployed
z
Inability to control unregistered incomes
z
Coordination of aid to unemployed
z
Weak information exchange with other bodies
z
Strategizing employment policy
z
Underdeveloped strategic thinking
z
Gathering information on economic and social development
z
Existence of shadow economy
z
Poverty monitoring
z
Imperfect household survey techniques Exclusion of vulnerable groups from poverty monitoring
z
z
Information disclosure
z z
Private enterprise
z
Employment generation
z
Lack of market information
z
Business expansion
z
Limited access to financial resources for business development
z
Compensation to employees
z
Non-payments
z
Fiscal obligations
z
Excessive tax burden Complicated tax compliance procedures
z
Ministry of Economy
Ministry of Education
76
Limited data processing facilities Lack of modern data processing tools
z
Reduction of wage arrears
z
Lack of clear vision of the problem
z
Manage minimal subsistence level and minimal wage level
z
Distortions caused by unregistered incomes from shadow economy
z
Fostering unified education services
z
Weak strategic thinking on education development
z
Maintaining education infrastructure
z
Lack of resources at local level
z
Design of modern marketbased education
z
Lack of coordination with market forces (private sector)
Annexes
Off-budget social funds
Cabinet of Ministers
z
Social assistance to vulnerable groups
z
Absence of unified records of social assistance recipients
z
Fundraising
z
Lack of information provisions
z
Managing funds
z
Ineffective management and high overhead/transaction costs
z
Poverty reduction policy coordination
z
Lack of strategic thinking
z
Fostering sustainable economic development
z
Quality and comprehensiveness of information Lack of strategic vision
z z
Regional development policy
z z
z
Effective public management
z z
Parliament
z
Legal support of development policy
z z z
z
Representation of peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s interests
z z
z
Fostering fair competition and greater predictability
z z
Ministry of Finance
z
Targeting budget resources to social programmes
z z
z
z
Equalization of financing of social services
z
Effective use of budget resources
z
z
Lack of capacity at local level Lack of coordination Slow in implementation Poor coordination with Parliament Controversial vision for development Lack of consensus Prevalence of private interests over public Low participation of populace in state policy Abuse of power Lack of common vision on tax reform Lobbying business interests Absence of development priorities Weak strategic approaches used to design long term plans Hard budget constraints Incomplete decentralization of public finance Lack of capabilities and skills in managing procurement
77
Claim Holders Families with dependants
Role z
Adequate care of dependants
Capacity gaps/Constraints z z
Supporting childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s school attendance
z
z
Adaptation to market conditions and demand
z
Limited opportunities for education
z
Active role in job-seeking
z
Constraints on internal labour force migration
z
Initiative and entrepreneurship
z
Paternalistic expectations Barriers to market entry Limited access to business start-up resources Excessive overregulation
z
Unemployed
z
z z z
Entrepreneurs
z
Employment generation
z z z
z
Market expansion
z z
z
Compliance with fiscal legislation
z z z
z
Fair competition
z z z z
Public servants
Poor education facilities Lack of finances for paid education
Unfair competition Excessive payroll taxes Poor corporate governance High cost of doing business Unfair competition High tax burden Complexity of fiscal regulations Corruption Complexity of regulations Informal links with state power Corruption and fraud Sectoral and regional privileges
z
Appropriate performance of responsibilities
z
Low wages foster corruption and abuse of power
z
Professional skills improvement
z
Lack of incentives Low incomes for paid training Wage remuneration tariffs
z z
78
Low social transfers Low level of wages
DALY - Disability-Adjusted Life Years, an indicator developed for the calculation of the disease burden which quantifies, in a single indicator, time lost due to premature death with a disability
Annexes
Root cause analysis: Health
Theme Group on Health
79
Root cause analysis: Education
Theme Group on Education 80
Annexes
Accountability analysis Duty Holders Ministry of Education (MoES)
Role z z
Implementation of education reform strategy Provision of primary and secondary education facilities
Capacity Gaps/Constraints z z z z
z
Academy of Pedagogical Science
z
z
Ministry of Family and Youth
z
Development of the national conceptual platform of education reform strategy in Ukraine Best practices dissemination
z
Support of youth and youth initiatives
z
z
z
In-service teacher training institutes
z
Upgrading of teachers’ qualifications and personal development on new basis
z
z
Ukrainian School Heads Association
z
Consolidation of school heads all over Ukraine
z z
Teachers
z
Passing society’s heritage to the next generation
z z
z
Slow reform Lack of adequate capacity Lack of strategy mechanisms implementation Underfunding for school maintenance results in very poor classroom environment Slow implementation of innovative technologies in secondary education institutions: – complete school ICT provision – quality monitoring procedures based on international standards Slow development of new educational resources (textbooks, methods support) Lack of pilot initiatives, techniques and provisions, especially development of new methods to promote life skills and competencies for youth Lack of coordination between educational profession agents Lack of support for regional programmes Lack of adequate and efficient system of innovative methods of teacher training Lack of teacher motivational technologies Lack of effective management models Lack of information management provision and lack of resource centre for professional development Slow implementation of new teaching materials Slow information and professional upgrading support Lack of motivation 81
Claim Holders Families/parents
Role z
Encourage and support children to attend school
Capacity Gaps/Constraints z z
z
Students
z
Future citizens and work force in Ukraine and the world
z z
Communities
82
z
Ensure equal access to educational facilities and alert local government to key educational issues/needs
z
Need to keep children out of school to help at home Parents are expected to pay unsanctioned ‘tuition fees’ to teachers Lack of relevant opportunities to be involved in students’ development Lack of education opportunities for personal development Lack of adequate life skills and preparedness for participation in civic democratic society Communities in remote areas of Chornobyl unaware of GoI commitment to provide schools in their areas
Annexes
Root cause analysis: Gender
Theme Group on Gender 83
Theme Group on Gender 84
Annexes
Theme Group on Gender 85
Accountability Analysis Duty Holders
Role
Capacity Gaps/Constraints
Đ&#x2020;. Disproportional representation of women in decision making Parliament of Ukraine
z
Adoption of legislation ensuring equal rights and opportunities for men and women (on gender equality)
z
z z z z
Ministry of Education and Science
z
Incorporation of courses on population gender education into the education curriculum
z z z z
State Committee on Informational Policy, Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine
z
Ministry of Family, Children and Youth Affairs
Ministry of Labour and Social Policy
z
z
Lobbying for legislature on gender equality and other legal acts raising the status and role of women in society
z
Lack of capacity (staff, experts, finance etc.)
z
Support women combining professional and family obligations empowerment
z
Lack of capacity (staff, experts, finance etc.)
Conducting training and seminars for women on their rights Organization of business startups for women
z
Lack of finance and low sustainability of efforts Lack of cooperation and coordination between NGOs and between NGOs and State structures Duplication/overlapping of efforts
z z
z z
z
z
International organizations
z z z
86
Lack of expertise in gender culture/education Prevailing stereotypes Lack of motivation and demand No gender-based criteria for approval of school curricula
Illustrating and highlighting the role of women in contemporary society, creating a gender culture in the population
z
NGOs
No recognition of gender problem by decision makers and society Lack of political will Lack of awareness of international commitments Lack of gender culture/ education Prevailing stereotypes
Put inequality issues high on the political agenda Play the role of convener for different stakeholders Provide technical expertise and finance assistance
z z
Lack of knowledge on gender Prevailing stereotypes Lack of motivation and demand
Lack of interagency cooperation and coordination Duplication/overlapping of efforts
Annexes
ІI. Domestic violence against women Ministry of Family, Children and Youth Affairs
z
Ministry of Interior
z z
z
State Committee on Informational Policy, Television and Radio Broadcasting
z
z
Ministry of Education and Science
z
z
State Social Services Centre
z
z
NGOs
z
Create national policy and mechanism for the prevention of domestic violence (coordination body) Create national database on domestic violence issues Coordinate implementation of the law of Ukraine on ‘Prevention of Violence in the Family’ Conducting training seminars for representatives of law enforcement bodies on prevention of and combating domestic violence
z
Lack of capacity (staff, experts, finance etc.)
z
Lack of capacity (staff, experts, finance etc.) Lack of knowledge, expertise
Illustrating and highlighting the role of women in contemporary society Creation gender culture among the population
z
Incorporation of specialized courses in gender education at different levels of the education process Provides social assistance to trafficked children
z
Preventive and educational work with youth on domestic violence prevention Lack of capacity (staff, experts, finance etc.) Preventive work, support in providing female victims of domestic violence with various kinds of assistance (social, financial, psychological etc.)
z
z
z z
z z z
z z
z z
International organizations
z z z
Scientific research organizations
z
Put domestic violence issues high on the political agenda Play the role of convener for different stakeholders Providing technical expertise and finance assistance
z
Monitoring the domestic violence situation (questionnaires etc.)
z
z z
z z
Lack of knowledge Prevailing stereotypes Lack of motivation and demand Lack of expertise in gender culture/education Prevailing stereotypes Lack of motivation and demand No gender-based criteria for approval of school curricula Lack of knowledge, expertise
Lack of finance and low sustainability of efforts Lack of cooperation and coordination between NGOs and between NGOs and State structures Duplication/overlapping of efforts Insufficient support from the Government Lack of interagency cooperation and coordination Duplication/overlapping of efforts Lack of transparency in Government response No system of continuous monitoring Lack of experience/expertise No system of indicators 87
III. Increasing number of victims of human trafficking Ombudsman
z
z
Monitoring the level of adherence to human rights and liberties of people Protect the rights of people
z
Other conflicting priorities
Ministry of Family, Children and Youth Affairs
z
Coordinate implementation of the complex programme on prevention of human trafficking and the inter-departmental Coordination Council on Human Trafficking Issues
z
Lack of capacity (staff, experts, finance etc.)
State Social Services Centre
z
Conducts events, training, lectures, rehabilitation and inspection of trafficked people
z
Lack of capacity (staff, experts, finance etc.) Lack of knowledge, expertise
Provides profession-orientation services and organizes skills education for the unemployed, assists youth in finding employment, regulates firms specializing in employment abroad, tourist and marriage agencies
z
Develops regulations for reintegration and anti-crisis centres and shelters for trafficking victims Provides medical assistance for victims Conducts preventive work with youth. The Ministry department of residential schools provides social assistance to trafficked children
z
Ministry of Labour and Social Policy (including State Employment Centre)
z
Ministry of Health
z
z
Ministry of Education and Science
z
z
z z
z
z z z z z
Ministry of Interior
z
Conducts investigation of crimes connected with human traffickers and trafficked people
z z z z
z
Security Services
88
z
Prevention, investigation of crimes against human security, terrorism, corruption and organized crime
z z
No awareness-raising campaign Unemployment Inefficient controlling mechanisms
Other priorities No systematic approach
Lack of expertise in gender culture/education Prevailing stereotypes Lack of motivation and demand Lack of capacity (staff, experts, finance etc.) Lack of knowledge Lack of capacity (staff, experts, finance etc.) Lack of knowledge, expertise Other priorities Lack of cooperation and coordination with other international and foreign law enforcement agencies Inefficient administration and justice system Other priorities Lack of cooperation and coordination with other international and foreign agencies
Annexes
Border Service Administration
z
Provides assistance to returning victims of trafficking, cooperates with NGOs and international organizations in human trafficking prevention
z
z z
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
z
z
z
z
NGOs
z
Provides informational, consultative and legal assistance to Ukrainian citizens moving abroad for employment, recreation etc., is conducting activities in preparation for ratification of the Protocol on Prevention of Human Trafficking, especially of women and children Improves mechanisms of constant information exchange between legal bodies in Ukraine and other countries on the parties involved in transnational human trafficking Provides repatriation assistance to trafficked Ukrainians Cooperates with Interpol, Europol and other international organizations working on human trafficking issues Preventive and training work on anti-trafficking, rehabilitation of trafficking victims
z z
z z
z z
International organizations
z z z
Scientific research organizations
z
Put trafficking issues high on the political agenda Play the role of convener for different stakeholders technical expertise and finance assistance
z
Monitoring of the situation in Ukraine regarding factors encouraging human trafficking
z
z z
z z
Lack of cooperation and coordination with other international and foreign law enforcement agencies Lack of capacity (staff, experts, finance etc.) Lack of knowledge, expertise Lack of capacity (staff, experts, finance etc.) Lack of knowledge, expertise
Lack of finance and low sustainability of efforts Lack of cooperation and coordination between NGOs and between NGOs and State structures Duplication/overlapping of efforts Insufficient support from the Government Lack of interagency cooperation and coordination Duplication/overlapping of efforts Lack of transparency in Government response No system of on-going monitoring Lack of experience/expertise No system of indicators 89
Claim Holders
Role
Capacity Gaps/Constraints
Đ&#x2020;. Disproportionate number of women representatives in decision making bodies Women
z z
z z
Men
z z
To represent key issues in local and national government To vote for positive change in local and national government To lobby for sought-after changes To contribute to community governance
z
To benefit from government that is gender-balanced To assist women in striving for equality in governance
z
z z z z z
z z z
Children
z
To learn from a society that advocates gender equality
z z z z
Đ&#x2020;I. Domestic violence against women Women z To seek protection
z z z z z z z
Community
z
To have/protect safe community
z z z z z
Children in affected families
z z z z z
To be protected To seek protection To have a safe home To pursue education To grow up in loving environment
z z z z z
90
Prevailing stereotypes Lack of political support Lack of legislation on gender equality No quotas Lack of gender culture, human rights awareness Economic situation
Prevailing stereotypes Lack of political support Lack of legislation on gender equality Lack of gender culture, human rights awareness Prevailing stereotypes Lack of legislation on gender equality Lack of gender culture, human rights awareness No gender sensitive education
Lack of information/awareness of services, procedures Prevailing stereotypes Stigmatization Unaccountability of abusers Lack of alternatives for victims Poor system of social support and protection Lack of human rights awareness Lack of information/awareness of services, procedures Prevailing stereotypes Stigmatization Unaccountability of abusers Lack of human rights awareness Lack of information/awareness about services Prevailing stereotypes Unaccountability of abusers Lack of human rights awareness Poor system of social support and protection
Annexes
ІІІ. High number of trafficked persons Victims of trafficking
z
z z z z
To pursue legitimate work opportunities to obtain livable wage To work under safe conditions To maintain personal freedom To have access to healthcare To have food and nourishment
z z z z z z z
Affected communities
z z z
Children
z z z z
To promote healthy living for inhabitants To support family and community well-being To benefit from active population
z
To enjoy education opportunities To be provided with healthcare To have means of nourishment To have contact and support from family
z
z z z
z
Lack of information on how to obtain services Lack of information on migration and trafficking Stigmatization Police corruption Sub-standard living conditions Illegal migration Inefficient administration and justice systems Sub-standard living conditions Illegal migration Lack of information on migration and trafficking Stigmatization Lack of information/awareness of services, procedures Poor system of social support and protection
91
Root cause analysis: Governance and the Rule of Law
Theme Group on Governance and the Rule of Law 92
Annexes
Theme Group on Governance and the Rule of Law 93
Theme Group on Governance and the Rule of Law 94
Annexes
Accountability analysis Low public accountability in government decision making Duty Holders Cabinet of Ministers, Parliament and Presidential Administration
Civil society
Role z
z
Set up legislative and institutional framework for public accountability in government decision-making
z
Empower government to create mechanisms for public accountability
z
Claim Holders Citizens
Role z
Capacity Gaps/Constraints
Participate in policy development process
z
z z
Participate in policy development process Represent citizensâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; interests in relations with government
Civil society undeveloped and unstructured
Capacity Gaps/Constraints z z
Civil society organizations
Lack of democratic traditions, thus, lack of experience and capacity Lack of political will
z z
Lack of knowledge, experience and capacity Disbelief in efficiency of accountability and participation mechanisms Civil society undeveloped and unstructured Lack of knowledge, experience and capacity
Principle of the rule of law is not followed
Duty Holders Parliament
Role z z
Executive bodies and local self-government
z
Capacity Gaps/Constraints
Ensure that proper legislative framework is in place To implement principle of rule of law in legislation
z
Ensure proper administrative procedures of claims examination
z
z
z z
Judiciary/courts system
z
Ensure implementation of the rule of law in citizens claims examination
z z z z
Claim Holders Citizens
Role z
Access to justice
Absence of democratic parliamentary traditions Ineffective lobbying system Lack of professional ethics Lack of procedures Corruption Insufficient funding Low legal culture Insufficient competence of several judges Justice system is not independent
Capacity Gaps/Constraints z z
Low legal culture Capacity gaps in rights protection 95
Deficiencies in human rights protection and human security Duty Holders Parliament
Role z
Set up proper legislation
Capacity Gaps/Constraints z z z
Ombudsman
z z
Cabinet of Ministers, executive bodies and local self-government
z
Monitor and report on human rights situation Support citizens in their rights protection
z
Ensure human rights protection on daily basis
z
z
z z
Claim Holders Citizens
Role z z
Be aware of human rights Be ready to exercise and protect their rights
z z
96
Present interests of citizens in rights protection processes Mobilize citizens to seek rights protection
Lack of capacity Some gaps in legislation
Low legal culture Lack of political will Lack of professional ethics
Capacity Gaps/Constraints z z z
Civil society organizations
Low legal culture Lack of political will Ineffective lobbying system
z z
Low legal culture Capacity gaps in rights protection Disbelief in efficiency of human rights protection system Civil society undeveloped and unstructured Lack of knowledge, experience and capacity
Annexes
Root cause analysis: HIV/AIDS
Theme Group on HIV/AIDS 97
Theme Group on HIV/AIDS 98
Annexes
Theme Group on HIV/AIDS 99
Accountability analysis Duty Holders Central executive bodies
z
z
Governmental commission
z
z
z
Ministry of Health
Capacity deficiency/ limitations
Role
z
Ensuring the implementation of the Government strategy on the prevention of further spread of HIV/AIDS spread until 2011, as well as implementation of the National Programme to prevent HIV infection and provide HIV-infected and AIDS patients with care and treatment through the development of systematized regional and departmental activities Expansion of partnership among governmental, civic and international organizations aiming at increasing the effectiveness of programme implementation
z
Control over the implementation of respective governmental programmes Coordination of the activities of central and local governmental bodies, companies and organizations in programme implementation Informing the Government and international community about the HIV/AIDS situation in the country
z
Ensuring implementation of the National Programme to prevent HIV infection and provide HIV-infected and AIDS patients with care and treatment
z
z
z
z
z
z
Ministry of Finance
100
z
Planning funds for implementation of activities in the framework of the Concept and Programme when developing the State budget and State programme for economic and social development
z
Absence of developed mechanisms for coordination, management and monitoring of programmes at all levels of the executive and among governmental bodies Lack of funding
Lack of technical capacity Low commitment and motivation
Lack of personnel resources at national level Lack of capacity for planning, monitoring and evaluation, especially at regional level Lack of well-trained medical personnel to work with vulnerable groups and HIV-positive (absence of training system on HIV/AIDS) Lack of funding for technical equipment (laboratory equipment, protective gear for medical workers) Lack of State funding opportunities
Annexes
Ministry of Economy and European Integration
z
Planning funds for implementation of activities in the framework of the Concept and Programme when developing the State budget and State programme for economic and social development
z
Lack of State funding opportunities
Ministry of Labour and Social Policy
z
Control over adherence to legislation on HIV/AIDS with the aim of combating all forms of discrimin-ation Raising awareness on HIV/AIDS and ensuring availability of consultation in the workplace
z
Frequent non-correspondence of legislation on HIV/AIDS with that of other branches (the Labour code is still in development) Absence of verified data on the HIV/AIDS situation in the country Absence of competent professionals able to conduct educational and preventive work in the workplace (absence of staff training system) Sceptical attitude of civic society towards the efficacy of prevention activity in the workplace
z
z
z
z
Ministry of Education and Science
z
z z
State Committee on Television and Radio Broadcasting
z
Ensuring access to information and education and creating a knowledge system for HIV/AIDS prevention based on healthy lifestyles information with the aim of forming life skills needed to reduce vulnerability to HIV Provision of means for education Ensuring equal rights and access to education for HIV-positive
z
Raising awareness on HIV/AIDS through coverage of information and educational programmes with the aim of combating all forms of discrimination
z
z z z
z
z z
Ministry of Justice
z
Combating all forms of discrimination towards HIV-infected and AIDS patients as well as vulnerable groups through coordination and control over compliance with HIV/AIDS legislation
z
z
z
Absence of an institutional programme on HIV/AIDS Low level of commitment Lack of qualified personnel Lack of quality educational resources and informational materials Lack of funding for personnel resource and, therefore, few qualified staff (psychologists, social workers) Absence of a state commission on information components of the programme and funding for implementation Lack of capacity and opportunities Absence of information centre and database on HIV/AIDS Frequent non-correspondence of HIV/AIDS legislation with other branches Lack of info about groups vulnerable to HIV (number, socio-demographic structure) Non-developed mechanism for monitoring of legislation implementation 101
Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Internal Affairs
State Department for Penal Correction
z
z
z
Control adherence to HIV/AIDS legislation with the aim of combating all forms of discrimination in the institutions and bodies that report to the Ministry
z
Control adherence to legislation on HIV/AIDS with the aim of combating all forms of discrimination in the institutions and bodies that report to the Ministry
z
Control adherence to legislation on the HIV/AIDS with the aim of combating all forms of discrimination in the institutions and bodies that report to the Ministry, ensure implementation of the National Programme of HIV prevention and provide HIV-infected and AIDS patients with care and treatment
z
z
z
z
z
z
z
Ministry of Family, Children and Youth Affairs
z
z
State Centre for Youth Social Services
z
z
z
102
Implementation of the National Programme on HIV prevention, care and treatment of HIV-positive and people with AIDS within the mandate of the Ministry Organization of events targeted at changing risky behaviour among youth regarding HIV infection and promotion of healthy lifestyles
z
Organization of awareness-raising activities targeted at reducing the spread of risky behaviour and promotion of healthy lifestyles among youth including injecting drug users the training and upgrading of competence levels of social workers on issues of promotion of healthy lifestyles and prevention of HIV/AIDS Provision of psychological, sociopedagogical, legal and sociomedical, informational services for young people injecting drugs
z
z
z
z
Low level of awareness among the military of the HIV/AIDS issue Lack of material provision to protect against HIV including hygiene measures Lack of funds to implement informational and educational programmes Absence of legislative mechanisms for the social protection of police workers in case of HIV infection while on duty Low level of awareness among the military of the HIV/AIDS issue, especially in rural areas Lack of material provision to protect against HIV including hygiene measures Lack of funds to implement informational and educational programmes Low awareness of personnel of existing prevention programmes (prevention of transmission from mother to child, sterilization, substitution therapy, syringe exchange) Limited financial resources and as a result limited access of prisoners to diagnostics and treatment of HIV infection Lack of competent staff to work with youth in risk groups Lack of professional informational and methodological HIV/AIDS prevention materials
Incomplete Social Services Centres for Youth (51% of the needed structure and personnel levels) Absence of funds in local budgets for procurement of medications for â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Doviraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; injecting drug users consultation centres, located in social services centres Absence of programmes and standards for training social workers in HIV/AIDS prevention work
Annexes
International donors (Global Fund, World Bank, USAID, EC, DFID)
z
NGOs
z
z
z
Claim holders Families and children
z
Lack of co-ordination between stakeholders
Incorporation of informational and educational programmes, increasing access by various population groups of the population, especially vulnerable groups, to voluntary counselling and HIV testing and targeted HIV/AIDS prevention programmes Participation in implementation of substitution therapy, peer-to-peer programme and programmes on non–medical home care for people living with HIV/AIDS
z
Absence of legal regulations and procedures that ensure NGO participation in service provision Lack of capacity of NGOs
Role z
z
Local communities
Technical support Financial support
z
z
Capacity deficiency/limitations
Provision of information on HIV/AIDS and teaching life skills in children aiming to promote healthy life styles Provision of support for HIV-positive children to attend school and pre-school establishments
z
Support to community members
z
z
z
Vulnerable groups: – homeless and uncaredfor children; – injecting drug users; – commercial sex-workers (female and male); – STI and TB patients; – men who have sex with men; – prisoners, – people in uniform, – refugees and illegal immigrants
z
Formation of life skills and adherence to healthy lifestyles and safe behaviour through access to information on HIV/AIDS prevention
z z
Lack of parental awareness of HIV/AIDS prevention Low level of parental awareness about their rights and obligations of state bodies to create the conditions for HIV-positive children to attend schools and pre-school establishments Low level of community awareness on HIV/AIDS, rights of community members and duties of state bodies Low level of community capacity and lack of connection with NGOs dealing with HIV/AIDS Lack of access to information and services Low motivation to practise healthy lifestyles
103
Root cause analysis: Environment
Theme Group on Environment 104
Annexes
Theme Group on Environment 105
Accountability Analysis Duty Holders Ministry of Environmental Protection
Role z
z
z
z
Directly responsible for the implementation of state policy in regard to environmental protection, including development of national environmental policies, development and enforcement of environmental legislation Responsible for the implementation of international environmental agreements and for ensuring harmonization of national policies with relevant international laws in the environmental field Regional offices of the Ministry are responsible for implementation of national environmental policies in the regions Responsible for enforcement of environmental law at the national, regional and local levels through State Environmental Inspectorate
State Committee on Natural Resources
z
State Committee on Forestry
z
Responsible for the implementation of state policy on forestry
State Committee on Water Management
z
Responsible for the implementation of state policy on water resources
State Committee on Land Resources
z
Responsible for the implementation of state policy on land resources
Ministry of Economy (Department for Sustainable Development)
z
Responsible for the development and implementation of state economic policy
Ministry of Agricultural Policy
z
Responsible for the development and implementation of state agricultural policy
Ministry of Fuel and Energy
z
Responsible for the development and implementation of state policy on the energy sector
Ministry of Transport and Communications
z
Responsible for the development and implementation of state policy on transport and communications
Ministry of Industrial Policy
z
Ministry of Education and Science
z
Responsible for the development and implementation of state policy on industrial development Responsible for the development and implementation of state policy on education and science
106
Responsible for the implementation of state policy on natural resources
z
z
z
z
z
z
Capacity Gaps/Constraints Lack of awareness among the Ministries and other State bodies of the international conventions and of the opportunities they provide, as well as the steps required of Ukraine to fulfill its commitments Weak institutional arrangements for the implementation of the Conventions and national policies; poor financing and a lack of appropriate human resources in governmental institutions Lack of consistency and sufficient sharing of information between key stakeholders Low commitment to follow identified priorities; lack of strong policy framework and political commitment to its implementation The need for integration of international trends into national and local environmental action plans.The global environment is often seen as remote and separate from the local environment although the two are inextricably linked. Action occurs at the local level, which contributes to the achievement of global environmental objectives. Poor ability of the government to carry out strategic planning. This is primarily related to two factors: firstly, the lack of up-to-date social, economic and environmental data to support the strategic planning process; and secondly, the lack of communication and coherent regulations
Annexes
National Academy of Sciences
z
Plays an important intellectual role in carrying out specific analytical and research projects
Public Council of NGOs (Council of 23 national NGOs registered by the Ministry of Justice, the main partner of the Ministry of Environmental Protection among the NGO community)
z
Their role is to improve the Ministry’s coordination with civil society and assis the government in meeting its environ] mental management objectives. Although viewed as independent, the Council of NGOs has limited influence on policymaking processes due to the lack of appropriate legislative frameworks and their weak capacity overall
Claim Holders Communities
establishing the framework for preparing and implementing integrated sustainable planning
Capacity Gaps/Constraints
Role z
z
Demand rights on health, life, safety environment and access to information and courts on the above issues Participate in the implementation of SD principles
z z
z z
NGOs
z
z z
Business
z z
Demand rights on health, life, safety environment and access to information and courts on the above issues Participate in the implementation of the SD principles Organize public awareness campaigns on environmental issues and promote SD principles
z
Introduction of clean technologies and environmentally friendly production Creation of new jobs
z
z
z z
z
z z
Lack of awareness of environmental issues Lack of knowledge of environmentally sound lifestyle Fragmentation of society and lack of commitment Legal and rights illiteracy Lack of awareness of environmental issues Lack of knowledge of environmentally sound lifestyle Passive and ‘donor oriented’ approach Unsustainability due to lack of financial stability Lack of awareness of environmental issues Lack of knowledge of environmentally sound lifestyle Lack of commitment Legal and rights illiteracy
107
108
Underlying cause 3
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
Mother and child health
Adolescent health
lack of management skills and capacities N/A
suppressed fertility
N/A
lack of disease and injury prevention
TB
Health
lack of lack of health accessibility of promotion health care
N/A
N/A
Small and medium size enterprises
HEALTH
N/A
poor and centralized governance
Root cause 2
poor governance
underdevelslow reforms in oped financial education sector
N/A
slow public sector reform/ structural reform
Root cause1
Inadequate social assistance
limited governance capacity at local level
Underlying cause 4
Ineffective use of public resources, unfair competitions
corruption and poor social abuse of facilities power rigid work high payroll training taxes programmes
Underlying cause 2
Poverty in Ukraine
POVERTY
Underlying cause 1
Đ&#x2020;. Common Underlying and Root Causes MATRIX
poor public governance
Root cause 4
unfair financing impoverishment
concentration of control by privileged groups
ineffective use of budgetary resources
Root cause 3
5.2. CCA PROBLEM TREE MATRIX
low wages
Disproportionate lack of number participatory of women in approach decision-making bodies
N/A
lack of citizen knowledge and experience in participatory approaches
Democratization and human rights
Low accountability to public in government decision-making
absence of training to empower NGOs, CSOs and civil society for participation
GOOD GOVERNANCE and the RULE of LAW
lack of appropriate training programmes
limited organizational resources, lack problems of transparency
Domestic violence
GENDER
Equal access to quality education
EDUCATION
gender stereotypes
lack of awareness of human rights and right to education
low capacity of civil service and resistance to change
lack of partnerships between Government and CSOs
non-compliance prevalence of with men in international decision-making commitments
lack of competence of law enforcement
poor skills of administrative staff, low incentives for teachers
civic society is not included in participatory activities
N/A
no system supporting women engaging in politics
lack of gender education and culture
economic situation
lack of culture of democratic governance within society
low capacity of governance institutions
inefficient lack of human rights awareness system of social care and gender
lack of awareness/ information
grey economy, low political will lack of lack of to ensure equal democratic access tradition, public resources demand
gender discrimination
Annexes
109
110
lack of financial resources for people to ensure protection of rights/execution of the court decision/ court funding
N/A
Minorities in Ukraine
Most prevalent lack of healthy among younger lifestyle education people
HIV/AIDS
lack of adequate work opportunities
Human trafficking
duality of interpretation of certain laws and legislative acts
low effectiveness of the legislative bodies in ensuring peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rights and liberties of people
people donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t believe in real possibility of protecting their rights
lack of coordination and involvement of partners
lack of capacity lack of gender of judges and sensitive prosecutors education
lack of disintegration comprehensive of social fabric prevention approach (through involvement of mass media, private sector, CS )
lack of cooperation among duty bearers
No control ensuring that the justice system is unbiased and objective
no mechanisms incompetence of accountability of those drafting laws and legal of officials acts
mechanisms of monitoring the implementation of rights are unclear
The principle of no mechanisms absence of rule of law is not of accountability professional followed of officials ethics, State officials being corrupted
Deficiencies in human rights protection and human security
low leadership managerial capacity
N/A
low accountability
slow transition/ deficient monopolies of governance market systems economy
lack of legal education, literature, low access to electronic information, lack of human rights awareness
disbalance between recognized political priorities and budget allocation for HIV/AIDS
poverty
misallocation of gender public funds/ inequalities corruption
ineffective low competence lack of funding implementation of judges of their responsibilities by bodies of self-government and community interests
lack of funds in lack of low compelegislative basis tence of judges the state budget for ensuring implementation of court decisions
Land degradation
Clean drinking water
ENVIRONMENT
Increasing impact of HIV/AIDS on society
Mother to child transmission
The stigma of HIV/AIDS
lack of proper land management
N/A
low commitment to implementation of law/ regulations ( re. drugs)
N/A
lack of awareness on the rights of PLHA
lack of education on HIV/AIDS and healthy lifestyles
increasing agricultural pressure
reclamation of land with low productive potential for crop production without adequate management
lack of coordination and involvement of partners
lack of funding
separatism towards marginalized groups (lack of solidarity, tolerance)
lack of planting decrease in land shelterbelts and conservation and terracing slopes restoration activities increasing industrial neglect of pressure on ecologically sound land proportion between areas of arable lands, pastures and change of ownership
inadequate health care system
low accountability
lack of capacity lack of funding in implementation of HR regulations and laws
poverty
poverty lack of understanding of Sustainable Development â&#x20AC;&#x201C; primacy of short-term economic effect in the long-term
N/A
N/A
poverty
change of ownership
disbalance between recognized political priorities and budget allocation for HIV/AIDS
disbalance between recognized political priorities and budget allocation for HIV/AIDS
weak national management and control mechanisms
Annexes
111
112
lack of strategic fragmentation vision and of habitats systematic approach
N/A
N/A: These problem trees are not available
Biodiversity
Energy lack of poverty understanding of Sustainable Developmentâ&#x20AC;&#x201C; preference of habitat pressure short-term over long-term economic benefits
development of agricultural infrastructure pressure commercial forestry
N/A
imbalanced economic development in different regions
weak national management and control mechanism
z z
z
z z z
z z z z z z
z z z
z z z z z z z z
z z
z z
ineffective use of public resources z corruption and abuse of power z ineffective use of budgetary resources z low wages z high payroll taxes z lack of funding z underdeveloped financial sector z disbalance between recognized political z priorities and budget allocation for z HIV/AIDS z lack of adequate work opportunities misallocation of public funds/corruption z slow transition/monopolies of market economy z lack of funds in the state budget economic situation z poverty grey economy, lack of resources z unfair financing concentration of control by privileged z groups unfair competition z limited resources, lack of transparency lack of financial resources for people to z ensure protection of their rights/ execution of court decisions/ court z funding imbalanced economic development in z different regions z rigid labour training programmes lack of understanding of Sustainable z Development – preference of short-term over long-term economic benefits z
Economic Equity limited governance capacities at local level z poor and centralized governance poor governance z no mechanisms of accountability of officials z deficient governance systems low accountability z poor public governance z lack of democratic tradition, public demand lack of participatory approach z lack of citizen knowledge and experience of participatory approaches absence of training to empower NGOs, CSOs z and Civil Society for participation civic society is not included in participatory z activities lack of culture of democratic governance z within society lack of capacity in implementation of HR z regulations and laws people don’t believe in real possibility of protecting their rights z lack of legislative basis for ensuring implementation of court decisions duality of interpretation of certain laws and legislative acts no system supporting women engaging in z politics low political will to ensure equal access z non-compliance with international commitments low commitment to implementation of z laws/regulations ( re. drugs) lack of capacity of judges and prosecutors z low competence of judges incompetence of those drafting laws and legal z acts low capacity of governance institutions z lack of competence of law enforcement
Democratic Governance and the Rule of Law
ІІ. Consolidated Common Underlying and Root Causes
lack of skills and capacities z for management organizational problems unaccessibility of health z care lack of health promotion lack of disease and injury z prevention z poor skills of administrative staff, low incentives of teachers z lack of appropriate training programmes z low capacity of civil service and resistance to change low leadership managerial capacity z lack of education in HIV/AIDS and healthy lifestyles lack of comprehensive prevention approach (through involvement of mass media, private z sector, CS ) lack of proper land z management z weak national management and control mechanisms inefficient system of social z care slow public sector z reform/structural reform deteriorated social facilities insufficient health care system
Social Equity
z z z
lack of awareness on z human rights and z right to education z lack of gender z education and culture z gender stereotypes lack of human rights z awareness and gender z gender discrimination people don’t believe in real possibility of protecting their z rights lack of legal z education, literature, low access to electronic z information, lack of human rights z awareness lack of gender sensitive education z gender inequalities separatism towards marginalized groups (lack of solidarity, z tolerance) z lack of awareness/ information z lack of awareness on z the rights of PLHA
Human Rights
slow reforms in education suppressed fertility impoverishment prevalence of men in decision-making lack of cooperation among duty bearers disintegration of social fabric reclamation of land with low productive potential for crop production without adequate management increasing agricultural pressure lack of planting shelterbelts and terracing slopes increasing industrial pressure on land decrease in land conservation and restoration activities neglect of ecologically sound proportion between areas of arable lands, pastures and change of ownership lack of strategic vision and systematic approach fragmentation of habitats development of infrastructure agricultural pressure commercial forestry habitat pressure
Others
Annexes
113
5.3. ADAPTING THE MDGS TO THE UKRAINIAN CONTEXT110 Ukraine is committed to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). A national debate was held with experts from the Government and Ukrainian academia in cooperation with representatives of UNDP, the World Bank, and donor agencies. The purpose of the debate was to adjust the broad MDG goals to Ukrainian reality; to develop monitoring indicators relevant to Ukraine’s situation; and to prepare recommendations that might assist the Ukrainian Government in achieving progress in social development. Due to Ukraine’s relatively high level of social development, the country’s main concern is to preserve its achievements and safeguard against the risk of further social and environmental degradation under the pressures of economic and social transition. The original contents of Goal 1 relate to eradication of extreme poverty and hunger and are incommensurate with the situation in Ukraine, as hunger is not a case for concern here. Although poverty is a major problem in Ukraine, it has not assumed extreme dimensions. Extreme poverty measured using the absolute poverty line of USD 1 per person per day (using the PPP exchange rate) does not exist in Ukraine (0.05 per cent in 2000). The absolute poverty line of USD 4.3 and the national relative poverty line were used to adequately capture the serious poverty problem in Ukraine. Given the weight of the problem, an ambitious target was proposed, namely to halve the proportion of the population living below the USD 4.3 poverty line by 2015. Goal 2 relates to access to primary education. In Ukraine access not only to primary but also to general secondary education is virtually universal, consequently the ultimate goal was defined as raising the quality of education as a whole, which will be measured through a national assessment system, to be introduced. Goal 3 originally relates to gender disparities in primary and secondary education. Although the problem of gender inequality exists in Ukraine, it has little influence on access to education. However, some gender inequalities in Ukraine are found in the labour market in terms of employee compensation and representation in the Parliament, as well as among senior civil servants. Thus, the Ukrainian targets were developed to address these specific issues. Although Ukraine has experienced a slight decline in child and maternal mortality, the original Goals 4 and 5 were considered relevant to Ukraine. Thus, a 17 per cent reduction target in both child mortality in under-fives and maternal mortality rates was set, to be achieved during the 2001-2015 period. In addition to the internationally accepted Millennium Development Goals, Ukraine also needs to address high death rates among the working age population, in particular males. This would have the highest impact on improving overall life expectancy. Ukraine faces a rapid explosion of tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. The Ukrainian target, Goal 6, is to decrease the TB and HIV/AIDS prevalence rates. Goal 7,“Ensure Environmental Sustainability,” and its three targets are relevant to Ukraine. (These include: Target 9: integrate environment into policy and reverse loss of resources; Target 10: halve by 2015 the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water; Target 11: by 2020, achieve a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers). In relation to these, there is an urgent need to integrate environmental considerations in the industrial, energy, and agricultural sectors, especially so as to improve energy efficiency. Both quality (safety) and quantity (access/availability) of drinking water, deterioration of municipal infrastructure, and lack of sanitation facilities are burning issues in many regions of the country, especially in rural areas. Furthermore the institutional capacity to ensure proper integration of environmental sustainability into mainstream decision-making needs substantial strengthening. Finally, the goal also requires improvements in the quality of the urban environment and addressing key concerns relating to forestry and biodiversity conservation. At the very least these will require better monitoring of the situation with respect to these indicators. The year 2001 was chosen as the reference point for the future, and the 1999-2001 period was subject for analysis to identify the trends for indicators. The goals set for the future are to be achieved over ten to fifteen years. Estimation of the future value of indicators was based on an analysis of trends recorded so far, as well as on international comparisons. It was agreed that the level of indicators would provide a benchmark for the Government and international institutions for monitoring the country’s development in identified fields.
110 World
114
Bank Economic Studies - Ukraine, 2000-2003
Annexes
5.4. POVERTY IN UKRAINE â&#x20AC;&#x201C; SLOW BUT ENCOURAGING IMPROVEMENTS111 The World Bank poverty line for Ukraine in the first three quarters of 2002, the latest data available as of July 2003, equaled 2,423 UAH annually, in terms of adult equivalent expenditure, for a headcount poverty rate of 25.6 percent. The poverty measure is based on 75 percent of median expenditures in 1999, scaled for family composition, and adjusted for price inflation, to abstract from changes in inequality. Ukraine prefers a relative rather than an absolute measure of poverty, similar to the measurement choices made by EU countries. Based on the data for the first three-quarters of the 1999-2002 period, the poverty rate in Ukraine declined substantially (between 2001 and 2002 by 6.0 percentage points), in an apparently lagged response to strong economic growth. The poverty rate declined continuously in the city of Kyiv between 1999 and 2002 (three quarter rates), falling to a very low 7.7 percent. By contrast, the poverty rate in rural areas, while below the 2002 thirdquarter peak, was still higher than that for the first three quarters of 1999, immediately after the Russian crisis. These findings suggest that the response to growth in rural areas is the weakest, with persistent poverty remaining despite gains elsewhere. Poverty rates based on alternative CPI measures also tended to peak in 2001 and fall in 2002. The initial stickiness in the poverty rate in the face of economic growth in Ukraine was similar to other transition economies including Albania, Armenia, and Poland. One possible explanation for the fall in the reduction of the poverty rate is that initial growth was centered in low value-added sectors. Agricultural growth could also have bypassed income-generating employment, with gains going primarily to administrators. This could be the reason that rural poverty is still relatively high. Another hypothesis explaining the lag is that the economy became more formalized between 1999 and 2001, and the formalization of wages might not have been translated into gains in consumption if equivalent informal income received previously went unreported. Who are the poor? In 2001 poverty rates were higher among the unemployed, pensioners over 85, and social pensioners; 2001 poverty rates were above 40 percent for each. Poverty rates were higher among workers in the informal sector and rose to more than 40 percent for families with children whose primary activity was working on their own land. However, the bulk of impoverished households were families with children and the elderly, even if the poverty rates of these groups were not much higher than the poverty rate overall. 51 percent of households in poverty included children and another 37 percent included persons of pensionable age. These vulnerable households should be a top priority for government poverty reduction policies.
5.5. UKRAINE IS STATE PARTY TO THE KEY INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS TREATIES z z z z z z z
The International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and its Optional Protocol on the right to individual communications; The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR); The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD); The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT); The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW); The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) The Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees
The other major international human rights instruments of the United Nations that have not yet been ratified by Ukraine is the International Convention on the Protection of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (MWC), the Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, and the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. In addition to these human rights treaties, in 1997 Ukraine ratified the European Convention on Human Rights and by becoming a Party to this treaty undertakes to secure these rights and freedoms to everyone within its jurisdiction. Ukraine has also accepted the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
111 World
Bank Economic Studies, Ukraine, 2000-2003
115
5.6. UKRAINE IS STATE PARTY TO THE KEY INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS RELATED TO CHILD LABOUR z z z z z
z
The ILO Convention 138 on the Minimum Age for Employment; The ILO Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour; The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC); The Council of Europe Recommendation 16 of 2001 on the Protection of Children Against Sexual Exploitation; The United Nations Convention on Transnational Organized Crime. In 2001, Ukraine also signed but has not yet ratified its Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children. The CRC’s Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography
5.7. SELECTED RECOMMENDATIONS BY UN TREATY BODIES RELATING TO WOMEN AND CHILDREN In response to the issue of child trafficking, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights recommended the State of Ukraine to strengthen its efforts to combat the trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of women and children by: z
Pursuing the enforcement of criminal laws in this regard; Ensuring that victims are not penalized and are provided with rehabilitation; z Ensuring that the National Coordination Council Against Trafficking is adequately resourced and staffed; and, z Reinforcing Ukraine’s cooperation with international and regional organizations, as well as on a bilateral basis.112 z
Pursuant to the State party report submitted by Ukraine to the Committee on the Rights of the Child issued a number of recommendations in light of Article 18 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which provides that: both parents have common responsibilities for the upbringing and development of the child, that the best intserests of the child will be their basic concern, and that the State shall render appropriate assistance to parents or legal guardians in the performance of their child-rearing responsibilities, as well as ensure the development of institutions, facilities and services for the care of children. Accordingly, the Committee recommended that the State should: z
Strengthen its efforts to protect children’s rights to a secure family environment and ensure through a comprehensive new Children’s Act effective protection of children and access for all children and parents in need of financial assistance; z Restructure the system of social security benefits; z Improve social assistance and support to families through advice and education to promote positive child-parent relationships. Furthermore, in light of Article 20 of the CRC, which provides that a child temporarily or permanently deprived of his or her family environment, or in whose own best interests cannot be allowed to remain in that environment, shall be entitled to special protection and assistance provided by the State, the Committee recommended that the State: z z z z z z 112 The
Consider establishing or strengthening at the national, regional and local levels the mechanisms in charge of alternative care within the system of social welfare; Take effective measures, including the development of strategies and awareness-raising activities, to prevent and reduce the abandonment of children; Take effective measures to increase and strengthen foster care, family-type foster homes and other family-based alternative care and decrease institutional care as a form of alternative care; Place children in institutions only as a measure of last resort and as a temporary measure; Take all necessary measures to improve conditions in institutions in accordance with Article 3 of the CRC regarding the best interests of the child; Provide support and training for personnel in institutions;
Concluding Observations and Recommendations of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (E/C.12/1/Add.65, 2001)
116
Annexes
z
Continue to monitor standards of care and establish regular periodic review of placement; z Provide adequate follow-up and reintegration support and services for children who leave institutional care. In regard to child labour, the Committee recommended that the State undertake a national survey on the causes and extent of child labour with a view to adopting and implementing a national plan of action to prevent and combat child labour; continue efforts to protect all children from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s education, or to be harmful to the childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s health or physical, mental or social development.113 The Committee further recommended that the State party: a) take action to combat trafficking, child prostitution and other forms of sexual exploitation of children; b) implement the national plan of action against sexual and commercial exploitation of children, taking into account the Declaration and Agenda for Action and the Global Commitment adopted at the 1996 and 2001 World Congresses against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children; c) continue and strengthen its efforts to combat trafficking of women and children, including, through the new National Plan of Action to prevent trafficking in women and children and ensure that this programme is provided with sufficient resources to guarantee its effective implementation; d) establish recovery and social reintegration programmes for child victims; e) ratify the 2000 Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.114 The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women recommended the formulation of a comprehensive strategy to combat trafficking in women and girls, including within the territory of the State party, which should include the prosecution and punishment of offenders and increased international, regional and bilateral cooperation with other countries of origin, transit and destination of trafficked women and girls. It called on the State party to ensure that trafficked women and girls have the support they need so that they can provide testimony against their traffickers. It further urged that training of border police and law enforcement officials provide them with the requisite skills to recognize and provides support to victims of trafficking.
113
Concluding Observations and Recommendations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC/C/15/ Add. 191, 2002) 114 Ibid.
117
5.8. LIST OF MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS All 191 UN Member States have pledged to achieve these goals by 2015 1.
Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger z z
2.
Achieve universal primary education z
3.
z
z z
Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes; reverse loss of environmental resources Reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water Achieve significant improvement in lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers, by 2020
Develop a global partnership for development z
z
z z z z z
118
Halt and begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS Halt and begin to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases
Ensure environmental sustainability z
8.
Reduce by three quarters the maternal mortality ratio
Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases z
7.
Reduce by two thirds the mortality rate among children under five
Improve maternal health z
6.
Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education preferably by 2005, and at all levels by 2015
Reduce child mortality z
5.
Ensure that all boys and girls complete a full course of primary schooling
Promote gender equality and empower women z
4.
Reduce by half the proportion of people living on less than a dollar a day Reduce by half the proportion of people who suffer from hunger
Develop further an open trading and financial system that is rule-based, predictable and non-discriminatory. Includes a commitment to good governance, development and poverty reduction-nationally and internationally Address the least developed countries' special needs. This includes tariff- and quota-free access for their exports; enhanced debt relief for heavily indebted poor countries; cancellation of official bilateral debt; and more generous official development assistance for countries committed to poverty reduction Address the special needs of landlocked and small island developing States Deal comprehensively with developing countries' debt problems through national and international measures to make debt sustainable in the long term In cooperation with the developing countries, develop decent and productive work for youth In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable essential drugs in developing countries In cooperation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologiesespecially information and communications technologies
Annexes
5.9. LIST OF THE UN COUNTRY TEAM â&#x20AC;&#x201C; CCA/UNDAF STEERING COMMITTEE Chairperson: Jeremy Hartley
UN Resident Coordinator a.i115 UNICEF Representative
UNCT representatives and heads of agencies/offices: Alexander Lastovetsky
Assistant Agency Officer
IAEA
Vasyl Kostrytsya
National Correspondent
ILO
Elena Voloshina
Head of IFC Operations in Ukraine
IFC
Lorenzo Figliuoli
Senior Resident Representative
IMF
Jeffrey Labovitz
Chief of Mission
IOM
Arkadiusz Majszyk
Country Coordinator a.i
UNAIDS
Kalman Mizsei116
Regional Director UNDP RBEC
UNDP
Assistant UN Secretary-General Assistant UNDP Administrator Manoj Basnyat
Resident Representative a.i.
UNDP
Deputy Resident Representative Boris Vornik
Assistant Representative
UNFPA
Guy Ouellet
Representative
UNHCR
Yuriy Subbotin
Liaison Officer
WHO
Luca Barbone
Chief of Mission
WB
115
New Resident Coordinator, Mr. Francis O'Donnell, assumed his responsibilities for the CCA and UNDAF processes as of 4 October 2004. 116 Present during the initial stages of the CCA process as Officer in Charge
119
5.10. LIST OF CORE PARTICIPANTS IN CCA THEME GROUPS Ministry of Health Ministry of Justice Ministry of Interior Ministry of Education Ministry of Environment Ministry of Economy and European Integration Ministry of Family, Children and Youth Affairs Ministry of Labour and Social Policy of Ukraine Presidential Administration Offices Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers Committee of Verkhovna Rada of State Development State Committee on Migration of Ukraine State Department of Ukraine on Penal Execution Accounting Chamber Verkhovna Rada administration State Institute of Family and Youth State Statistics Committee National Academy of Public Administration Centre for Democracy Development International Centre for Strategic Studies Ombudsperson Office Ukrainian Centre for Prevention and Combating HIV/AIDS International HIV/AIDS Alliance Network of People Living With HIV/AIDS British Council Centre for Social Expertise Institute of Sociology, National Academy of Science of Ukraine
120
Annexes
5.11. LIST OF SOURCES Building Local Self-Reliance in Chornobyl-Affected Areas of Ukraine in 2003, a report by UNDP Ukraine 2004 Children and Young People Affected by HIV/AIDS in Ukraine, thematic study prepared by Ukrainian AIDS Centre, Ministry of Health of Ukraine and UNICEF Ukraine, 2001 Concluding Observations and Recommendations of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights issued to Ukraine Concluding Observations and Recommendations of the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women issued to Ukraine Concluding Observations and Recommendations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination issued to Ukraine Concluding Observations and Recommendations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child issued to Ukraine Concluding Observations and Recommendations of the Human Rights Committee issued to Ukraine Convention on the Rights of the Child Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women Country Assistance Strategy for Ukraine, a document of the World Bank, 29 September 2003 Environment Strategic Framework, produced by UNDP Ukraine, 2003 Gender Issues in Ukraine – Challenges and Opportunities, published by UNDP Ukraine and Sida, 2003 Health Care System in Transition, European Observatory on Health Care Systems, June 2004 Human Consequences of the Chornobyl Nuclear Accident – A Strategy for Recovery, a report commissioned by UNDP and UNICEF with support of UN-OCHA and WHO, 2002 Human Rights Watch World Report 2003: Europe and Central Asia International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Millennium Declaration Millennium Goals Ukraine, published by the Ministry of Economic and European Integration of Ukraine, 2003 Ministry of Health of Ukraine Maps, 2003 State Statistics Committee of Ukraine, MICS, 2000, Household Survey Organization of Mother to Child Transmission Prevention System in Ukraine – an overview prepared by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, September 2003 Poverty Reduction for Prosperity – Strategic Framework, published by UNDP Ukraine 2003 Reform Strategy for Education in Ukraine, published by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, 2003 Report of Amnesty International – European Region, 2004 Situation Analysis conducted by the United Nations Population Fund and the Ministry of Health of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Family Planning Association on Reproductive and Sexual Health of Adolescents in Ukraine, 2004 Situation Analysis on the State of Children and Women in Ukraine, produced by the Centre for Social Expert Examination and Forecasts and commissioned by UNICEF Ukraine, 2001 State Statistics Committee of Ukraine, MICS, 2000, Household Survey Thematic Study on Causes of Institutionalization and Future Prospects of Young People Leaving Public Care, 2001 121
Trafficking in Children for Labour and Sexual Exploitation in Ukraine, Results of a Rapid Assessment Survey, produced by the Centre of Social Expertise of the Institute of Sociology, National Academy of Sciences, Ukraine and the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) of the ILO, 2004 Ukraine at a Glance, document of the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour of the ILO, June 2004 Ukraine at the Threshold of the 10th Anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development, published by the Ministry of Health in Ukraine â&#x20AC;&#x201C; State Statistics Committee of Ukraine and the United Nations Population Fund, 2003 Ukraine and HIV/AIDS: Time to Act, Ukraine Human Development Report, Special Edition 2003, published by UNDP Ukraine Ukraine â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Building Foundations for Sustainable Growth, A Country Economic Memorandum: Volume 1, World Bank Study, Draft as of April 2004 The Power of Participation, Ukraine Human Development Report 2001, published by UNDP Ukraine Decentralization, Ukraine Human Development Report 2003, published by UNDP Ukraine The Social and Economic Impact of HIV and AIDS in Ukraine: New Prognoses, Ukrainian Institute of Social Research, British Council, DFID, 2003 UNAIDS Global Report 2004 UN Common Understanding on the Human Rights-Based Approach to Development, 7 May 2003 World Bank Economic Studies Ukraine, 2000-2003
122
Annexes
5.12. LIST OF ACRONYMS CCA
Common Country Assessment
CCPR
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
CESCR
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
CEDAW
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
CERD
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
CIS
Commonwealth of Independent States
CRC
Convention on the Rights of the Child
CSO
civil society organization
EU
European Union
GDP
gross domestic product
HDI
Human Development Index
HIV/AIDS
human immunodeficiency virus / acquired immune deficiency syndrome
IOM
International Organization for Migration
ILO
International Labour Organization
MDGs
Millennium Development Goals
NGO
non-governmental organization
NHDR
National Human Development Report
PPP
Purchasing Power Parity
SME
Small and Medium Size Enterprises
STI
Sexually Transmitted Infections
TB
Tuberculosis
UAH
Ukrainian Hryvna
UDHR
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
UN
United Nations
UNAIDS
Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS
UNCT
United Nations Country Team
UNDAF
United Nations Development Assistance Framework
UNDP
United Nations Development Programme
UNFPA
United Nations Population Fund
UNHCR
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
UNICEF
United Nations Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Fund
WHO
World Health Organization
WTO
World Trade Organization
123
Common Country Assessment for Ukraine Š United Nations in Ukraine, 2004 No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior permission of the United Nations Country Team in Ukraine
Layout Navchalna Knyha, Registration Number DK â&#x201E;&#x2013;386 of 28.03.2001 at State Registry of Publishers