European support for effective human rights monitoring in Eastern Ukraine

The goal of this project is to systematically and continuously document human rights violations and international humanitarian law breaches in the eastern Ukraine. Through the Europe-encompassing cooperation between human rights organizations, the public will be able to access reliable and complete information about the situation in the Ukrainian conflict region.

Work on this project is based on the belief that through registration of human rights violations it is possible to limit the use of violence and demonstrate to criminals that their crimes will not go unpunished. Thus, the European monitoring of human rights violations in the Eastern Ukraine is a unique contribution to the promotion of peace and the possible reconciliation between the conflicting parties in the future.

The project is supervised by the Ukrainian partner organizations Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group and VOSTOK SOS, in collaboration with DRA in Berlin, together with the European Exchange. Among other partners there are DRA St.Petersburg and the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights in Warsaw.

The main activities scheduled within this project are:

• Three international monitoring mission in the Eastern Ukraine
• Workshops for of human rights violations in Ukraine
• Work of associations with international partners
• Range of background support events in Berlin and other capitals of EU member states

The website page will reflect the project progress and will serve as a guide for anyone who wants to obtain information about the human rights situation in the Donbas; the information on the local organizations working with these issues can be found in the existing reports. In addition, video materials might help to clarify the specificity of the situation and promote the work of human rights organizations in the East of Ukraine.