THE IMPERATIVE OF INSTITUTING A MILITARY OMBUDSMAN AND ITS POTENTIAL FRAMEWORKS

Abstract

The Secretariat of the Human Rights Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine includes the Department for Monitoring the Observance of Rights in the Defense Sector and the Rights of Veterans and Servicemen, Prisoners of War and Their Family Members. The Department’s main task is to ensure that the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Observance of the Constitutional Rights and Freedoms of Servicemen exercises his or her powers. During 2022, the Human Rights Commissioner recorded a more than twenty-fold increase in appeals by servicemen regarding the violation of their rights compared to the previous year. In addition, the range of issues on which servicemen and their family members are appealing has expanded. In 2020–2021, the majority of appeals and complaints were related to military service conditions, timely payments, including adequate financial support for the families of fallen servicemen, pension recalculations, and non-compliance by the Pension Fund of Ukraine and other state bodies with court decisions restoring the rights of military personnel, military pensioners and members of their families. During 2022–2023, appeals also included the search for missing persons and the return of captives. The latter account for 72 % of all appeals. At the same time, the percentage of responses to these appeals is extremely low. The published data indicate that the Department for Monitoring the Observance of Rights in the Defense Sector and the Rights of Veterans and Servicemen, Prisoners of War and Their Family Members might not fully cover social and legal protection of these groups. The low response rate compared to the volume of complaints about human rights violations in the security and defense sector may be due to the lack of funding and the lack of qualified specialists. Given the ongoing war between the Russian Federation and Ukraine, the number of appeals will increase, and the volume of unresolved issues will most likely accumulate. Therefore, taking current realities into account, the increase in the number of servicemen and other defense sector employees, it is advisable to follow best practices worldwide and separate the institute of the military ombudsman from the institute of the Parliamentary Human Rights Commissioner. This can be done by introducing an appropriate legislative act and establishing an independent structure with expanded powers regarding veterans, prisoners of war and civilian hostages with its own financing and staff.