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Ukraine - Second periodic reports of States parties due in 1998: Addendum [2001] UNCRCSPR 10; CRC/C/70/Add.11 (18 May 2001)
UNITED NATIONS
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CRC
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Convention on the Rights of the Child
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Distr. GENERAL
CRC/C/70/Add.11 18 May
2001
Original: ENGLISH
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COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES
UNDER
ARTICLE 44 OF THE CONVENTION
Second periodic reports of States parties due in 1998
UKRAINE*
[Original:
RUSSIAN]
[12 August 1999]
*
For the initial report submitted by the Government of Ukraine, see document
CRC/C/8/Add.10/Rev.1; for its consideration by the Committee,
see documents
CRC/C/SR.239242 and for the concluding observations see document
CRC/C/15/Add.42.
GE.02-41944 (E) 170702
CONTENTS
Paragraphs Page
Basic Data and
characteristics 1 - 37 6
I. GENERAL MEASURES OF
IMPLEMENTATION
(arts. 4; 42; and 44, para. 6) 38 -
97 10
II. DEFINITION OF THE CHILD (art. 1) 98 -
99 18
III. GENERAL PRINCIPLES 100 -
206 21
A. Non-discrimination (art. 2) 100 - 131 21
B. Best
interests of the child (art. 3) 132 - 158 25
C. The right to life,
survival and development
(art. 6) 159 - 184 28
D. Respect for
the views of the child (art. 12) 185 - 206 32
IV. CIVIL RIGHTS AND
FREEDOMS
(arts. 7; 8; 13-17; and 37 (a)) 207 - 292 34
A. Name
and nationality (art. 7) 209 - 235 35
B. Preservation of identity
(art. 8) 236 - 240 38
C. Freedom of expression (art. 13) 241 -
243 38
D. Freedom of thought, conscience and religion
(art. 14)
244 - 254 38
E. Freedom of association and peaceful
assembly
(art. 15) 255 - 257 40
F. Protection of privacy (art.
16) 258 - 264 40
G. Access to appropriate information (art. 17) 265
- 281 41
H. The right not to be subjected to torture or
other
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment
or punishment (art. 37 (a)) 282 -
292 43
CONTENTS (continued)
Paragraphs Page
V. FAMILY ENVIRONMENT
AND ALTERNATIVE
CARE (arts. 5; 18, paras. 1-2; 9-11; 19-21; 25;
27,
para. 4; and 39) 293 - 449 44
A. Parental guidance (art. 5) 293 -
302 44
B. Parental responsibilities (art. 18, paras. 1-2) 303 -
321 46
C. Separation from parents (art. 9) 322
-348 48
D. Family reunification (art. 10) 349 -
363 51
E. Illicit transfer and non-return (art. 11) 364 -
369 53
F. Recovery of maintenance for the child
(art. 27, para.
4) 370 - 379 53
G. Children deprived of their family
environment
(art. 20) 380 - 393 54
H. Adoption (art. 21) 394
- 422 56
I. Periodic review of placement (art. 25) 423 -
434 60
J. Abuse and neglect (art. 19)
physical and psychological
recovery and
social reintegration (art. 39) 435 -
449 61
VI. BASIC HEALTH AND WELFARE (arts. 6; 18,
paras. 3; 23; 24;
26; 27, paras. 1-3) 450 - 621 64
A. Disabled children (art. 23) 450
- 487 64
B. Health and health services (art. 24) 488 -
584 68
C. Social security and childcare services and
facilities
(arts. 26 and 18, para. 3 585 - 614 81
D. Standard of living (art.
27, paras. 1-3) 615 - 621 86
CONTENTS (continued)
Paragraphs Page
VII. EDUCATION, LEISURE
AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES
(arts. 28; 29; and 31) 622 -
720 87
A. Education, including vocational training and
guidance
(art. 28) 622 - 667 87
B. Aims of education (art. 29) 668 -
687 93
C. Leisure, recreation and cultural activities
(art. 31)
688 - 720 96
VIII. SPECIAL PROTECTION MEASURES
(arts. 22; 38; 39;
40; 37 (b)-(d); 32-36) 721 - 861 100
A. Children in situations of
emergency 721 - 734 100
1. Refugee children (art. 22) 721 -
731 100
2. Children in armed conflict (art. 38),
including
physical and psychological
recovery and social reintegration (art. 39)
732 - 734 101
B. Children involved with the system
of
administration of juvenile justice 735 - 801 102
1. The
administration of juvenile justice
(art. 40) 735 -
763 102
2. Children deprived of their liberty, including
any
form of detention, imprisonment or
placement in custodial settings (art.
37 (b)-(d)) 764 - 793 106
3. The sentencing of children, with
particular
reference to the prohibition of capital
punishment and
life imprisonment
(art. 37 (a)) 794 - 795 111
4. Physical and
psychological recovery and
social reintegration of the child (art. 39)
796 - 801 112
CONTENTS (continued)
Paragraphs Page
C. Children in
situations of exploitation, including
physical and psychological recovery
and social
reintegration 802 - 850 112
1. Economic
exploitation of children, including
child labour (art. 32) 802 -
826 112
2. Drug abuse (art. 33) 827 - 839 116
3. Sexual
exploitation and sexual abuse (art. 34) 840 - 842 117
4. Sale,
trafficking and abduction (art. 35) 843 - 845 118
5. Other forms of
exploitation (art. 36) 846 - 850 118
D. Children belonging to a
minority or an indigenous
group (art. 30) 851 - 861 119
Annexes*
1. Statistical information
2. Programme
of cooperation between the Government of Ukraine and UNICEF
for
1998-1999
3. List of fundamental legislative instruments adopted in
1993-1997 relating to the implementation of the Convention
* The annexes are available for consultation in the files of the
secretariat.
Basic data and characteristics
Territory
- Ukraine
occupies a territory of 603,700 square kilometres. According to article 133 of
the Constitution, the system of the administrative and territorial structure of
Ukraine is composed of the Crimean Autonomous Republic, regions, districts,
cities, city districts, settlements and villages. Ukraine has 24 regions, 490
administrative districts, 448 cities, 896 city-like
settlements, and 28,794
villages.
- In
the words of the Constitution, Ukraine is a sovereign, independent, democratic,
social State based on the rule of law. The sovereignty of Ukraine extends
throughout
its territory.
Population
- As
of 1 January 1998, the population totalled 50.5 million: 23.5 million
males (47 per cent) and 27 million females (53 per cent).
The
urban population totalled 34.3 million and the rural 16.2 million.
The population density was 83.7 per square kilometre.
Population structure
- As
of 1 January 1998, the able-bodied population (males aged 16-59, females
aged 1654) comprised 56 per cent of the total population,
and citizens of
pensionable age 23.2 per cent.
- The
population includes 11,838,598 persons aged 0-17: 2,441,895 aged 0-5; 3,312,407
aged 5-10; 3,888,563 aged 10-15; and 2,195,733
aged 15-18. The number of
children (aged up to 18) declined by 1,297,000 over the past five years. One in
four of Ukraine’s
inhabitants is a child.
National composition of the population
- According
to the 1989 census (no census has been taken since the proclamation of
Ukraine’s independence), more than 110 nationalities
and ethnic groups
live in Ukrainian territory. Ukrainians make up 72.7 per cent of the total
population, Russians 21.1 per cent,
and members of other nationalities 6.2 per
cent.
- Three
quarters of the 14.1 million families have all their members of a single
nationality and one quarter have members of different
nationalities. Almost 81
per cent of the families belonging to a single nationality are Ukrainian. This
is particularly characteristic
of rural areas, where the national composition of
the population is more uniform and national traditions are more firmly
rooted.
Educational level of the population
- According
to the 1989 census, 34.8 million people 15 years of age or older had secondary
(complete or incomplete) or higher education,
i.e. 86.2 per cent of the
population in that age group. Of these, 18.8 million were female and 16 million
male.
- The
relative proportion of specialists with higher or secondary specialized
education was 29.9 per cent (12 million people) and the
proportion of those
with secondary (complete or incomplete) was 49.5 per cent (20
million).
Demographic situation
- The
complex demographic situation has been determined, above all, by a lower birth
rate. While in 1993 there were 10.7 births per
1,000 inhabitants, by 1997 the
rate had fallen to 8.7 (in urban areas 8 per cent and in rural 10.3).
- The
number of children of the able-bodied members of the population fell from 403
per 1,000 in 1993 to 377 in 1997.
- The
death rate is higher than the birth rate throughout the country. The total
death rate increased from 14.2 deaths per 1,000 inhabitants
in 1993 to 14.9 in
1997. In 1997 it was 12.9 in urban areas and 19 in rural.
- The
natural population growth is declining. In 1993, for example, it was -3.5 per
1,000 inhabitants (-2.1 in urban areas and -6.5
in rural). By 1997 it had
fallen to -6.2 (-4.9 in urban areas and -8.7 in rural).
- Ukraine’s
marriage and family structure forms the socio-demographic basis of the birth
rate, as well as of the reproduction
of the population and human development in
general. This basis is being transformed by the influence of structural changes
in all
demographic processes and by changes in social and economic living
conditions.
- The
demographic potential of the marriage and family structure is undergoing serious
distortion. Families cannot afford to have the
desired number of children and
bring them up in the appropriate married-family micro-context. The trend
towards families with one
child or no children is intensifying.
- The
number of registered marriages fell from 8.2 per 1,000 inhabitants in 1993 to
6.8 in 1997 (7.1 in urban areas and 6.2 in rural).
The divorce rate
remains fairly high at 3.7 per 1,000 (4.6 in urban areas and 1.9
in rural). The relative proportion of couples
living in unregistered
marriages is increasing, as is the proportion of single
parents.
- The
main feature of the evolution of marriage and family relations is the consistent
increase in the number of children born out of
wedlock. In 1993, 13 per cent of
all births took place out of wedlock; in 1997 the proportion was 15.2 per
cent.
Economic situation
- Output
and GDP both declined in Ukraine in the period 1993-1997. Unemployment is
growing. As of 1 January 1998, 2.33 per cent of
the total able-bodied
population of working age was registered as unemployed. Female
unemployment stood at 3.16 per cent and male
at 1.55 per
cent.
- According
to the household budget survey, in 1997 13 million people (25.7 per cent of the
total population) lived in households with
a combined per capita income below
the subsistence level of 70.9 hrivniyas a month.
- In
1997 the consumer demand for most food items was below the poverty line: milk
and other dairy products by 52 per cent; fruit and
berries by 48 per cent;
fish and fish products by 46 per cent; eggs, vegetables and melons,
pumpkins and squash by 31 per cent; meat
and meat products by 19 per
cent.
- The
growth of consumer prices at a faster rate than nominal wages meant a drop in
real wages, but the rate of decline slowed significantly.
The real wages index
stood at 97.6 per cent for 1997.
- Family
living standards depend not only on income but also on the family’s
sociodemographic composition: the numbers of children,
workers and dependants,
the ages of the members, their educational and vocational
qualifications, etc.
- In
the present acute social and economic crisis all age groups in the population
find themselves in difficulties, but the most damage
has been suffered by the
economic system for ensuring the conditions of the reproduction of the rising
generation. The State has
shown an utter refusal to control the prices of
“children’s goods”, and so State funding for the material
maintenance
of children has almost totally disappeared. Social spending on
children’s education and development has also fallen significantly:
spending on the secondary education system, preschool establishments, and
out-of-school and leisure activities. The quality of
the work of most of the
establishments has worsened substantially: the low pay levels of teaching staff
mean poorer standards of
teaching and in the education process in general;
children’s diet and the conditions of their maintenance are
worsening.
- The
difficult economic situation led to a rise in the number of problems of social
protection remaining unsolved owing to insufficient
funding. The proportion of
actual spending on State assistance for families with children in the total
expenditure section of local
budgets gradually declined; in 1997 it was 1.2 per
cent, 2.1 per cent lower than in 1993.
- The
crisis in society has left a clear imprint on health. The number of disabled
children increased over the past five years. The
total stood at 122,000 in 1993
but by 1997 it was already 147,000. Infant morbidity figures also
rose.
- Infant
morbidity in the first year of life increased by 21.3 per cent over the five
years. The biggest increases were in the category
of pregnancy and childbirth
disorders (by a factor of 1.9) and in the category of premature births and
problems of the digestive
organs (1.4).
- There
was almost no change over the last five years from an average of 16.6 per cent
in the share of the State budget allocated to
the care of children’s
health.
- The
period 1993-1997 saw an upward trend in spending on the maintenance of general
education establishments: pre-school facilities,
general education schools,
boarding schools of all types, out-of-school facilities, production training
centres, etc.
- The
largest overall share of budget spending on general education was allocated to
the maintenance of general education schools and
boarding schools of all types,
showing an increase of 5.9 per cent over the period.
- The
number of orphans is rising in Ukraine. Orphans and children lacking parental
care are placed by preference in families, but
large numbers of these children
are still raised in residential institutions of various kinds.
- The
period 1993-1997 saw further development of the legislation on the safeguard of
the rights of the child in accordance with the
Convention and with the
Committee’s concluding observations on the initial report of Ukraine on
the exercise of children’s
rights in 1993.
- The
Ministry for Family and Youth Affairs was created in 1996 in order to formulate
State policy for improving the situation of families,
women, young people and
children and the demographic situation, to encourage maternity, and to ensure
the healthy and comprehensive
development of young people and children and their
upbringing in accordance with humanistic principles.
- The
means of protecting the rights of the child were significantly increased by the
adoption of a number of additions to the Marriage
and Family Code and by the
adoption of acts and orders of the Cabinet of Ministers aimed directly at
improving children’s living
conditions and extending the legal safeguards
of their protection.
- The
adoption of the Constitution brought with it a new institution for the
protection of human rights - the office of Human Rights Commissioner of the
Supreme Council
of Ukraine, who exercises parliamentary supervision of
observance of the human and civil rights established in the Constitution. A
start has been made on the work of creating the office of Commissioner for the
Rights of the Child. The legal powers of the
organs traditionally concerned
with the protection of children’s rights and interests have been
expanded.
- The
National Programme “Children of Ukraine” was adopted in order to
define the action to be taken as a matter of priority
to provide effective
solutions to children’s problems and satisfy the requirements of the
Convention, the World Declaration
on the Survival, Protection and Development of
Children and the Plan of Action for its implementation.
- It
may be asserted in general terms that the organizational arrangements for the
State’s efforts to protect children and mothers
are basically in place.
The structural subdivisions of the local executive authorities dealing with
questions of maternity, childhood
and the family have been created. The network
of social services centres for young people is growing: these centres furnish
social
assistance and support to families, women and young
people.
- Given
this situation, the main thing now is to refine the machinery for creating the
most favourable social, economic and legal conditions
for the work of the
existing institutions and for the establishment of new ones, with the
fundamental aim of satisfying the needs
and attending to the interests of
children and their parents and families.
I. GENERAL MEASURES OF IMPLEMENTATION
(arts. 4; 42; and 44, para. 6)
- Ukraine
ratified the Convention as an independent State without any
reservations.
- Ukraine
carries out legislative, administrative and other measures to comply with the
requirements of the Convention.
- The
Constitution of Ukraine adopted on 28 June 1996 proclaims that the State
recognizes and guarantees human rights and freedoms in accordance with
the
generally accepted international rules. This new Constitution is consistent
with the rules of international law, in particular the Convention, in the sphere
of the protection of human rights.
- The
legislation guaranteeing the rights of the child was further developed in the
period 1993-1997 in accordance with the provisions
of the Convention and
the Committee’s concluding observations on the initial report of Ukraine
on progress made in the implementation
of agreements on children’s rights
in 1993.
- The
Ministry of Family and Youth Affairs was created in 1996 in order to formulate
State policy to improve the situation of families,
women, young people and
children and the demographic situation, to encourage maternity, and to ensure
the healthy and comprehensive
development of young people and children and their
education in accordance with humanistic principles.
- The
means of protecting the rights of the child were considerably expanded by the
adoption of a number of additions to the Marriage
and Family Code and by the
adoption of acts and orders of the Cabinet of Ministers designed directly to
improve the living conditions
of children and expand the legal safeguards of
their protection.
- The
incorporation of the provisions of the Convention was facilitated by the
adoption of the 1993 Act “On promotion of the social
advancement and
development of young people” and the 1995 Act “On juvenile affairs
agencies and services and special
juvenile institutions”.
- Special
measures for consolidating the legal status of children are set out in the 1993
Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers “On
confirmation of the regulations
governing the procedure
for consideration of applications by citizens of
Ukraine to change their surnames, forenames or patronymics”, the 1995
Decree
“On confirmation of the rules on the issue of passports to citizens
of Ukraine for travel abroad and travel documents for children
and on the
temporary seizure and the withdrawal of such passports and documents”, and
the 1995 Decree “On confirmation
of the regulations governing the
procedure for issue of instruments of privatization to minors, to citizens
declared legally incapable
in accordance with the established rules, and to
citizens serving sentences of deprivation of liberty, and on the procedure for
the
use of such instruments”.
- The
improvement of the economic and social situation of children suffering from the
effects of the Chernobyl disaster was facilitated
by the adoption of the 1995
Order of the Supreme Council “On the state of the medical care and
treatment of children suffering
as a result of the Chernobyl disaster” and
of the Orders of the Cabinet of Ministers “On the provision of a single
package
of State assistance for families bringing up children who have become
chronically ill as a result of the Chernobyl disaster or children
whose thyroid
gland has been removed” (1996), “On the procedure for the provision
of additional living space for persons
who as a result of the Chernobyl disaster
suffer from some degree of radiation sickness or have become chronically ill,
for chronically
ill children requiring special care, and for families which have
lost a breadwinner in category 1” (1996), “On the procedure
for and
amounts of compensatory payments to children suffering as a result of the
Chernobyl disaster” (1997), and “On
certain organizational questions
of the treatment of children suffering as a result of the Chernobyl
disaster” (1997).
- A
substantial contribution to the improvement of the social protection of orphans
and children deprived of parental care was made
by the 1994 Order of the Supreme
Council “On compliance with legislation on the adoption of Ukrainian
children by foreign nationals”
and by the Orders of the Cabinet of
Ministers “On improvement of the education, training, social protection
and material maintenance
of orphans and children lacking parental care”
(1994), “On the improvement of the material maintenance of orphan and
children lacking parental care” (1995), and “On confirmation of
the procedure for the delivery of children who are Ukrainian
citizens for
adoption by citizens of Ukraine or by foreign nationals and on the monitoring of
their living conditions in their adoptive
families” (1996). The Cabinet
of Ministers also approved regulations on family-style children’s homes in
1994 and established
the Adoptions Centre in the Ministry of Education in
1996.
- In
order to safeguard the rights of children in conflict with the law, the Cabinet
of Ministers issued Orders creating a criminal
police force for juvenile affairs
(1995), medical/social rehabilitation centres, shelters and services for
juveniles, and the Children’s
Social Protection Fund
(1996).
- The
National Family Planning Programme and the National Programme “Children of
Ukraine”, designed for the protection of
children’s rights and
interests, were established in 1995 and 1996 respectively and are now in
operation.
- On
the initiative of the Ministry of Family and Youth Affairs and the United
Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and in conjunction
with social
organizations, a study was made of the consistency of Ukraine’s basic
legislation with the provisions of the Convention.
- The
application of the Convention and the other treaties to which Ukraine is a party
is regulated by article 9 of the Constitution, which proclaims that the
international treaties in force which have been accepted as binding by the
Supreme Council are a part of
the national law of Ukraine. This makes it
possible for the authorities, including the courts, to apply the provisions of
the Convention
directly.
- Ukrainian
legislation on education promotes the exercise of the rights of the child to a
greater extent than the Convention itself.
The Act “On education”
makes full general secondary education (11 grades) compulsory, guarantees access
to free pre-school,
full secondary general, vocational-technical and higher
education in educational establishments in State or community
ownership.
- The
Act guarantees citizens members of national minorities the right to education in
their mother tongue or to study their mother
tongue at school and in cultural
associations of national minorities.
- The
Code of Criminal Procedure provides that law-enforcement agencies may not
conduct investigations or examinations in criminal cases
in which a minor has
committed an offence unless his lawyer is involved. The involvement of a lawyer
is mandatory from the moment
when the criminal proceedings are instituted, and
his services may be provided at the State’s expense if the parents cannot
afford them.
- The
legal status of children is further regulated by the Code on Marriage and the
Family and by the Acts “On State assistance
for families with
children”, “On the promotion of the social integration and
development of young people”, “On
vocational-technical
education”, “On the status and social protection of citizens
suffering as a result of the Chernobyl
disaster”, and “On the
fundamentals of health legislation”.
- Pursuant
to the Constitution and the Convention, in 1995 Ukraine adopted the Act
“On juvenile affairs agencies and services and on special juvenile
institutions”,
which were made responsible for social protection and
prevention of crime with respect to children aged under 18. The Act provides
that matters connected with the rights and interests of children must be
considered by specially authorized courts. This legal rule
is established but
it is still not operational.
- In
1995 independent units of the criminal police were created within the system of
the Ministry of Internal Affairs to deal with juvenile
cases; their task is to
prevent and combat juvenile crime.
- The
Code of Criminal Procedure assigns the conduct of preliminary investigations in
cases involving juvenile offenders to the internal
affairs investigatory
agencies. This regulation was introduced in order to concentrate the efforts of
a single department on the
detection and investigation of juvenile crime and to
ensure strict compliance with the law during preliminary
investigations.
- In
view of the incomplete physical and social maturity of juveniles and their
limited rights and legal capacity, the Code of Criminal
Procedure devotes a
whole section to the details of the conduct of cases involving juvenile
offenders.
- The
adoption of the Constitution brought with it a new institution for the
protection of human rights - the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Supreme
Council of
Ukraine (art. 55 of the Constitution), which exercises
parliamentary supervision over observance of the human and civil rights and
freedoms established in the Constitution (art. 101). The Commissioner’s
activities are regulated by the 1997 Act “On the Human Rights Commissioner
of the Supreme
Council”.
- The
legal powers of the traditional organs for the defence of children’s
rights and interests have been expanded.
- Juvenile
affairs services were created under the Act “On juvenile affairs agencies
and services and on special juvenile institutions”.
- In
the event of infringement of the rights or interests of a minor or the emergence
of questions concerning a minor’s employment
or need for some kind of
assistance, these agencies and services are empowered to make representations to
local authorities, enterprises
and organizations, regardless of their form of
ownership, to monitor the conditions of the maintenance and education of minors
in
special institutions and the organization of educational work in local
schools and out-of-school establishments, to supervise compliance
with the child
labour legislation, and to deal with a number of other issues of the protection
of children’s rights.
- In
the event of violation of the provisions of the Convention, once all domestic
legal remedies have been exhausted all Ukrainian
citizens are entitled to have
recourse for the protection of their rights to the corresponding international
legal organizations
or other international organizations of which Ukraine is a
member. Everyone has the right to defend his rights and freedoms by any
means
not prohibited by law against violation and unlawful encroachment (art. 55 of
the Constitution).
- Ukraine
adopted its National Programme “Children of Ukraine” in order to
define the measures for the urgent and effective
solution of the problems
affecting children and for ensuring compliance with the requirements set out in
the Convention and in the
World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and
Development of Children and the Plan of Action for its implementation.
- The
Programme is to run until 2000 and is intended to provide guidance for the
introduction of regional measures to improve the situation
of children through
integration of the activities of the State agencies with those of social
and other organizations. It is being
implemented in conjunction with the
Long-Term Programme for Improvement of the Status of Women, Families and
Maternal and Child Welfare,
the National Immunization
Programme 1993-2000, the National Education Programme
“Ukraine in the Twenty-first Century”, the National Family Planning
Programme, and the Comprehensive Programme on Problems of
Disability.
- The
priority tasks are to solve problems affecting children, determine concrete
measures for implementation of the provisions of the
Convention, establish time
limits and designate specific executing agencies. The basic aim of the National
Programme “Children
of Ukraine” is to guarantee the right of every
child to be born healthy, to survive, and to enjoy the conditions for
comprehensive
development and reliable social and psychological
protection.
- An
Inter-Departmental Commission was set up to coordinate activities connected with
the implementation of the Convention, the World
Declaration on the Survival,
Protection and Development of Children, and the National Programme
“Children of Ukraine”.
The Commission’s basic tasks include
the examination of questions requiring sectoral coordination and the preparation
of proposals
on the implementation of the Convention and other international
instruments. The Commission is headed by a Deputy Prime
Minister.
- In
the performance of its functions the Commission considers the progress made in
the implementation of the Convention and the National
Programme and reviews
draft legislation and other regulations and targeted programmes on
children’s survival, protection and
development, including the question of
their social and economic impact on children; it takes the necessary decisions
for coordination
of the work of the central and local authorities on
children’s issues; it adopts and submits to the President of the Republic
under an established procedure an annual report on the situation of children in
Ukraine; it takes part in the preparation of proposals
on the drafting of
international agreements and treaties and on the ratification of conventions
designed to improve the situation
of children.
- The
executive authorities established a department and offices for family and youth
affairs in the Ministry of Family and Youth Affairs
in order to carry out the
State policies on the family, women, young people and children, and maternal and
child protection, on the
creation of favourable conditions for the physical,
mental and spiritual development of these groups, and on the provision of equal
rights and opportunities.
- The
juvenile affairs services carry out the State policies for the social protection
of children and the prevention of juvenile crime.
- Their
basic tasks include: design and implementation of measures for guaranteeing the
rights, freedoms and lawful interests of minors
and preventing juvenile crime,
as well as for monitoring the implementation of these measures; provision of
services and assistance
to minors in matters of their social protection,
organization of the work of preventing their neglect and preventing juvenile
crime;
and monitoring of compliance with the labour legislation on the
employment of minors in enterprises, establishments and organizations,
regardless of their form of ownership.
- The
central authorities produce annual reports to the President on the situation of
children in Ukraine. The reports for 1996 and
1997, which constitute a detailed
analysis of the basic
indicators of the situation of children, contain
radical recommendations for its improvement, as well as reflecting the progress
made
in the implementation of the National Programme “Children of
Ukraine”.
- An
Instruction was approved in 1996 on the definition of criteria on live births,
stillbirths and the perinatal period in order to
ensure compliance with the
Convention and for purposes of comparison of international and national
statistics. The Ministry of Health
is required to make systematic analyses
of birth and of perinatal and infant mortality statistics, compare them
with similar indicators
in the statistics of other countries, and submit these
analyses with its proposals to the health agencies of the country’s
administrative subdivisions.
- An
Adoptions Centre was created in 1996 in the Ministry of Education in order to
organize the information on children requiring adoption
and Ukrainians seeking
to adopt; the Centre is required to ensure that children’s rights are
observed in the adoption process
both by citizens of Ukraine and by foreign
nationals.
- Side
by side with the State agencies there are NGOs actively involved in matters of
the social protection of children. In 1997 Ukraine
had some 400 NGOs
(specialized children’s and youth organizations, as well as organizations
of other types) declaring work
with children as their statutory activity. This
number represents about 6 per cent of the organizations actually working in
Ukraine.
- Children’s
NGOs generally select a fairly narrow field of specialization: protection of
the interests of disabled children;
environmental problems and the environmental
education of the rising generation; problems of orphans; and children’s
health.
- It
is not just specialized NGOs that concern themselves with children’s
issues. In 1994 there were 46 NGOs carrying out measures
of assistance for
children in addition to their core work. They were mostly women’s NGOs,
which often collaborate with international
women’s
organizations.
- There
are 26 children’s and youth NGOs registered in Ukraine; they came into
being following the disbanding of the All-Union
Komsomol and Pioneers
organizations. They were brought together under the National Committee on
Children’s Organizations and
are mainly concerned with the organization of
leisure activities for children and young people and the formation of various
hobbies
clubs. Considerable work is done by the Children’s Fund, a
voluntary nation-wide association which pools the efforts of citizens,
sponsor
organizations and religious communities to protect orphans and children deprived
of parental care. The Fund publishes a
monthly newsletter Nash Rebyonok
(Our Child).
- Article
116 of the Constitution invests the Cabinet of Ministers with responsibility for
State policy on the people’s social protection, education, science
and
culture.
- In
accordance with the 1993 Act “On promotion of the social advancement and
development of young people”, the financing
of measures in this area is
provided from the State and local budgets, the Fund for the Social Integration
of Young People, and State
and other youth funds, as well as from other
sources.
- The
Supreme Council and the local authorities provide tax benefits for enterprises,
citizen’s associations and funds which contribute
to the implementation of
the State programmes for the advancement and development of young people. The
State and local budgets earmark
resources for the implementation of youth
programmes.
- The
right of citizens of Ukraine to free education is guaranteed by an extensive
system of educational establishments and by arrangements
allowing people to
select an education and training scheme tailored to their abilities and
interests. In 1997 the Cabinet of Ministers
adopted an Order “On
confirmation of the paid services which may be furnished by State educational
establishments”, as
a means of mobilizing additional sources of funding
for schools.
- In
order to create the economic conditions for development of the children’s
food industry, the Act “On the taxation of
business profits” offers
enterprises exemptions from taxes on profits deriving from the production within
the territory under
the jurisdiction of the Ukrainian customs services of
special baby foods as part of their own output, when such output is used to
increase the production volumes and reduce the retail prices of the products in
question. The Cabinet of Ministers confirmed by
decree the list of such
products and the procedure for their classification as “own
output”.
- There
are various Orders of the Cabinet of Ministers establishing benefits for
categories of poor citizens. For example, the Order
“On additional social
safeguards for poor families with sick children in the first and second years of
life” is intended
to resolve questions connected with the free provision
of certain baby foods to socially disadvantaged families and with access to
medical consultations for the sick children in question. This Order confirms
the list of paid services furnished in State health
facilities and higher
medical teaching establishments and provides for free medical treatment for
these children. However, part
of the cost of medicines and purchased items must
be reimbursed by the parents. Another Order provides for the adoption of
additional
measures for the production of baby foods. The Presidential Decree
establishing the National Programme “Children of Ukraine”
sets out
concrete measures to improve the situation of children and specifies the
priorities in this area. There are also regional
programmes which establish
specific amounts for the funding of the Programme’s measures from the
State and local budgets.
The Programme’s financing had a separate line in
the 1998 State budget. A Presidential Decree created the National Fund for
the
Social Protection of Mothers and Children known as “Ukraine for
Children”.
- The
efforts to satisfy children’s needs in Ukraine receive solid support from
agencies of the United Nations, the European Union,
the Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development, the Governments of the United States,
Germany, Japan, Canada, the Netherlands,
the United Kingdom, France, Italy and
Egypt and from international funds and NGOs. A
number of
international programmes on improvement of the system for the protection of the
health of children and mothers are operating
in Ukraine with support from
UNICEF, UNDP and WHO. In addition, the international community helps with the
solution of specific
problems through the implementation of ad hoc
projects.
- The
international bodies providing direct support for projects designed to address
children’s needs include the Peace Corps,
the “Cooperation for
Partnership” creative centre, the Rebirth Fund, the John Merck Fund, the
Christian Fund for Children,
and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation. Most of the
organizations working in partnership with and receiving grants from these bodies
are Ukrainian NGOs.
- However,
Ukraine has no mechanism for establishing the scope and areas of activity of
international projects at various levels. It
is therefore difficult to
determine the total extent of the international programmes on exercise of the
rights of the child.
- With
a view to familiarizing both adults and children with its provisions, the
Convention was translated into Ukrainian and Russian,
and 30,000 copies were
printed in each language and distributed to schoolchildren and students,
including members of the national
minorities, from a central distribution point
and at conferences, seminars and workshops on the protection of children’s
rights.
- The
general education curricula provide for the study of the Constitution, and the
fundamental provisions of the Convention are discussed under this topic. A
children’s drawing and poster competition
on “My Rights” was
held in 1997 with UNICEF support; this exercise was preceded by an explanation
of the provisions of
the Convention.
- The
mass media give constant attention to the topic of children’s rights. A
number of publications for teachers, schoolchildren
and parents run regular
sections and commentaries on the Convention. These publications include the
newspaper Obrazovaniye (Education), the newsletter Nash Rebyonok
(Our Child) and the magazines Odnoklassnik (Schoolfellow),
Utro (Morning) and Podsolnechnik
(Sunflower).
- The
national radio corporation runs serials entitled “Scholiad”
and “Starsheklassnik” (Senior Student), which focus on the
problems of relations between children and adults, health care, studies, and
children’s
cultural development, as well as on questions of the protection
of children against harmful influences in their lives. The aim of
the radio
programme “Gosudarstvenniye Deti” (Children of the State) is
to draw the attention of the authorities and society at large to the plight of
orphans.
- The
national television corporation regularly gives time to the topic of the
protection of children’s rights; the “Pravo” channel
pays particular attention to these issues.
- This
topic is regularly raised in information programmes on television and radio by
the regional State television and radio corporations,
which present material for
young people explaining articles of the Convention provided by regional social
services centres.
- Annual
tele-marathons have become regular events; the proceeds are used to support
children’s homes, hospitals and orphans.
- The
procedure for preparing the periodic national reports on the implementation of
the Convention was examined by the Inter-Departmental
Commission for the
coordination of activities connected with the implementation of the Convention,
the World Declaration on the Survival,
Protection and Development of Children,
and the National Programme “Children of Ukraine”.
- The
report was based on materials submitted by the Ministry of the Economy, the
Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Family and Youth
Affairs, the Ministry of
Health, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry
of Labour and Social Policy,
the Ministry of Agro-industry, the Ministry of
Justice, the Ministry of Emergency Situations and Issues of the Protection of
the
Population against the Consequences of the Chernobyl Disaster, the Ministry
of Environmental Protection and Nuclear Safety, the Ministry
of Internal
Affairs, the Ministry of Information, the Ministry of Culture and the Arts, the
State Statistical Committee, the State
Committee on Nationalities and Migration,
the State Committee on Religious Affairs, the State Committee on Physical
Culture and Sports,
the National Academy of Sciences, the Academy of Pedagogical
Sciences, the Academy of Medical Sciences, the Academy of Agrarian Sciences,
the
Council of Ministers of the Crimean Autonomous Republic, and the regional, Kiev
and Sevastopol local State administrations; use
was also made of State
statistics and the findings of the scientific research conducted by the
Ukrainian Institute for Social Research,
the scientific research establishments
and institutes of the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences and the Academy of Medical
Sciences,
and studies produced by the International League for the Rights of
Children and Young People and the All-Ukrainian Committee for
the Defence of
Children’s Rights. The report will be brought out as a separate
publication with a view to informing the general
public about the exercise of
the rights of the child in Ukraine.
II. DEFINITION OF THE CHILD
(art. 1)
- Ukrainian
law does not define the concept and age parameters of “child”.
Article 1 of the 1993 Act “On promotion
of the social
advancement and development of young people” defines “minor”
as a citizen under the age of 18 years.
- In
Ukrainian legislation:
The age of majority is 18
years;
No minimum age is set for legal counselling (Marriage and Family
Code) or for medical
counselling (Fundamentals of Health Legislation);
The minimum age for medical treatment or surgery without parental
consent is 18 years;
in the case of children aged 15 or older but under 18 such treatment or
surgery is possible with the consent of certain designated
persons or the
children’s parents or other legal representatives (Fundamentals of Health
Legislation, art. 43);
The obligation to complete the 11 grades of general
secondary education, i.e up to age 17, is stated in the Constitution (art.
53);
Children below the age of 16 may not be admitted to employment.
With the consent of
one of their parents or a surrogate parent, children aged 15 may be admitted
to employment on an exceptional basis. For the purposes
of training young
people for productive work, students aged 14 or older in general education,
vocational-technical and secondary
specialized schools may be employed in their
free time to perform light work which does not harm their health or interrupt
their
schooling, subject to the consent of one of their parents or a surrogate
parent (art. 188);
The minimum age of marriage is 18 for males and 17
for females. Marriage may be
permitted at an earlier age in exceptional circumstances (Marriage and Family
Code, art. 16);
The minimum age of sexual consent is not
established by law. The Criminal Code
establishes criminal responsibility for sexual contacts with a person who is
not sexually mature;
Voluntary enlistment in the armed forces (under
contract) is available to persons aged 17
to 21 who meet the requirements for military service, including persons who
attain their seventeenth birthday in the year of their
enlistment (Act “On
universal conscription and military service”);
The minimum age for
participation in hostilities is 18 years;
Persons aged at least 16 years
at the time of commission of the offence bear criminal
responsibility. Persons aged 14 or 15 at the time of commission may be held
criminally responsible for a crime constituting a serious
danger to
society;
Persons aged under 18 at the time of commission of the offence
may not be sentenced to
death. Sentences of deprivation of liberty imposed on persons below the age
of 16 at the time of commission of the offence may not
exceed 10 years (Criminal
Code). Children aged under 11 years who have committed an offence may be placed
in reception/distribution
centres. Children aged 11 years or older may be
committed to general education social rehabilitation schools, or from age 14 to
vocational social rehabilitation schools. Minors aged 14 years or older may
serve sentences of deprivation of liberty in the corrective
labour colonies of
the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Children in need of social protection may be
temporarily housed in children’s
shelters from the age of three years (Act
“On juvenile affairs agencies and services and special juvenile
institutions”);
The questioning of witnesses aged under 15 and of
minor witnesses aged 15 to 18 must
be conducted in the presence of a teacher or close relative of the
witness;
Witnesses aged under 16 must leave the courtroom after giving
their testimony, except
when the court deems their presence in court essential (Code of Civil
Procedure);
The option of either conducting the defence of one’s
rights in court in person or
entrusting one’s representation to an authorized person is available to
persons of the age of majority and to juridical persons;
Minors aged 15
or older may appear in court as parties either in actions arising from
agreements which they were entitled by law to enter into independently or in
actions for compensation for losses suffered;
In the event of inadequate
performance by one or both parents of duties connected with
the upbringing of a child or in the event of abuse of parental authority, the
child is entitled to apply to the guardianship and custody
agencies for
protection of his rights, but no minimum age is set for such applications
(Marriage and Family Code);
Citizens are permitted to change their
surname, forename or patronymic after the age of
16 years (Order “On the procedure for considering applications for
changes of surname, forename or patronymic by citizens of
Ukraine”);
In the event of a change of nationality by his parents
or in the event of his adoption, the
nationality of a child aged 16 or 17 may be changed, but only with his
consent (Act “On citizenship of Ukraine”);
When considering
disputes concerning children, if the child in question is at least
10 years old the court must elicit from him which parent he wishes to remain
with, but the child’s wishes are not binding on
the court (Marriage and
Family Code);
Children aged 10 or older must consent to their adoption
(Marriage and Family Code);
The acquisition by an adopted child who is
aged 10 or older of the surname and
patronymic of the adoptive father, a change of forename, and the registration
of the adoptive parents as the parents of the adopted
child are permitted only
with the child’s consent (Marriage and Family Code);
The
child’s consent is not envisaged for the purposes of guardianship or
custody
(Marriage and Family Code);
There is no minimum age for informing a
child about his biological parents. The
confidentiality of adoption is protected by law (Marriage and Family
Code);
Political parties may be formed by citizens who have reached the
age of 18. Public
organizations may be founded by persons aged 18 or older, and youth and
children’s organizations by persons aged 15 or older
(Act “On
associations of citizens”);
Membership of political parties is
open only to citizens who have reached the age of 18.
Public organizations, except for youth and children’s organizations,
may be joined by persons age 14 or older. The age for
membership of youth and
children’s organizations is established in their statutes (Act “On
associations of citizens”);
Minors aged 15 or older are entitled
to conclude agreements with the consent of their
parents, adoptive parents or guardians. However, they may enter into minor
everyday agreements of their own accord and may dispose
of their earnings or
education grants and exercise copyrights and patent rights to their works and
inventions, as well as rights
relating to proposals for rationalization,
industrial designs, and discoveries (Civil Code);
The law sets no
minimum age for choosing a religion or for attending a religious
school;
Secondary general education is usually completed at age
17-18;
Pursuant to the Act “On employment”, preference is
given in recruitment for work to
young people who have completed or broken off their studies in secondary
general education or vocational schools, or have completed
compulsory military
or alternative (non-military) service, and to children aged 15 or older with the
consent of one of their parents
(or surrogate parents). Such persons have an
opportunity to complete their full secondary general education in an evening or
shift
school or as extramural students.
III. GENERAL PRINCIPLES
A. Non-discrimination (art. 2)
- Under
the Constitution of Ukraine all citizens have equal constitutional rights and
freedoms and are equal before the law. There may be no privileges or
restrictions on the grounds of race, colour, political, religious or other
beliefs, sex, ethnic or social origins, property, place
of residence, language
or other characteristics. Children have equal rights regardless of their origin
or whether they were born
within or out of wedlock.
- Foreign
nationals and stateless persons present in Ukrainian territory on lawful grounds
enjoy the same rights and freedoms, and bear
the same responsibilities, as
citizens of Ukraine, except in the cases stipulated in the Constitution, law or
international treaties of Ukraine.
- In
accordance with the Act “On State assistance for families with
children”, foreign nationals and stateless persons living
in Ukraine are
entitled to State assistance on an equal footing with Ukrainian citizens under
the conditions specified in domestic
law or international
agreements.
- Ukraine’s
social legislation is likewise based on the principle of non-discrimination.
All the provisions mentioned above affecting
Ukrainian citizens are fully
applicable to children as well.
- Human
and civil rights and freedoms determine the content and the application of the
law and the activities of legislative and executive
organs and local authorities
and they are consolidated by jurisprudence in accordance with the
Constitution.
- The
Criminal Code imposes penalties for deliberate acts designed to inflame
national, racial or religious enmity and hatred, to belittle
national honour or
worth, to injure citizens’ feelings in connection with their religious
beliefs, directly or indirectly to
restrict their rights, or to establish the
direct or indirect supremacy of citizens on the basis of their race, nationality
or attitude
to religion; the Code also imposes penalties for the divulgence by a
medical worker or other official of information about the conduct
of an HIV or
AIDS examination or the results thereof which become known in the course of the
performance of official or professional
duties.
- The
protection of the rights of children born out of wedlock is regulated by the
Marriage and Family Code. The declaration of the
invalidity of a marriage has
no effect on the rights of the children born of the marriage. Children
conceived or born of a marriage
declared to be invalid have the same rights and
duties as children born of a valid marriage. Children whose origins are
established
by a joint declaration of the parents or by a court order have the
same rights and duties with respect to their parents and their
parents’
kinsfolk as children born of married parents.
- Under
the Act “On the fundamentals of social assistance for the disabled”,
disabled persons, including disabled children,
are guaranteed the protection of
a system of economic, social and legal measures designed to create for them
equal opportunities
with other citizens to participate in the life of society.
Discrimination against the disabled is prohibited and subject to prosecution
by
law.
- According
to the Act “On the legal status of foreigners” foreign nationals
residing permanently in Ukraine have the same
rights as citizens of Ukraine to
education and health care. In addition, this Act provides that such foreigners
are entitled to
join legally constituted associations on an equal footing with
Ukrainian citizens, unless the law stipulates otherwise and provided
that their
membership is permitted under the association’s statutes. Foreigners may
not join political parties (art. 16).
- Under
article 8 of this Act foreigners have the same rights and duties as Ukrainian
citizens in labour relations, unless the domestic
law or international treaties
of Ukraine provide otherwise.
- The
State has adopted special measures to reduce inequalities among children due to
their economic situation or geographical location
or the state of their
health.
- The
Act “On State assistance for families with children” establishes
such State assistance for: families with many children;
care of a disabled
child; temporary incapacity to work connected with the care of a sick child;
children aged up to 16 (students
up to 18); children of single mothers; children
of serving members of the armed forces; children subject to guardianship or
custody;
(on a temporary basis) minors whose parents decline to pay maintenance
or when the enforcement of maintenance payments is not
possible.
- A
number of recently adopted legislative acts and orders are helping to reduce the
social and economic discrimination against the
most vulnerable groups of
children: orphans, disabled children, children suffering as a result of the
Chernobyl disaster, children
with HIV or AIDS, and children from poor or large
families.
- A
set of benefits was introduced under the Act “On the prevention of AIDS
and the social protection of the people” in
order to improve the situation
of children with HIV or AIDS.
- The
Act “On education” creates special institutions for children needing
social protection or rehabilitation: general
education boarding schools;
children’s homes, including family-style homes; special general education
boarding schools and
homes; pre-school and other education facilities for
physically or mentally underdeveloped children; and general education and
vocational-technical
social rehabilitation schools.
- The
1997 Order of the Cabinet of Ministers “On the procedure and amounts of
compensatory payments to children suffering as a
result of the Chernobyl
disaster” established monthly cash benefits for children attending school
in areas of radioactive contamination
and for children suffering as a result of
the disaster.
- With
regard to questions of rest and recuperation, the 1997 Order of the Cabinet of
Ministers “On the organization and financing
of rest and recuperation for
children” provides for priority to be given in this area to orphans,
children lacking parental
care, children suffering as a result of the Chernobyl
disaster, disabled children, children from poor, large or single-parent families
or families of members of the armed forces who suffered injury during military
service.
- Problems
of equal access of urban and rural children to medical services have been solved
by the establishment of a fully fledged
network of treatment and preventive
facilities for children. Children receive medical assistance on demand in their
place of residence.
However, the diagnosis and rehabilitation capacities of the
paediatric services still need strengthening, as does the provision
of
specialized medical treatment for sick children in rural areas. There is also a
need to create the conditions for maintaining
a permanent supply of diagnostic
equipment and medicines for the specialized children’s
units.
- All
children receive all forms of assistance on an equal footing, regardless of
their social status.
- A
number of medical benefits are available to orphans, disabled children, and
children from poor families.
- Disabled
children up to age 16 and all children up to age three obtain medicines free of
charge when undergoing outpatient treatment.
However, at present this applies
only to vitally necessary medicines.
- HIV-positive
children may receive curative and preventive treatment in any of the
country’s medical facilities. A whole network
of centres has been
established for the treatment and prevention of AIDS.
- The
law provides that all children regardless of gender have equal rights to
education, social security and health care. The only
discriminatory provision
is in the minimum ages of marriage fixed in the Marriage and Family Code: males
may marry from age 18 and
females from age 17.
- The
collection of official statistical data is the responsibility of the State
Statistical Committee.
- Ukraine
keeps official statistics on:
The medical indicators of
children’s condition: deaths, births, morbidity by region, types
of disease, etc.;
The education system: number of schools, children
not attending school, shift education
in schools;
Disabled children up to age 16 (by region, type of
disability);
Orphans: adoption, guardianship, State maintenance, social
assistance;
Refugee children: by sex and country of
origin;
Children suffering as a result of the Chernobyl
disaster;
Juvenile offenders registered by agencies of the criminal
police and convicted juvenile
offenders (by type of offence).
- The
Ministry of Health keeps official statistical records of infant morbidity and
mortality by age, category of disease and group
of causes, and records of the
indicators of primary disability in children aged up to 16. All these data are
collected by region
and age group, with separate reporting on children aged up
to 12 months.
- The
local authorities collect data on large families, single mothers, poor families,
orphans available for adoption, and persons wishing
to adopt, thus compiling a
social profile of the region in question.
- The
social phenomenon of prejudice against children on ethnic or other grounds is
not known in Ukraine.
- The
low level of material provision remains an obstacle to the exercise of the
rights of the child in Ukraine. The numbers of families
with children and of
children needing State support have increased. The rights of children
experiencing difficult living conditions
are established by law but insufficient
provision is made for their exercise.
- There
is a gap between the legally established rights and the practical possibilities
of exercising them.
- Improvement
of the protection of children’s rights in accordance with article 2 of the
Convention has resulted from the adoption
of the National Programme
“Children of Ukraine” and the issue by the President of the Republic
and the Cabinet of Ministers
of a number of legal instruments designed to
enhance the social and economic situation of children in need of social
protection and
material support.
- An
increase in the level of material support for families will help to improve the
circumstances of children’s development and
upbringing.
B. Best interests of the child (art. 3)
- Ukraine’s
legislation takes into account the principle of the best interests of the child
and the need for it to be a primary
consideration in all actions concerning
children. This principle is embodied in the Marriage and Family Code, the Code
of Civil
Procedure, the Civil Code, the Criminal Code, the Labour Code, the
Fundamentals of Health Legislation, the Act “On the status
and social
protection of citizens suffering as a result of the Chernobyl Disaster”,
the Act “On the principles of the
social protection of disabled
persons”, the Act “On education”, the Act “On State
assistance for families
with children”, and the Act “On promotion of
the social advancement and development of young people”. It is also
fundamental to the National Programme “Children of
Ukraine”.
- The
best-interests principle is kept in mind by the courts and the executive
authorities when taking decisions in matters affecting
the future of a child in
the event of his parents’ divorce, the suspension of parental authority,
adoption, and establishment
of custody or guardianship, and when determining the
form of placement of orphans and children lacking parental care,
etc.
- Parents
have equal rights and duties in respect of the maintenance, upbringing and
education of their children, as established by
law. Parents may not exercise
their rights to the detriment of their children’s
interests.
- The
Marriage and Family Code permits the adoption of children solely in their best
interests. Adopted children and their descendants
have the same personal and
property rights and duties with respect to their adoptive parents and their
relatives as are accorded
to biological children.
- Any
adoption arrangement which is not in the child’s interest may be revoked
or declared invalid by court order.
- It
was in implementation of the Convention that Ukraine adopted the Act “On
juvenile affairs agencies and services and special
juvenile institutions”,
which established the legal bases of the activities of juvenile agencies,
services and institutions,
making them responsible for the social protection of
minors and the prevention of juvenile crime.
- The
social protection of children is a matter for the executive authorities, local
authorities, and enterprises, establishments and
organizations, regardless of
their form of ownership, as well as for individual citizens.
- The
work of the special juvenile institutions is based on the principles of legality
and the preferential use of measures of education
and persuasion; this means
that coercive measures are used only when all other means of influencing the
behaviour of the juvenile
in question have been exhausted.
- Ukraine
has an extensive network of institutions for the care of children; it is
supervised by the Ministry of Health, the Ministry
of Education, the Ministry of
Labour and Social Policy, and the Ministry of Family and Youth
Affairs.
- In
accordance with article 3, paragraph 2, of the Convention, Ukraine adopted
during the reporting period a number of legislative
and administrative measures
to provide children such protection and care as is necessary for their
well-being.
- See
paragraphs 39 to 50 and 132 above.
- The
work of State institutions responsible for the care of children and their
protection is regulated by an Order of the Cabinet of
Ministers concerning the
institution in question.
- Such
orders specify the qualification requirements for the staff and the health
standards for the maintenance of the children. The
operation of non-State
institutions is subject to licence, and they must also comply with the rules
governing the work of State institutions.
- The
Fundamentals of Health Legislation provide that the monitoring of
children’s health care and the implementation of health
measures in care
and educational institutions for children are joint responsibilities of the
health and education agencies and institutions,
with the support of public
organizations.
- The
Ministry of Health formulates and implements measures for the protection of
mothers and children, organizes legal assistance,
carries out activities in
conjunction with the relevant central executive authorities to protect women and
young people at work and
improve children’s health, physical education and
hygiene, monitors the state of children’s health and the quality of
their
diet in pre-school and other educational establishments, regardless of their
departmental affiliation, proposes mandatory requirements
for the production,
processing and consumption of baby foods, and establishes the parameters of the
burden of study and work and
model timetables for activities with children in
such establishments.
- Ukraine
has an extensive paediatric service comprising children’s polyclinics,
hospitals and hospital units, the clinics of
higher education institutions,
specialized medical centres for children, sanatoriums, and children’s
homes. Priority attention
is given to the provision of primary medical
services. Children and young people are subject to monitoring by the
institutions of
the disease prevention and treatment system.
- Health
facilities may be created by enterprises, establishments and organizations in
various types of ownership and by private individuals
who can acquire the
necessary materials and equipment and qualified staff. The procedure for the
establishment of health facilities
and their registration and accreditation by
the State and the procedure for licensing medical and pharmaceutical practices
are governed
by State legislation and monitored by the local health
agencies.
- The
executive authorities have the power to suspend the operation of any health
institution which violates the health legislation
or fails to comply with the
quality standards established by the State for the provision of medical and
other health services.
- Some
of the regulations, which are consistent with the Convention and other
international instruments, are not always applied in full.
The main reason for
this is that the legislation on children is of a declarative rather than a
practical nature, making it impossible
for Ukraine to ensure observance and
exercise of the established rights of the child. In addition, the national
machinery for ensuring
the application and the monitoring of the application of
individual regulations on the rights of the child requires further
refinement.
- There
are several matters requiring legal regulation. This is true in particular of
the right of children and their parents, in accordance
with the Convention, to
live in any country and to return to their native country for the purposes of
family reunification and maintenance
of the relationship between parents and
children, the right of refugee children to protection, and children’s
right to protection
against the use of narcotic drugs and psychotropic
substances and involvement in their production and
distribution.
- The
obstacles to the solution of the problems impairing the guarantee of the best
interests of the child in society include insufficient
funding of the sectoral
activities.
- The
application of the best-interests principle is marking time in education because
of the current state of the funding of the system.
This situation is having a
particular impact on the interests of orphans and children living in
unsatisfactory circumstances. There
is an urgent need to provide a
comprehensive solution to the problem of the funding of expenditure by
educational establishments
on the maintenance of orphans and equivalent
categories of children by means of a separate legal code (or articles) in
accordance
with the established regulations.
- Changes
and additions are needed in the Marriage and Family Code with respect to the
procedure for the adoption of unweaned infants,
in particular the possibility of
adopting a child immediately after birth instead of at the age of two
months.
- In
the case of the vocational training of teachers, who study legal issues relating
to children, the best-interests principle is taught
in all faculties in standard
courses on “Fundamentals of jurisprudence” and “Fundamentals
of the constitutional
law of Ukraine”, and since 1995 the Ministry of
Education has been recommending the inclusion of a “Human rights”
course. In addition, the institutes of higher education train specialists in
“jurisprudence”. The history faculties
of 19 teacher-training
universities and institutes offer “jurisprudence” as a special
subject.
- The
best-interests principle is taken fully into account by the country’s
internal affairs agencies. As required by the legislation,
the Ministry of
Internal Affairs created a criminal police force to deal with juvenile cases;
this force has 4,000 members; more
than 3,800 of them have higher education,
including 1,000 with legal training and over 2,000 with higher teacher
training.
- Internal
affairs personnel are entitled to take (extramural) higher education courses,
without discontinuing their basic work, in
the Ministry’s own institutes
of higher education.
- Furthermore,
under the Ministry’s legislation police officers receive standard
in-service training and every year they undergo
professional, physical, medical
and other tests, during which the level of their professional preparedness to
carry out their official
duties is assessed.
C. The right to life, survival and development (art.
6)
- All
citizens have the constitutional right to life, decent living standards
(adequate nutrition, clothing and housing), health care
and medical
services.
- From
the standpoint of the criminal law, children’s right to life is
safeguarded by the higher level of criminal responsibility
attaching to attacks
on children’s life or health. The Criminal Code establishes criminal
responsibility for a mother’s
intentional killing of her newborn child. A
crime is regarded as aggravated when committed against a minor or when the
perpetrator
involves a minor in its commission.
- Acts
committed against children which result in physical or material damage are
punishable by law. Such acts include deliberate neglect,
malicious refusal to
pay maintenance established by court order or by order of a people’s
judge, use of guardianship for mercenary
ends to the detriment of the child
(occupation of accommodation, use of property remaining after the death of
parents, etc.) or leaving
their charges without supervision and the necessary
material provision, rape, unnatural sexual practices, sexual relations with a
sexually immature minor, corruption of a child, pederasty, kidnapping or
substitution of another person’s child, inducement
of a child into
criminal activity, drunkenness, begging, prostitution or gambling, living off
the earnings of minors, and encouragement
of the use of narcotic drugs or the
non-medical use of medicinal and other preparations which are not narcotic but
produce stupefaction.
- The
conditions of children’s healthy development are established in the
Fundamentals of Health Legislation. It is the duty
of parents to care for their
children’s health and physical and spiritual development and ensure that
they lead a healthy lifestyle;
failure to perform this duty may lead to removal
of parental authority. The Fundamentals of Health Legislation define the
conditions
for the provision of medical services to children, their supervision
by the health system, the quality of their diet, the conduct
of preventive
medical checks, and the monitoring of their working conditions.
- The
environment has a considerable impact on children’s health. The
Constitution stipulates that the State has a duty to ensure environmental safety
and the maintenance of the ecological balance in the territory
of Ukraine, to
overcome the after-effects of the Chernobyl disaster, and to preserve the
genofund of the Ukrainian people. One of
the measures taken to ensure
environmental safety is the preparation of draft legislation on
“Fundamental areas of State policy
for environmental protection, use of
natural resources, and maintenance of the ecological
balance”.
- In
1998 Ukraine approved the Convention on Access to Information, Public
Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in
Environmental Matters.
This opened up access for
the general public to various kinds of
information about harmful environmental impacts and offered people an
opportunity to take decisions
on the exercise of the fundamental human rights,
in particular the rights of the child, including the right to
life.
- Pursuant
to the amendments and additions incorporated in the 1996 Act “On the
status and social protection of citizens suffering
as a result of the Chernobyl
disaster”, such status is accorded to persons who are now of the age of
majority and at the time
of leaving the emergency zone were in their
mother’s womb. The Act also defines the specific children who are
recognized to
have suffered as a result of the disaster and their status. It
establishes a list of compensation payments and benefits guaranteed
by the State
for children in this category, including full State support for them until they
start school, full reimbursement of
the mother’s medical expenses until
her child reaches age 14, the payment to mothers caring for such children of
double the
amount of the regular child allowance, rent allowances, and
allowances for medical treatment in sanatoriums and study in institutes
of
higher education and other schools.
- The
measures for ensuring the vital activity and development of children suffering
as a result of the Chernobyl disaster are also
defined in the 1996 version of
this Act, in the 1995 Order of the Presidium of the Supreme Council “On
the state of the medical
care and recuperation of children suffering as a result
of the Chernobyl disaster”, in the Orders of the Cabinet of Ministers
“On the procedure and amounts of compensatory payments for children
suffering as a result of the Chernobyl disaster”
(1997), “On
confirmation of the new procedure for calculation of pensions in respect of
disability caused by mutilation or
sickness or in respect of the loss of a
breadwinner as a result of the Chernobyl disaster” (1997), and “On
confirmation
of the regulations on the procedure for organizing the recuperation
of citizens suffering as a result of the Chernobyl disaster”
(1995).
- The
strengthening of the social protection of children with HIV or AIDS is the
purpose of the 1994 Order of the Cabinet of Ministers
“On increasing the
scale of the State assistance for children infected with human immunodeficiency
virus or suffering from
acquired immunodeficiency
syndrome”.
- The
State Statistical Committee collects data on infant mortality resulting from
infectious or parasitic diseases, neoplasms, disorders
of the endocrine glands,
digestive and metabolic disorders, reduced immunity, disorders of the nervous
system and sensory organs,
the blood and haematogenous organs, respiratory
organs, congenital abnormalities, and conditions arising in the perinatal
period.
- The
following categories of statistics are kept on the deaths of children from
accidents, homicide and suicide: traffic accidents;
alcoholic poisoning;
accidental poisoning; accidents during medical treatment; accidental falls; fire
accidents; accidental drowning;
accidental suffocation; accidents involving
firearms; suicide and self-mutilation; electrical accidents; homicide; and
starvation.
- All
accidents causing injury to children must be investigated by the internal
affairs agencies and the Procurator’s Office of
the Ministry of Internal
Affairs in order to establish the causes and circumstances and to determine
whether any other persons were
involved.
Numbers of children aged 0-14 years who died as a result of
accidents,
homicide, suicide and other external causes in 1993-1997*
|
|
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
Traffic accidents
|
599
|
564
|
521
|
419
|
352
|
Accidental alcoholic poisoning
|
|
|
|
1
|
2
|
Other accidental poisoning
|
397
|
319
|
325
|
388
|
265
|
Accidents during medical treatment
|
19
|
15
|
12
|
9
|
6
|
Accidental falls
|
162
|
143
|
108
|
122
|
90
|
Fire accidents
|
167
|
156
|
129
|
133
|
104
|
Accidental drowning
|
618
|
752
|
628
|
549
|
542
|
Accidental suffocation and choking
|
328
|
308
|
327
|
274
|
266
|
Accidents involving firearms
|
23
|
15
|
8
|
18
|
6
|
Suicide and self-mutilation
|
85
|
78
|
84
|
88
|
78
|
Electrical accidents
|
141
|
132
|
140
|
133
|
144
|
Homicide, and deliberate wounding by another person
|
140
|
364
|
133
|
145
|
145
|
Starvation and exhaustion
|
|
|
|
1
|
|
Other accidents, poisoning, traumatism
|
373
|
111
|
320
|
295
|
301
|
Unspecified mutilation
|
158
|
202
|
231
|
160
|
181
|
Total deaths
|
3 210
|
3 159
|
2 966
|
2 735
|
2 482
|
* According to State Statistical Committee data.
- Recent
years have seen an encouraging downward trend in the mortality rate for children
aged 0-14, mainly with respect to accidents,
injuries, poisoning, and congenital
development problems.
Deaths of children aged 0-14 in 1993, 1996
and 1997
by principal causes of death
(per 10,000 children)*
|
|
1996
|
1997
|
Total deaths
|
13.30
|
11.30
|
11.30
|
Accidents, injuries, poisoning
|
2.90
|
2.70
|
2.50
|
Congenital abnormalities
|
2.80
|
2.40
|
2.39
|
Disorders of respiratory organs
|
1.20
|
0.90
|
0.88
|
Diseases of the nervous system
|
0.93
|
0.90
|
0.83
|
Malignant tumours
|
0.74
|
0.60
|
0.65
|
Infectious and parasitic diseases
|
0.77
|
0.80
|
0.65
|
* According to Ministry of Health data.
- The
principal causes of death among children aged 0-14 in 1993-1997 were:
accidents, injuries and poisoning (22 per cent), traffic
accidents (17 per
cent), congenital abnormalities (21 per cent), conditions arising in the
perinatal period (19 per cent), diseases
of the nervous system (7 per cent), and
diseases of the respiratory organs (8 per cent).
- There
have been no substantial changes in the structure of infant mortality since
1993. The mortality rate for boys aged 0-4 is 1.1
per 1,000 and for girls 0.9
per 1,000, as in preceding years. It should be noted that although the
mortality rate of children aged
0-4 has hardly changed there are substantial
differences by type of population: twice as many rural children die as urban.
The
total number of fatal accidents per 1,000 in this age group is 38 to 46 per
cent higher for boys than for girls.
- Every
child death is considered by the advisory medical committee of a health
institution. The Ministry of Health introduced a computerized
system for
monitoring deaths of children in the first year of life, and every death in this
age group is entered in the system.
- A
Health Ministry decree stipulates that, as a rule, all bodies of patients who
die in health institutions must undergo autopsy.
This decree provides for
mandatory autopsy of babies weighing over 500 grams born dead after the
twenty-second week of pregnancy.
- In
1997, 97.2 per cent of infants who died in the first six weeks of life underwent
postmortem examination; for children aged up to
14 the figure was 80.6 per
cent.
- There
has been no decline in deaths from suicide in the 0-14 age
group.
Deaths from suicide in the 0-14 age group*
1993
|
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
85
|
78
|
84
|
88
|
78
|
* According to State Statistical Committee data.
- A
case of the death of a child from starvation was recorded for the first time in
Ukraine in 1996.
- The
Act “On radio and television” bans broadcasts which may harm the
physical, mental or moral development of minors;
it specifically bans the
dissemination, without the consent of the parents or surrogate parents, of
information about minors who
have committed crimes or about crimes committed
against minors or about the suicide of minors if such information makes it
possible
to identify the minors in question.
- The
prevention of drug addiction, alcoholism, smoking and HIV/AIDS is one of the
priorities of work of the centres providing social
services for young
people.
- These
centres are guided in their preventive work by the departmental regulations and
national legislation, the National Programme
to Combat Abuse of Narcotic
Substances and their Unlawful Distribution 1994-1997, the National
AIDS-Prevention Programme 1995-1997,
an Order of the Cabinet of Ministers
concerning measures to combat drunkenness, alcoholism and smoking, and the
National Programme
“Children of Ukraine”.
- The
National Committee for Prevention of Drug Addiction and AIDS, the Academy of
Pedagogical Sciences, and the WHO office in Ukraine
(AIDS Global Programme) act
as permanent partners in carrying out the preventive measures.
- According
to the figures produced by the drug addiction programme, more
than 190,000 young people received help in 1997, and more
than 130,000
were helped in connection with HIV/AIDS.
- In
accordance with the Act “On juvenile affairs agencies and services and on
special juvenile institutions” and the legislation
of the Ministry of
Internal Affairs regulating the activities of the internal affairs agencies, the
staff of the corresponding local
units are responsible for measures to combat
AIDS, dissolute behaviour, drunkenness, drug addiction and other negative
phenomena
among young people. Similar action is envisaged in the National
Programme “Children of Ukraine”, the basic measures
of the Ministry
of Internal Affairs, and the operational plans of the various departments and
units of the juvenile police.
D. Respect for the views of the child (art. 12)
- Under
article 34 of the Constitution everyone has the right to freedom of thought and
speech and free expression of opinions and beliefs. In current Ukrainian law
children’s
right freely to express their thoughts is embodied in the
Marriage and Family Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Code of
Administrative Offences, and in the Acts “On education”, “On
the formation of public associations”, and “On
the press”, as
well as in other legislation.
- In
the Act “On education” the State guarantees to teachers, students
and schoolchildren the right to participate personally
(or through their
representatives) in the administration of their affairs, in the discussion and
resolution of issues connected with
the improvement of the teaching/learning
process, scientific research work, award of education grants, and the
organization of the
daily routine, leisure time, etc., and to join public
associations.
- In
accordance with the Acts “On the press” and “On the formation
of public associations”, young students and
pupils may take part in public
organizations and associations, in the Junior Academy of Sciences, and in
students’ selfmanagement
bodies.
- Young
people may express their opinions about the organization of school life and the
exercise of their rights and freedoms in the
school, district and regional
communication media.
- In
legal proceedings and in the event of their arrest, minors are given an
opportunity by the internal affairs agencies freely to
explain the situation,
state their views and complaints, and initiate procedures for the protection of
their rights and freedoms.
- In
any judicial or administrative proceedings affecting their interests children
are given the opportunity to be heard directly or
through a representative or an
appropriate body in accordance with the procedural rules contained in national
legislation. Furthermore,
in a number of categories of proceedings the rules
provide for the mandatory participation of a representative of the guardianship
and custody agency which is responsible for the personal and material protection
of the child in question.
- The
Marriage and Family Code proclaims children’s right to apply to the
guardianship and custody agencies in defence of their
rights and interests if
their parents (or one of them) neglect their duties or abuse their parental
authority. An application for
assistance made by a child to one of these
agencies is regarded as one of the grounds for taking a child into
care.
- In
a number of instances the opinions of children aged 10 or older have legal
significance, especially in adoption proceedings, the
acquisition by an adopted
child of the surname and patronymic of the adoptive father, changes of name, and
registration of adoptive
parents as the parents of an adopted child, as well as
in the revocation of adoption orders and placement of children in family-style
children’s homes.
- The
opinion of a child aged 10 or older as to which parent he wishes to live with in
the event of his parents’ divorce is taken
into account in the legal
proceedings, but such opinions are not binding on the court.
- The
law allows guardianship and custody orders to be made without the child’s
consent.
- The
Act “On the formation of public associations” provides that
registered public associations, including youth and children’s
organizations, are entitled to represent and defend their legitimate interests
and those of their members in State and administrative
agencies, to take part in
political activities, to engage in mass activities (gatherings, meetings,
demonstrations, etc.), to obtain
from national and local executive authorities
the information necessary for the attainment of their goals and purposes, to
make proposals
to national executive agencies, to disseminate information about
and publicize their ideas and goals, and to create mass communication
media.
- Under
the Act “On education” schoolchildren and students may establish
their own local associations in their places of
education.
- The
State accords to schoolchildren the right to participate personally (or through
their representatives) in the administration of
their affairs and in the
discussion and resolution of issues affecting the improvement of the
learning/teaching process, scientific
research work, and the organization of the
daily routine, leisure time, etc.
- As
part of the education process schoolchildren and students take part either
personally or through their associations in school councils
and local authority
bodies.
- The
integrated disciplines “Teaching science” and
“Psychology” form the basis of the vocational
psychological/pedagogical
training of future teachers in the institutions of the
Ministry of Education; more than 300 hours of class work are timetabled for
these subjects.
- Questions
of the education of children in the family are studied both in the general
teacher-training and psychology courses and in
the special-subject
courses.
- The
Ministry of Family and Youth Affairs runs courses to upgrade the qualifications
of its personnel, including a course on the rights
of the
child.
- The
Ministry of Justice runs courses to upgrade the qualifications of its personnel,
including courses on children’s problems.
In the period January 1997 to
June 1998 the courses included lectures on:
“Some issues
of the application of the legislation on marriage and the family in the
practice of the courts”: 80 hours;
“The application of
re-educational measures to minors”: 36 hours;
“The practice
of the courts in respect of sexual crimes and acts of corruption committed
by adults against children”: 72 hours.
- However,
juridical institutions do not yet undertake the training of specialists in
children’s rights as part of the standard
timetable. The rights of the
child may be taken as a special subject.
- The
Act “On juvenile affairs agencies and services and on special juvenile
institutions” provides that cases involving
minors who have committed
administrative offences and misdemeanours or the committal of minors to special
establishments must be
heard by specially authorized judges and court personnel,
and the institution of court tutor has been created. However, this legislative
rule is not applied in practice owing to the courts’ excessive
workload.
- Institutes
of higher education do not offer special vocational training for lawyers, judges
and court tutors in social/legal protection
work and rehabilitation measures for
children or in the dispensation of juvenile justice.
- In
1996-1997 the Ukrainian Institute for Social Research conducted a sociological
survey of children aged 10 to 17 to clarify a number
of basic problems affecting
their lives and family relationships, and their attitudes to school, leisure,
work, etc. A survey was
also carried out among schoolchildren to determine
their familiarity with the principles of the Convention, and sociological
research
work was done on children’s living conditions in boarding
establishments. The general findings of these investigations are
taken into
account in the drafting of legislation on children.
IV. CIVIL RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS
(arts. 7; 8; 13-17; and 37
(a))
- The
Constitution establishes the fundamental civil rights and freedoms, including
respect for everyone’s human dignity and freedom and the inviolability
of
the person, the freedom of thought and speech, the right to full expression of
one’s opinions and beliefs, the freedom of
ideology and religion,
the inviolability of the home, the confidentiality of written communications,
telephone conversations and telegraphic
and all other forms of correspondence,
protection against interference in personal and family life, and the right to
join political
parties and public organizations for the exercise and defence of
one’s rights and freedoms. These human and civil rights and
freedoms are
protected by the law.
- The
constitutional rules relating to children are contained in the Marriage and
Family Code, the Criminal Code, the Code of Criminal
Procedure, the Code of
Administrative Offences and the Labour Code, as well as in the Acts “On
education”, “On
the formation of public associations”, and
“On juvenile affairs agencies and services and on special juvenile
institutions”.
A. Name and nationality (art. 7)
- In
accordance with article 18 of the Act “On the agencies for the
registration of acts of civil status”, births are registered
by the civil
registry offices or, in rural areas, by officials of the executive committees of
village and settlement councils.
- The
procedure, place and time limit for the registration of births are established
in the legislation. In particular, articles 163
and 164 of the Marriage and
Family Code provide that a birth may be registered both at the child’s
place of birth and at the
parents’ place of registration or at either one
of these places, or, in the event of the illness or death of the parents or
their inability for any other reason to register the birth, by a statement of
the parents, other persons or the management of the
health facility where the
child was delivered. In all cases the registration or declaration of the birth
must take place within
three months of the date of delivery or within three days
if the child is stillborn.
- It
must be pointed out that civil registry offices may not refuse to register a
birth on the ground that the registration should be
effected in some other
registry office.
- If
the child is born on an expedition, on a ship, at a polar station or in any
other remote place which does not have a civil registry
office, the birth may be
registered at the place of residence of the parents or of one of them within
three months of the date of
return.
- The
birth of a foundling whose parents are unknown is registered on the basis of a
declaration of the guardianship and custody institution
or the management of the
children’s home which took the baby in, within three days of its
discovery.
- The
same principles apply to the registration of the births of children and other
persons living permanently in Ukraine but not having
Ukrainian nationality and
to asylum-seekers and refugees.
- In
urban areas births are registered by the local civil registry office and in
rural areas by the executive committee of the local
village or settlement
council.
- In
order to ensure that the general public is fully informed about
birth-registration matters, officials of the civil registry offices
give public
lectures attended by large audiences and talks on radio and television, as well
as publishing the necessary information
in the local press.
- With
a view to ensuring the prompt and correct registration of births the Ministry of
Justice provides training for the staff of registry
offices as one of its
regular courses for upgrading the qualifications of Ministry personnel; it also
holds conferences and seminars
at which the questions discussed above are dealt
with in detail.
- The
Marriage and Family Code provides that a child has the right to a forename,
patronymic and surname.
- Children
are named by the parents by common accord. In the absence of such accord the
matter is resolved by a guardianship and custody
institution. The patronymic is
conferred by the forename of the father or of the person registered as the
father.
- If
the parents have the same surname, this surname is taken by the child. If their
surnames are different, the child takes the surname
of either the father or the
mother by agreement between them or, in the absence of such agreement, by
decision of a guardianship
and custody institution.
- The
breakdown of a marriage or the declaration of its invalidity does not entail any
change in the names of any children. If the
parent with whom a minor child
continues to live after the breakdown or declaration of invalidity wishes to
give the child his or
her surname, the guardianship and custody institutions are
entitled to authorize the change if it is in the child’s
interest.
- When
a child is adopted, at the request of the adoptive parents the adoption order
must record that the adopted child is taking the
surname of the adoptive father
and changing his patronymic accordingly. At the request of the adoptive parents
the child’s
forename may also be changed.
- Every
child has the right to live and grow up in a family, to know his parents, and to
live together with them, except when this is
not in his best interests. Every
child is entitled to have a relationship with both his parents and with his
grandparents, brothers
and sisters, as well as with other relatives. Family
relations are governed by the Marriage and Family Code.
- The
details of a child’s parentage are recorded following his birth in the
civil register. If the father and mother are married
to each other, they are
registered as the child’s parents on the basis of a declaration by one of
them.
- If
the parents are not married to each other, the entry in the register on the
child’s mother is made on the basis of the mother’s
declaration and
the entry on the father on the basis of a joint declaration by the father and
mother or by the father alone if a
court so rules. If the mother dies, is
declared legally incapable or deprived or her parental authority or if she
cannot prove her
place of residence, the details of the father are recorded in
accordance with his own declaration.
- When
a child is born to an unmarried mother, in the absence of a joint declaration by
the parents or a court ruling on paternity,
the entry on the child’s
father is made in the surname of the mother, and the father’s forename,
patronymic and nationality
are recorded as she directs. If the mother dies, is
declared legally incapable or deprived of her parental authority or if she
cannot
prove her place of residence, the entries on the child’s father and
mother are made in accordance with the declaration of relatives,
other persons
or the management of the health facility in which the child was
delivered.
- In
the event of a child’s adoption, the adoptive parents may request to be
registered as the child’s parents. This entry
is made by the civil
registry office on the basis of the adoption order.
- In
such cases the office records the corresponding changes in the entry on the
adopted child’s birth in the register and issues
a new birth certificate
incorporating the changes. As an adopted relative of his adoptive parents the
child is assimilated for the
purposes of personal and property rights to a
relative by birth.
- The
grounds for granting or terminating citizenship are defined in the Act “On
citizenship of Ukraine” in the version
of 16 April 1997. The changes and
additions to this Act are designed to clarify the procedure for granting
citizenship to children
born of Ukrainian parents and the procedure for the
acquisition of citizenship by children having only one Ukrainian parent and by
children of stateless parents. The procedure for establishing citizenship by
such children is a democratic one and takes into account
their best
interests.
- Under
the Act a child whose parents were Ukrainian citizens at the time of his birth
is a citizen of Ukraine regardless of whether
he was born in Ukrainian territory
or abroad. Children born in the territory of Ukraine of stateless or unknown
parents are Ukrainian
citizens.
- If
the parents are of different nationalities, the child is a citizen of Ukraine if
he was born in Ukrainian territory, or abroad
if the parents (or one of them)
were permanently resident in Ukraine at the time. If the parents change their
nationality and both
become citizens of Ukraine or if they both relinquish
Ukrainian citizenship, the nationality of their children aged under 16
changes
accordingly.
- A
child may obtain Ukrainian nationality if one of his parents becomes a Ukrainian
citizen but the other remains a foreign national
or stateless
person.
- A
foreign or stateless child becomes a citizen of Ukraine if he is adopted or if
guardianship or custody of him is obtained by a Ukrainian
citizen or if at least
one member of his family is of Ukrainian nationality. The procedure for the
acquisition of Ukrainian nationality
by children is fully consistent with the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
- Children
adopted by foreign nationals retain their Ukrainian
citizenship.
- A
change of the nationality of a child aged 16-18 following a change of
nationality by his parents or in the event of his adoption
may be effected only
with child’s consent.
B. Preservation of identity (art. 8)
- Article
8 of the Convention establishes the right of the child to preservation of
identity, including nationality, name and family
links. This right is
safeguarded by the Marriage and Family Code, the Acts “On citizenship of
Ukraine” and “On
national minorities in Ukraine”, and the
Order concerning the procedure for consideration of applications by citizens of
Ukraine
for changes of surname, forename or patronymic.
- Questions
of nationality are governed by the Act “On citizenship of Ukraine”,
which provides for the retention of nationality
by children made subject to
guardianship or custody in the event of surrender of Ukrainian citizenship by
one of their parents or
adoption by foreign nationals or stateless
persons.
- The
Marriage and Family Code provides that every child must be given a surname,
forename and patronymic at birth in accordance with
the rules established in the
Code. The right to preservation of personality is infringed if at the time of
adoption the adoptive
parents change the child’s forename (art. 114). The
child must consent to a change of forename if he is aged 10 or
older.
- Under
the Act “On national minorities in Ukraine” all citizens are
entitled to a surname, forename and patronymic of their
own national minority.
Citizens whose national tradition is not to use a patronymic are entitled to
enter in their passports only
their forename and surname and in their birth
certificates the forenames of their father and mother.
- Ukrainian
law requires a clear definition of the status of a child’s personality and
compliance with the right of the child
to be given a name at
birth.
C. Freedom of expression (art. 13)
- Children’s
right to freedom of thought and speech and their freedom to express their
opinions and beliefs are guaranteed by
the Constitution.
- All
citizens of Ukraine have the right freely to collect, preserve, use and
disseminate information orally, in writing or by any other
means of their
choice. The exercise of this right may be limited by law in the interests of
national security, territorial integrity
or civil order in order to prevent
disorder or crime, protect the people’s health, safeguard the reputation
or rights of other
persons, prevent the dissemination of information given in
confidence, or protect the authority and impartiality of the operation
of the
law.
- This
constitutional right is further developed in the Acts “On
education”, “On printed media of mass information
(the press)”
and “On information”, as well as in the Criminal
Code.
D. Freedom of thought, conscience and religion (art.
14)
- All
citizens have the right under the Constitution to freedom of ideology and
religion. This right includes the freedom to profess any religion or none, to
practice religious rites
individually or collectively without interference, and
to engage in other religious activities.
- No
one may be released from his obligations to the State or refuse to obey the law
on the ground of religious belief. If the performance
of military service
clashes with a citizen’s religious beliefs, he must perform alternative
(non-military) service instead.
- These
provisions of the Constitution are reflected in the Acts “On
education”, “On universal military duty and military service”
and “On
freedom of conscience and on religious
organizations”.
- Under
the Act “On freedom of conscience and on religious organizations”
all citizens (regardless of age) are guaranteed
this freedom, which includes the
right to hold, accept or change the religion or religious beliefs of one’s
choice and the
freedom individually or collectively to profess any religion or
none, to practice religious rites, and openly to express and freely
to profess
one’s religious or atheistic beliefs. Parents and surrogate parents have
the right to bring up their children by
common accord in conformity with their
beliefs and their attitudes towards religion (art. 3).
- All
religions, religious denominations and religious organizations are equal before
the law. The establishment of any advantages
or restrictions for one religion,
religious denomination or religious organization in relation to the others is
prohibited.
- Pursuant
to the third part of article 35 of the Constitution the Church and religious
organizations are separated from the State, and schools from the
Church.
- In
accordance with article 6 of the Act “On freedom of conscience and on
religious organizations” the system of State
education is separated from
the Church (and other religious organizations): it is a secular system.
Religious beliefs and membership
of a religious community do not constitute
obstacles to school attendance. However, pupils may not engage in religious
practices
at school.
- The
system of State education is secular, but children have an opportunity of
religious education either in denominational schools
or in schools, circles and
groups set up by religious communities. All children are entitled to religious
education in accordance
with the wishes of their parents or surrogate parents,
and no one has the right to compel children to study religion or to impose
religious beliefs on them against their parents’ wishes. Interpreters of
religious dogma and preachers of religion must educate
their congregations in a
spirit of toleration and respect for citizens who do not profess a religion and
for adherents of other denominations.
- The
Constitution proclaims the principle that the State must encourage the
development of the distinctive religious characteristics of all the indigenous
peoples and national minorities of Ukraine, may not permit any privileges or
restrictions on the ground of religious belief, and
must guarantee everyone the
freedom of ideology and religion.
- The
Criminal Code establishes criminal responsibility for acts designed to inflame
religious enmity and hatred, to injure people’s
feelings in connection
with their religious beliefs, or directly or indirectly to restrict rights or
accord direct or indirect advantages
on the grounds of a person’s attitude
to religion.
- The
Code prohibits the obstruction of the performance of religious rites, provided
that they do not disrupt the public order and do
not involve any encroachment on
the rights of others. The law prohibits the organization or leadership of any
group whose activities
are conducted under the pretext of the teaching of a
religious dogma or the performance of religious rites but in fact may damage
people’s health or promote sexual depravity.
E. Freedom of association and peaceful assembly (art.
15)
- The
Act “On the formation of public organizations” guarantees citizens
the freedom to associate in political parties and
other public organizations for
the exercise and defence of their rights and freedoms and the cultivation of
their political, economic,
social, cultural and other interests, with the
exception of organizations prohibited by law in the interests of national
security
and public order, protection of the people’s health, or defence
of the rights of others. No one may be compelled to join any
public association
or have his rights restricted on the ground of membership or non-membership of a
political party or public organization.
All public associations are equal
before the law.
- All
children are entitled to join and participate in the activities of
children’s and youth associations and organizations.
- Children’s
and youth organizations may be founded by Ukrainian citizens or nationals of
other States or stateless persons who
have reached the age of 15. The age
limits on membership of children’s and youth organizations are determined
by their statutes.
F. Protection of privacy (art. 16)
- The
protection of children’s rights and interests is a matter for their
parents, surrogate parents, the guardianship and custody
agencies, the
Procurator’s Office and the courts.
- The
Marriage and Family Code stipulates that the protection of the rights and
interests of minors is the responsibility of their parents,
who may act in this
matter without any special authorization. If a minor marries, he or she
acquires full legal capacity from the
time of the marriage and may then defend
his or her rights independently.
- All
citizens are guaranteed the confidentiality of correspondence, telephone
conversations, and telegraphic and other means of communication.
The search or
inspection of accommodation and the seizure of correspondence are permitted only
in conformity with the rules set
out in the Code of Criminal
Procedure.
- No
citizen may be subjected to interference in his personal or family life, except
in the instances provided for in the Constitution. The gathering, keeping, use
and dissemination of confidential information about a person without his consent
is prohibited, except
in the circumstances specified by law and only in the
interests of national security, economic prosperity or human
rights.
- Everyone
is guaranteed legal protection of the right to contest false information about
himself or the members of his family, as well
as of the right to demand the
withdrawal of any such information and the right to compensation for any
material or moral damage resulting
from the gathering, keeping, use or
dissemination of false information.
- These
provisions of the law apply fully to minors.
- The
Marriage and Family Code stipulates that if a minor has possession of property
belonging to him his parents may administer such
property as trustees without
any special authorization, provided that they comply with the legal rules on
such matters. Under the
Civil Code citizens acquire the right to administer
their own property on their eighteenth birthday. Minors aged 15 or older are
entitled to enter into legal agreements with the permission of their parents,
adoptive parents or guardians. They are entitled to
enter into minor everyday
agreements of their own accord.
G. Access to appropriate information (art. 17)
- The
system of State television and radio information services provides children with
broad access to reliable and substantive information.
The special creative
production units, chief editorial offices and other departments of the national
television and radio corporations
produce information programmes specifically
for children of all age groups. They have an integral system for producing
broadcasts
for children on various topics and in various genres and
forms.
- The
mass media have been giving extensive attention to the implementation of the
National Programme “Children of Ukraine”.
The pages of newspapers
and magazines frequently contain articles offering advice to parents and
children on topical issues of education
and upbringing, health care, food
hygiene and clean water, and prevention of traffic accidents involving injury to
children. Information
items on various matters such as a healthy life style and
on many aspects of moral/patriotic education are becoming increasingly
common,
as are items in which well known experts in Ukraine and its regions offer
advice.
- The
national, regional and local press concentrates on publicizing measures to
prevent juvenile crime and child neglect. A number
of periodicals report on the
fight against juvenile crime, the role of law-enforcement agencies in this
fight, and the crime-prevention
work of local State services.
- Information
is provided about measures to tackle the social problem of youth unemployment,
the creation of the necessary conditions
for the comprehensive development of
young people, and society’s duty to ensure the involvement of children in
all areas of
activity.
- With
a view to combating the unlawful use of cinema and video films and to prevent
the showing of video materials promoting pornography,
drug addiction, cruelty,
violence and other harmful phenomena, the Cabinet of Ministers introduced by
Order No. 563 of 5 June 1997
a system of State certification to regulate the
rental and distribution of such films.
- In
1996 the Ministry of Internal Affairs recorded only one conviction under
article 211-1 of the Criminal Code, which criminalizes
the import,
production and distribution of materials popularizing the cult of violence and
cruelty; 18 such cases were recorded in
1997.
- Libraries
are one of the sources of information for children and adolescents.
According to the Ministry of Culture and the Arts,
the network comprises
1,246 children’s, over 17,500 rural and over 21,000 school
libraries.
- The
number of publications for children and their print runs have declined
noticeably. Some 40 to 60 per cent of such publications
are in
Ukrainian.
- The
number of publications for children is of course insufficient to satisfy
children’s educational, cultural and information
needs. This trend is
unfortunately being encouraged by the country’s general economic
crisis.
Publication of children’s literature*
|
Indicator
|
No. of titles
|
Total copies
|
1993
|
Total
|
335
|
15 778 000
|
1994
|
Total
|
172
|
5 701 000
|
|
including in Ukrainian
|
83
|
2 510 000
|
1995
|
Total
|
266
|
5 172 000
|
|
including in Ukrainian
|
145
|
2 592 600
|
1996
|
Total
|
299
|
3 184 000
|
|
including in Ukrainian
|
157
|
1 483 700
|
1997
|
Total
|
210
|
2 050 000
|
|
including in Ukrainian
|
141
|
1 252 300
|
* According to Ministry of Information data.
- With
a view to supporting the publication of children’s literature the Ministry
of Information makes financial provision for
a number of children’s
publications when compiling and implementing its annual programme of
publications socially necessary
for the general purposes of the
State.
- The
Ministry constantly encourages exhibitions and fairs to promote children’s
books brought out by Ukrainian publishers. Exhibitions
of printed materials for
children are organized with the active support and participation of a number of
State publishing houses.
- School
textbooks and children’s books in the languages of national minorities
appear every year under the State programme for
the publication of literature in
the languages of national minorities by the Ministry’s publishing units
(Hungarian, Romanian,
Polish, Hebrew, Slovak, Crimean Tartar, Greek, Georgian,
etc.).
- In
accordance with the Fundamentals of Legislation on Culture, citizens of any of
the nationalities have the right to preserve, develop
and popularize their
language and set up mass communication media and publishing houses, with a view
to the development of the cultures
of all the national minorities living in
Ukraine.
- One
of the main areas of activity under Ukraine’s cooperation with UNESCO is
information work with children to publicize contemporary
world thinking in the
sphere of education, science and culture. The UNESCO associated schools project
aims at the development of
education in a spirit of peace and international
understanding within the existing education structure.
- Ukraine
has 18 schools involved in this UNESCO programme, as well as some 30
“candidate” associated schools.
- All
the associated schools correspond and exchange youth, children’s and
teachers’ delegations with their overseas partners,
as well as holding
friendship festivals, meetings, discussion evenings, solidarity fairs,
competitions, UNESCO weeks, etc. Some
schools are collective members of
friendship associations with other countries.
- One
popular form of cooperation with UNESCO at present is the creation of UNESCO
chairs in Ukraine’s institutes of higher education
in order to make this
organization’s ideas better known. At present there are four such chairs:
in the Kiev Languages University,
the Kiev International Science and Technology
University, the Kharkov Agrarian University, and the “Kiev-Mogilyansk
Academy”
national university.
H. The right not to be subjected to torture or other cruel,
inhuman
or degrading treatment or punishment (art. 37 (a))
- Every
citizen of Ukraine is entitled to respect for his human dignity. No one may be
subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or
punishment.
- Parental
authority may not be exercised to the detriment of the child’s interests.
In the event of the improper performance
of their duties by their parents (or
one of them) or of abuse of parental authority, children are entitled to turn
for the protection
of their rights and interests to the guardianship and custody
agencies.
- These
agencies verify the performance by parents of their obligations with respect to
their children’s upbringing and, when
necessary, they take action to
assist the children and protect them against any threat to their physical or
spiritual development.
- One
or both parents may be deprived of parental authority if it is established that
they are abusing this authority, treating their
children cruelly, or having a
harmful influence on their children as a result of amoral or antisocial
behaviour, or if the parents
are chronic alcoholics or drug addicts. The
removal of parental authority is subject to strict legal
procedures.
- In
exceptional circumstances when there is a direct threat to a child’s life
or health the agencies are empowered to decide
on the immediate removal of a
child from his parents or from other persons who are in fact bringing him
up.
- If
during actions for the removal of parental authority a court uncovers evidence
of wrongdoing on the part of one or both parents,
it informs the
Procurator’s Office or itself institutes criminal
proceedings.
- The
Criminal Code criminalizes the deliberate infliction of grievous bodily harm by
means constituting cruel treatment or torture,
systematic minor ill-treatment
resulting in grievous bodily harm, and deliberate beatings or other acts of
violence causing physical
pain.
- Living
off the earnings of minors is punishable by imprisonment.
- The
application of these provisions of the law is poorly supervised in Ukraine, as
can be seen from the fact that there were only
two actions in 1996 under article
115 of the Criminal Code concerning abuse of parental authority and denial of
care and support
to children. There were no official reports in 1997 of
prosecutions under this heading.
- Under
the existing legislation minors may not be subjected to torture or other
degrading treatment in the course of the operational
investigation and
prevention measures carried out by the juvenile internal affairs
agencies.
- This
was confirmed during the verification mission to Ukraine of the United Nations
Commission on Human Rights in May-June 1998.
No evidence of cruel treatment,
torture or other inhuman acts was found in places of imprisonment and temporary
detention in the
territory of Ukraine.
V. FAMILY ENVIRONMENT AND ALTERNATIVE CARE
(arts. 5; 18, paras. 1-2; 9-11; 19-21; 25; 27, para. 4; and
39)
A. Parental guidance (art. 5)
- The
duties of parents and surrogate parents with respect to the education and
upbringing of their children are set out in the Act
“On education”:
to provide constant care for the physical and mental health of their children;
to create the necessary
conditions for the development of their natural
abilities; to respect their dignity; to cultivate in them diligence, kindness,
charity,
respect for the official language and their mother tongue, for their
family and elders, and for national traditions and customs;
to cultivate in them
respect for the national, historical and cultural values of the Ukrainian and
all other peoples, a caring attitude
to the historical and cultural heritage and
the environment, and love for their Fatherland; to facilitate their
children’s
education in school or to provide comprehensive education at
home in accordance with the requirements of content, standard and scope,
and to
cultivate in them respect for the law and for the fundamental human rights and
freedoms.
- The
structure of life in Ukraine means that most of its population lives in a family
or in a family-linked situation. According to
the latest population census
(1989) Ukraine had 14.1 million families. There were roughly 273 families
per 1,000 inhabitants (274
in urban areas and 272 in rural). The
prevailing type was the simple family, consisting of a married couple and their
children but
sometimes including a parent of one of the spouses. This type of
family accounted for 72.5 per cent of the total, and complex families
(with two
or more family couples) for 5.4 per cent.
- There
is a increasing trend towards single-child and childless
families.
Proportion of children in the population of working
age*
(per 1,000 inhabitants)
|
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
405
|
399
|
393
|
385
|
377
|
* According to State Statistical Committee data.
- The
proportion of single-parent families, usually consisting of a mother and child,
is tending to increase as a result of divorce,
widowhood and the rise in the
number of children born out of wedlock. In 1989 such families accounted for
13.5 per cent of the total
(14.8 in urban areas and 10.8 in
rural).
- The
number of children born out of wedlock is increasing.
Proportion of children born out of
wedlock*
(percentages)
|
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
13.0
|
12.8
|
13.2
|
13.6
|
15.2
|
* According to State Statistical Committee data.
- Local
executive authorities have departments for family and youth affairs whose basic
function is to implement State policies on the
family, women, young people and
children, and maternal and child care. They are required inter alia to
facilitate the introduction
of an effective system of social protection, operate
social assistance services, and support families, women, young people and
children.
- There
are regional social services centres for young people whose function is to
implement State policies on youth, carry out social
work with children, young
people, women and various categories of family, and coordinate the activities
and ensure the organizational
and
methodological management of the
work of the centres. One of the tasks of these regional centres is to carry out
the necessary measures
with children, young people, women and various categories
of family to prevent and eliminate harmful influences. As part of their
work
the centres organize and operate legal, psychological-educational, medical,
vocational guidance and information services.
- One
of the core tasks for parents is to safeguard the interests of their children.
Parents are not entitled to harm their children’s
physical or mental
health or moral development. Under Ukrainian law the raising of children must
not involve excessive pressure
to achieve, cruel treatment, or contempt for
human dignity.
- The
violent treatment and the exploitation of children are liable to
prosecution.
- The
conditions of the upbringing and maintenance of children in the family are
monitored by the guardianship and custody agencies
and the juvenile affairs
services.
B. Parental responsibilities (art. 18, paras. 1-2)
- Under
the Marriage and Family Code parents have the right and the duty to bring up
their children, care for their health and their
physical, spiritual and moral
development, educate them and prepare them for working life. Parents must
maintain their minor children
and any children of age who need material
assistance (art. 80).
- Fathers
and mothers have equal rights and duties in respect of their children; this
provision continues to apply in the event of break-up
of the
marriage.
- Issues
concerning the upbringing of their children are resolved by the parents by
common accord.
- A
parent living separately from his or her children must take a part in their
upbringing and has the right to spend time with them.
A parent with whom a
child is living is not entitled to prevent the other parent from spending time
with the child and taking a
part in his upbringing. If the parents cannot agree
about the participation of one of them in the child’s upbringing, the
issue is resolved by a guardianship and custody agency or by the courts in the
light of the child’s best interests.
- Parents
are responsible for the material maintenance of their children. This
responsibility stays with them even if their parental
authority is removed. See
paragraphs 370 to 379 below.
- The
Constitution provides that families are to be protected by the State. The State
provides support for families by creating and operating an extensive
network of
children’s homes, nurseries and kindergartens, day and boarding schools,
and other children’s institutions
and organizations, by improving everyday
services and the people’s diet, by providing material assistance following
the birth
of a child, as well as benefits for single mothers and large families,
and by furnishing other forms of assistance to families.
- The
Act “On State assistance for families with children” establishes the
types and amounts of the benefits for such families.
Large single-parent
families with a disabled child are given preference in the use of the services
of pre-school facilities.
- The
Labour Code does not permit pregnant women and women with children aged
under 3 years to work at night, to work overtime or on
holidays, or to be
sent on mission.
- Women
with children aged from 3 to 14 may not work overtime or be sent on mission
against their wishes.
- Pregnant
women and women with children aged under 3 years are entitled to be transferred
to other work and to continue to receive
the average wage of their previous
workplace.
- Women
are entitled to pregnancy and childbirth leave. On application women are also
granted additional leave without pay to care
for children until their third
birthday. If her child needs care at home, a mother is granted leave without
pay for the period mentioned
in the medical opinion, but not beyond the
child’s sixth birthday.
- Women
may not be refused employment or employed on lower wages for reasons connected
with pregnancy or the presence of children aged
under 3 years; for single
mothers the rule specifies a child aged under 14 years or a disabled child.
Complaints concerning refusal
of employment on these grounds may be lodged with
the courts.
- Pregnant
women and women with children aged under 3 years and single mothers with a child
aged under 14 or a disabled child may not
be dismissed except in the event of
the total liquidation of the enterprise, establishment or organization, when
they may be dismissed
but have the right to mandatory employment elsewhere. The
re-employment of these categories of women workers is also mandatory when
they
are dismissed on the expiry of their labour contract.
- These
benefits are also extended to fathers bringing up children alone (including
situations in which the mother spends a long period
in hospital) and to
guardians and custodians.
- Parents
also have equal rights and equal responsibilities in respect of their children
under the Marriage and Family Code if the marriage
breaks up. Parents,
guardians and custodians have the right and the duty to bring up the children in
their charge, to care for their
health and their physical, spiritual and moral
development, to educate them and prepare them for working life.
- Although
the average amount of the designated monthly assistance was higher in absolute
terms in 1998 than in 1993, it does not satisfy
the needs of families with
children in exceptional situations. Large families, single-parent families and
families with disabled
children are especially vulnerable; but the amounts of
material assistance fixed by Order No. 832 of the Cabinet of Ministers dated
26
July 1996 are insignificant.
- In
view of the fact that the arrangements for the award and receipt of child
benefit require immediate improvement, the Ministry of
Labour and Social Policy,
in conjunction with the Ministry of the Economy and the Ministry of Finance, has
introduced a mechanism
for targeted supplementary benefit for children aged up
to 16 (students up to 18) which it recommends the regional State authorities
to
introduce as far as their financial position allows.
- The
Ministry has also drafted and submitted to the Supreme Council a bill “On
the amendment of certain legislative acts concerning
individual social benefits
paid by units of the social assistance departments for the social support and
assistance of poor citizens”
in order to ensure equality of opportunity in
the exercise of their entitlement to assistance by families and children when
the parents
are employed by enterprises which are being restructured or have
been declared bankrupt and are unable to provide material
assistance.
- A
social assistance bill designed to restructure the system of social security
benefits has been drafted and is currently being examined
by the Ministry of
Finance; this bill restructures all forms of assistance for poor members of the
population, establishing the sources
of funding of the benefits and services,
the agencies and organizations authorized to provide them, and the procedure for
monitoring
the correct use of the resources.
C. Separation from parents (art. 9)
- Questions
of children’s cohabitation with their parents are regulated by the
Marriage and Family Code, the Criminal Code and
the Code of Criminal
Procedure.
- All
children are entitled to be brought up in their own family and have a
relationship with their parents, brothers, sisters and other
relatives, provided
that this does not clash with their best interests.
- If
the parents do not live together they must decide with whom their minor children
should live. If the parents cannot decide, the
decision is made by a
court.
- Parents
have the right to request that their children should be removed from any person
keeping them with himself illegally or without
a court order. The abduction or
substitution of another person’s child for reasons of profit, out of
revenge or for any other
personal reason is punishable under the Criminal
Code.
- The
parents (or either one of them) may have their parental authority removed if it
is established that they are evading their obligations
with respect to their
children’s upbringing or are abusing their parental authority, treating
their children cruelly, or having
a pernicious influence on them through their
immoral or antisocial behaviour. Parental authority may be removed only by a
court.
If both parents lose their parental authority, the child is placed in
the keeping of the guardianship and custody agencies.
- A
court may decide to remove a child from his parents and place him in the keeping
of these agencies irrespective of whether the parents
have lost their parental
authority if it dangerous for the child to remain with them.
- In
exceptional cases when there is a direct threat to a child’s life or
health the agencies are empowered to decide to remove
him immediately from his
parents or any other persons who are actually maintaining him. In such cases
the agency taking this decision
must immediately inform the Procurator’s
Office and submit to a court within seven days of the decision an application
for
removal of parental authority from one or both parents or for removal of the
child.
- If
the reasons for the parents’ failure to bring up their child properly
cease to exist, the court may, on application by the
parents, decide to return
the child to them.
- During
the court proceedings in cases of this kind the guardianship and custody agency
must submit its opinion in writing, and its
representative and a representative
of the Procurator’s Office must be present at the
hearing.
- In
1997 the courts considered 3,399 applications for removal of parental authority
(in 1996 the figure was 2,806): 3,180 of the applications
succeeded (in
1996 - 2,618).
- All
the interested parties - parents or surrogate parents, children, representatives
of the guardianship and custody agencies - may
take part in proceedings
concerning the removal of parental authority and be given a hearing in
court.
- When
considering disputes over children the courts proceed on the basis of the
children’s best interests and the conditions
for their normal development
and upbringing. If the child in question is aged 10 or older, the court must
elicit his wishes as to
which parent he prefers to live with. Such wishes are
not binding on the court if it concludes that it is not in the child’s
interest to remain with the parent of his choice.
- Questions
of a child’s upbringing are decided by the parents by common accord. The
parent not living with the child must play
a part in his upbringing and has the
right to spend time with him. The parent with whom the child lives is not
entitled to prevent
the other parent from spending time with the
child.
- If
the parents cannot agree on this participation in the child’s upbringing,
the schedule is decided by a guardianship and custody
agency, with input from
the parents, in the light of the child’s best interests. If the parents
do not comply with this decision,
the agency or either of the parents may apply
to the courts for a ruling on the dispute.
- In
1997 the agencies dealt with 1,461 disputes between parents concerning their
child’s place of residence, and 2,654 concerning
the participation in the
child’s upbringing by the parent living apart from him.
- Grandparents
also have a right to spend time with their minor grandchildren. If the parents
refuse to allow the grandfather or grandmother
opportunities to visit the
grandchildren, the guardianship and custody agency may require the parents to do
so according to a schedule
fixed by the agency, provided that the visits do not
interfere with the child’s normal upbringing. If the parents do not
comply
with this decision, the grandparents may apply to the courts for a ruling
on the dispute.
- The
Act “On information” sets out citizens’ rights in the sphere
of access to information, generally information
concerning them directly; the
question of how this right applies to children has not been
resolved.
- The
following information must be presented when a child is admitted to a
school/home for orphans and children lacking parental care:
details of the
parents or surrogate parents (copies of the parents’ death certificates,
the court sentence or decision, certification
that the parents are ill or wanted
by the police, and any other documents confirming the parents’ absence or
their inability
to attend to their children’s upbringing) and details of
any brothers, sisters or other close relatives and their places of
residence.
- When
a child is released or transferred from an institution he is presented with
information about his parents and other close relatives.
- Children
living in family-style children’s homes have the right to maintain
contacts with their parents and other relatives,
provided that this does not
clash with the children’s best interests or impede their normal
development and education. The
form of such contacts is determined by a
guardianship and custody agency in each specific case.
- If
a child is given in adoption by a State children’s institution, the
director of the institution in which the child was placed
or the person with
whom the child is living must submit to the education authority in the
child’s place of residence certificates
of his parents’ deaths or a
copy of the court order on the removal of parental authority, a declaration that
the parents are
incapable, missing or presumed dead, documents confirming that
the parents are not participating in the child’s upbringing
without good
reason or are wanted by the police, or certification by an internal affairs
agency that the child has been abandoned.
- The
Code of Criminal Procedure stipulates that the parents or surrogate parents must
be informed when a minor is arrested or taken
into custody.
- The
directors of State institutions for the care of children are provided with full
information about the children in their charge.
Numbers of children in places of detention, 1993-1997*
|
|
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
Girls
|
197
|
312
|
327
|
395
|
423
|
Boys
|
5 358
|
6 346
|
6 381
|
7 472
|
7 417
|
Total
|
5 555
|
6 658
|
7 158
|
7 867
|
7 840
|
* According to Ministry of Internal Affairs data.
- In
accordance with the principle of the equality of nationalities established in
article 24 of the Constitution, internal affairs agencies do not keep records of
convicted persons by nationality.
- When
a child is placed in an orphanage, the guardianship and custody agencies submit
to the institution’s management documents
concerning the parents or their
surrogates: copies of the parents’ death certificates, the court sentence
or order, certification
that the parents are ill or wanted by the police, and
any other documents confirming their absence or incapacity to bring up their
children. When a child is placed in a family-style institution, these documents
are presented to the institution’s parent-carers.
- Social
protection was provided in 1997 under the Act “On juvenile affairs
agencies and services and on special juvenile institutions”
for children
deprived of parental care in 62 shelters for juveniles and 21 temporary rooms.
In 1997 local executive authorities
opened 33 shelters for juveniles and
three shelters managed by charitable associations. In that same year the
shelters provided
social protection for 11,189 minors, including 2,056 aged 3 to
7 (18.4 per cent), 7,271 aged 7 to 14 (65 per cent), and 1,879 aged
14
to 18 (16.8 per cent). There were 7,269 boys and 3,920
girls.
- Analysis
showed that 5,701 (51 per cent) of the children in shelter had been living in
single-parent families, 2,239 (20 per cent)
were orphans or children lacking
parental care, and 282 (2.5 per cent) were in guardianship. Investigation
of the parents of children
in shelter showed that in most cases the parents or
guardians had been neglecting the child’s upbringing, abusing alcohol,
permitting the non-medical use of narcotic drugs, or pursuing antisocial
lifestyles.
D. Family reunification (art. 10)
- The
1994 Act “On exit and entry procedures for citizens of Ukraine”
accords citizens the right to leave Ukraine, except
in the cases specified in
the Act and to enter Ukraine. Under no circumstances may the right of citizens
to enter Ukraine be restricted.
- The
travel of minors to foreign countries is governed by the 1995 Regulations, with
their supplements and amendments, on the form
and issue of passports for travel
abroad and children’s travel documents and on their temporary seizure and
withdrawal.
- Independent
travel abroad by children aged under 18 is allowed with the notarized consent of
their parents or legal representatives.
If one of the parents refuses such
consent, the travel may be authorized by a court.
- Children
aged 14 to 18 are permitted to leave Ukraine with a view to permanent residence
abroad only with their parents’ written
and notarized
consent.
- The
details of children under the age of 18 travelling abroad with their parents or
legal representatives are entered in these persons’
passports. If a minor
needs to make an independent journey abroad, he is issued with his own travel
document.
- Travel
documents/passports for minors travelling abroad independently are issued on the
basis of a notarized declaration by the parents
or the legal representatives of
the parents or the minors. For children aged 14 to 18 the declaration must
attest the absence of
circumstances restricting the right to travel abroad under
the law of Ukraine.
- Ukrainian
legislation does not contain any rules restricting personal relationships or
contacts between a child and his parents when
the parents live in different
States.
- Parents
living in different States have equal rights to maintain relations with their
child unless such rights are limited by a court
order.
- If
one parent does not consent to a minor’s travel abroad, the travel may be
authorized by court order.
- All
the provisions of Ukrainian law extend to citizens who have applied to travel
beyond the country’s frontiers. They have
all the rights and the duties
established by law. Any restriction of their civil, political, social, economic
or other rights is
prohibited.
- The
procedure for entry to a foreign State is regulated by the law of that
State.
- A
citizen of Ukraine may be temporarily refused a passport if:
He possesses information constituting a State secret;
Unfulfilled maintenance, contractual or other obligations are in effect;
Criminal proceedings have been instituted against him;
He has been found guilty of a crime;
He declines to fulfil obligations imposed by court order;
He has knowingly given false information about himself;
He is subject to call-up for compulsory military service;
Civil court proceedings have been instituted against him;
A court has declared him to be an especially dangerous recidivist or he is
subject to administrative supervision by the police.
- Under
this same Act citizens have the right to leave Ukraine except in the cases
specified by law and to return.
- The
procedure for entry to a foreign State is regulated by the law of that
State.
- Under
no circumstances may a citizen of Ukraine have his right to enter the country
restricted.
E. Illicit transfer and non-return (art. 11)
- Pursuant
to the supplements and amendments introduced in the 1998 Criminal Code, a
sentence of deprivation of liberty is imposed for
open or covert control of
persons for the purposes of their lawful or unlawful transfer, with or without
their consent, across a
State frontier with a view to their subsequent sale or
paid delivery for sexual exploitation, use in the pornography trade, involvement
in criminal activities, subjection to debt bondage, commercial adoption, or use
in armed conflicts, or with a view to the exploitation
of their
labour.
- Criminal
responsibility is established in respect of acts connected with the illicit
transfer of children across the frontier or failure
to return them to Ukraine,
as well as acts connected with the removal from the victim of organs or tissue
for transplant or forced
donation.
- Ukraine
has concluded bilateral international agreements on judicial assistance
and judicial relations in civil and criminal cases
with Lithuania (1993),
Poland (1993), Moldova (1993), Georgia (1995), Latvia (1995) and Estonia
(1995).
- These
agreements include a clause on the provision of legal assistance to parents and
children in proceedings concerning the establishment
or contesting of paternity
when the parents and children live in different places, etc.
- Ukraine
is also a party to the 1993 Minsk Convention on judicial assistance and judicial
relations in civil, family and criminal proceedings.
- Ukraine’s
succession with respect to the 1958 Treaty between the USSR and Hungary on the
provision of judicial assistance in
civil, family and criminal cases was
formally established by an exchange of notes.
F. Recovery of maintenance for the child (art. 27, para.
4)
- Questions
of the maintenance of minor children by their parents in the event of divorce or
removal of parental authority are regulated
by the Marriage and Family Code.
Parents are obliged to maintain their minor children (and their children of the
age of majority
who are unfit to work) requiring material support. If the
parents fail to fulfil this obligation the funds for maintaining the children
are recovered from them by judicial proceedings.
- If
the marriage has broken up, the court may take measures, when necessary, to
protect the interests of any minor children.
- The
removal of parental authority does not release parents from the obligation to
maintain their children.
- Maintenance
for minor children is paid by parents voluntarily or pursuant to a court order
either in person or through their employer
or an office at their place of work
or a body from which they receive a pension or benefit authorized by them to
make the payments.
- If
a citizen liable for maintenance payments goes abroad to a permanent place of
residence in a State with which Ukraine does not
have a treaty on the provision
of judicial assistance, the maintenance is recovered in accordance with a
procedure determined by
the Cabinet of Ministers.
- Maintenance
for minor children is recovered from their parents in the following amounts:
for one child - one quarter of earnings;
for two children - one third; and for
three or more children - one half of the parents’ earnings or income, but
not less than
one half of the gross (untaxed) official minimum income for each
child.
- These
fractions of earnings and the minimum amount of maintenance may be reduced by a
court if the parent responsible for payment
of the maintenance has other minor
children.
- Parents
paying maintenance may not be required to bear part of any additional
expenditures resulting from exceptional circumstances
(serious illness, injury,
etc.).
- The
obligation to maintain minor children who have no parents or whose parents are
unable to maintain them for good reasons may be
transferred to other relatives -
grandparents, brothers, sisters, step-parents - or to persons who have been
bringing up the child
on a permanent basis, maintaining him as a member of their
own family and providing him with systematic material support.
- Persons
refusing to pay maintenance for their children established by a court order or
an order of a people’s judge and parents
maliciously refusing to maintain
minor children or children unfit to work who are in their charge are liable to
criminal prosecution.
G. Children deprived of their family environment (art.
20)
- The
rights of orphans and children deprived of parental care are regulated by the
Marriage and Family Code and the 1994 Order of the
Cabinet of Ministers
“On improvement of the upbringing, education, social protection and
material support of orphans and children
deprived of parental care”, which
was confirmed by a Presidential Decree in 1997.
- The
following forms of placement are established by law for the maintenance of
children deprived of parental care: adoption (as the
preferred option);
guardianship or custody by a physical person (guardian, custodian); placement in
a State institution for such
children; and placement in a family-style
children’s home.
- According
to data of the State Statistical Committee, as of 1 January 1998 there
were 53,712 children aged up to 18 being maintained
in families under
guardianship arrangements and 62,449 children living with adoptive parents. At
the end of 1997 there were 39 boarding
schools for orphans and children deprived
of parental care housing 10,723 children, 50 children’s homes run by the
Ministry
of Education housing 4,076 children, and 43 children’s homes run
by the Ministry of Health housing 4,620 children.
- Positive
experience is increasingly being gained in the organization of various forms of
the family upbringing of orphans and children
deprived of parental care and in
the delivery of their right to family life. As of 1 January 1998 there were 75
family-style children’s
homes. They are regulated by a 1994 Order on such
homes.
- With
a view to providing shelter for children deprived of parental care Ukraine has
created in recent years shelters and services
for minors whose basic task is to
furnish social protection and establish the necessary living, psychological-care
and educational
arrangements for the children until their final placement is
decided.
- The
Cabinet of Ministers is responsible for monitoring the living conditions and the
upbringing of children in adoptive families.
- The
upbringing and maintenance of children adopted by foreign nationals is
supervised in accordance with the instructions of the Ministry
of Foreign
Affairs by Ukraine’s consular offices in the countries in question, which
keep records of such children until age
18.
- The
performance of guardians and custodians is monitored by the guardianship and
custody agency of the child’s place of residence.
- An
effort is being made to create the institution of foster family in order to help
to guarantee children’s right to family
life. In accordance with the 1998
Order of the Cabinet of Ministers “On the conduct of an experiment in the
creation of foster
families in Zaporozhe region and on confirmation of the Order
on foster families”, the Ministry of Family and Youth Affairs
is putting
the finishing touches to an arrangement for the use of foster families as a new
mode of upbringing and maintenance of
children deprived of parental
care.
- The
Ukrainian Institute for Social Research is carrying out with the support of the
UNICEF office in Ukraine a project on “Transformation
of the system of
State guardianship in Ukraine”, the main purposes of which are to improve
the maintenance of children deprived
of parental care and children living in
State boarding facilities and to establish the institution of the foster family
in Ukraine.
- The
placement of children deprived of parental care is the exclusive responsibility
of the guardianship and custody agencies.
- Preference
is given in the determination of the persons entitled to adopt a child to
relatives and to persons in whose family the
child has been living and to other
persons who can adopt the child without breaking the family links. Preference
is given in the
appointment of guardians and custodians to persons close to the
child. In the event of placement in a care institution siblings
are placed in
the same institution except when the children need to be raised separately on
medical grounds or for other good reasons.
- The
law provides that persons officially appointed as guardians or custodians are
entitled to material assistance for their charges’
maintenance. However,
in many of the country’s regions these payments are made irregularly and
in insufficient amounts to
cover the real expenditure necessary for such
maintenance.
- The
numbers of orphans and children deprived of parental care are increasing; the
existing State establishments for the maintenance
of such children are not
always able to provide the conditions for their comprehensive development and
upbringing. This situation
is due to the lack of funds for the repair of
buildings and purchase of furniture and equipment. The solution of these
problems
is being facilitated by the measures to improve the situation of
orphans and children deprived of parental care confirmed by the
President of
Ukraine in 1997.
H. Adoption (art. 21)
- Adoption
is the predominant mode of placement of orphans and children deprived of
parental care.
- Adoption
means the official authorization by a special legal instrument of the placement
of a minor in a family with the status of
son or daughter of that family. The
legal procedure for adoption is regulated by the Marriage and Family Code and by
the procedure
for the surrender of children who are citizens of Ukraine for
adoption by citizens of Ukraine or by foreign nationals and for the
monitoring
of their living conditions in their adoptive families, which was confirmed by an
order of the Cabinet of Ministers in
1996.
- Adoption
is effected exclusively in the interests of the child when his parents (or
either one of them) are dead, unknown, deprived
of parental authority, declared
incapable by a court, or missing or presumed dead, when they have given their
written consent to
the adoption, when they have not been living with the child
for more than six months, when they have been taking no part in the
child’s
upbringing and maintenance without good reason, or when they have
not been displaying parental care and attention towards the
child.
- Abandoned
children may be given in adoption on the basis of the relevant legal instrument
drawn up by an internal affairs agency in
accordance with the established
procedure. Sick children may be adopted when the nature or duration of their
illness does not entail
constant (lifelong) stay and treatment in a specialized
hospital.
- Any
citizen of the age of majority who possesses legal capacity may adopt a child.
The right to adopt is not available to persons
who have been deprived of
parental authority, who have knowingly submitted false documents in adoption
proceedings, who wish to adopt
for purposes of material or other advantage, who
have previously been adoptive parents and by their fault the adoption was
revoked
or declared invalid, who are registered with facilities for the
treatment of psychoneurological problems and drug addiction or are
receiving
treatment in such facilities, or who at the time of the adoption do not have a
steady income from work or from other lawful
sources.
- Adoption
proceedings are handled by the education authorities. Prospective adoptive
parents are required, before the adoption order
is made, to familiarize
themselves personally with the documents relating to the child to be adopted,
including the health certificate,
as well as making contact with and getting to
know the child.
- If
the child in question is aged 10 years or older he must consent to the adoption.
If before the issue of the adoption order the
child has been living with the
adoptive parent and regards this parent as his father or mother, the adoption
may proceed by way of
exception without the child’s
consent.
- When
it is impossible for a child to be given in adoption or placed in guardianship,
the guardianship and custody agencies must submit
information about him to their
regional and city offices within one month. If adoption or guardianship are
still impossible these
offices in turn transmit the information for central
registration to the Adoptions Centre of the Ministry of
Education.
- The
Code of Administrative Offences was amended in 1998 to provide for
administrative action to be taken against officials who fail
to comply with the
procedures or time limits for the submission of information about orphans and
children deprived of parental care
for central registration.
- The
Act “On amendments and additions to the Marriage and Family Code”
was adopted in 1996 with a view to making the best
possible provision for the
exercise of the rights of orphans and children deprived of parental care; the
Act amended the adoptions
procedure.
- In
order to prevent unjustified financial gain from adoption, article 102-3 of the
Marriage and Family Code and article 115-2 of the
Criminal Code prohibit
commercial activities by intermediaries in the adoption of children or in the
placement of children in guardianship
or custody or in a Ukrainian or foreign
foster family; such unlawful activities are liable to criminal
prosecution.
- The
upbringing and maintenance of children in their adoptive families are monitored
in accordance with the legislation on the defence
of children’s rights and
protection of the family, including observance of the confidentiality of
adoptions.
- The
adoption of Ukrainian children by foreign nationals was suspended in 1994
because of the imperfections in the adoptions legislation
pending the
incorporation of amendments and additions in the Marriage and Family Code, which
took place in 1996.
- The
Adoptions Centre was established in 1996 in the Ministry of Education in order
to facilitate the placement of orphans and children
deprived of parental care in
Ukrainian families and their adoption by foreign nationals. The Centre is
compiling a data bank on
these children; it furnishes Ukrainian citizens and
foreign nationals with the necessary information about children suitable for
adoption, keeps a register of foreign nationals wishing to adopt, verifies the
completeness and accuracy of the documents submitted
by them, keeps a register
of children adopted by foreign nationals, and informs the corresponding agencies
about any violations of
Ukrainian law affecting the exercise of the rights of
the child.
- The
adoption of Ukrainian children by foreign nationals does not take place until
all the possibilities of adoption, guardianship,
custody or care by Ukrainian
families have been
exhausted or until the child in question has been
on the Centre’s register for at least a year. If the foreign
nationals have
a family connection with the child or are adopting a
child suffering from an illness in the list drawn up by the Ministry
of Health,
the adoption may take place before the one-year
registration period has expired in respect of the child.
- Foreign
nationals wishing to adopt a Ukrainian child must submit a written application
to the Centre to be registered as prospective
adoptive parents and to be
directed to the relevant State children’s institution to meet and
establish contacts with the selected
child.
- One
of the documents which must accompany the application is an undertaking by
the adopter that if the adoption is completed he will
have the child
entered in the register kept by the Ukrainian consular office in the
country of residence within one month, submit
to the office periodical
reports (at least once a year) on the child’s living conditions and
upbringing, and offer the office
opportunities to visit the child. Under
this mode of adoption the child retains Ukrainian citizenship until age 18, when
he can
make an informed choice of nationality.
- The
adoption of Ukrainian children by foreign nationals is subject to the approval
of the district or city court in accordance with
the established
procedure.
- The
supervision of the maintenance and upbringing of Ukrainian children adopted by
foreign nationals is entrusted by the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs to the
corresponding consular offices, where the children are kept on the register
until age 18.
- The
consular statutes require consuls to tour their jurisdiction at least once a
year and visit adoptive families. Alternatively,
contacts may be maintained
with the adoptive parents by correspondence.
- If
the rights of the child established under Ukrainian law or the international
agreements to which Ukraine is a party are violated
as a result of adoption or
if the adoption proves not to be in the child’s interest, the adoption may
be revoked or declared
invalid by the courts in accordance with Ukrainian
law.
- Ukrainian
citizens do not at present adopt children living in other countries, for
national adoption is the priority.
- Over
the two years of its existence the Adoptions Centre has done a considerable
amount of work on the compilation of the data bank
on orphans and children
deprived of parental care. It has entered data on 8,100 children suitable
for adoption. Almost all the
children in the Centre’s register are
sick and need lengthy treatment and complicated
operations.
Numbers of children adopted by foreign nationals,
1996-1997*
|
No.
|
Under 3 years
|
3 to 7 years
|
7 to 18 years
|
Girls
|
Boys
|
Italy
|
102
|
50
|
30
|
22
|
54
|
48
|
United States of America
|
98
|
54
|
32
|
12
|
52
|
46
|
Israel
|
56
|
51
|
5
|
-
|
37
|
19
|
Germany
|
15
|
6
|
5
|
4
|
10
|
5
|
Belgium
|
14
|
7
|
7
|
-
|
8
|
6
|
Switzerland
|
5
|
4
|
1
|
-
|
4
|
1
|
France
|
4
|
3
|
1
|
-
|
2
|
2
|
Canada
|
2
|
2
|
-
|
-
|
1
|
1
|
Austria
|
1
|
-
|
-
|
1
|
-
|
1
|
Australia
|
1
|
-
|
-
|
1
|
1
|
-
|
Luxembourg
|
1
|
1
|
-
|
-
|
1
|
-
|
CIS
|
1
|
-
|
1
|
-
|
-
|
1
|
Total
|
300
|
178
|
82
|
40
|
170
|
130
|
* According to Ministry of Education data.
- Over
these two years 300 children were adopted by foreign nationals. All these
children have been entered in the consular register
in Ukraine’s
diplomatic missions abroad.
- In
cases of intercountry adoption the Marriage and Family Code accords a
preferential right to adopt children who are citizens of
Ukraine and living in
Ukrainian territory to nationals of States which have concluded international
agreements with Ukraine on the
adoption of orphans. These agreements comply
with the provisions of the Convention and Ukrainian law.
- With
a view to supervision of the maintenance and upbringing of children adopted by
foreign nationals the Adoptions Centre submits
details of such adoptions to the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs within 10 days of receipt of copies of the adoption
orders made by the
courts. Within 10 days of receipt of this information from
the Centre the Ministry sends to the corresponding consular office in
the
adopted child’s country of residence an instruction to enter the child in
the consular register and to arrange for monitoring
of his living conditions and
upbringing.
- In
accordance with the Ministry’s instructions and the relevant international
agreements, as well as with the generally accepted
principles and rules of
international law governing the protection of the rights of the child, the
consular office makes arrangements
to monitor the child’s living
conditions and upbringing, and once a year for the first three years and then
every three years
it sends a report to the Ministry for onward transmission to
the Centre.
- According
to the Ministry’s figures, 645 children adopted by foreign nationals have
been entered in consular registers since
1996.
Children adopted by foreign nationals entered in consular
registers since 1996*
|
1
|
Belgium
|
18
|
Italy
|
199
|
Spain
|
7
|
Israel
|
87
|
Canada
|
11
|
Luxembourg
|
1
|
Germany
|
24
|
USA
|
180
|
Uzbekistan
|
1
|
France
|
20
|
Switzerland
|
9
|
Sweden
|
1
|
|
|
|
|
* According to Ministry of Foreign Affairs data.
- The
executive authorities are currently considering whether Ukraine should accede to
the Hague Convention. The relevant expert opinion
is being drafted; it contains
a recommendation for accession to the Convention.
I. Periodic review of placement (art. 25)
- If
no guardians or custodians are appointed for children who are being brought up
in State children’s institutions or for children
needing guardianship or
custody who are placed in a medical facility or a social security institution,
the duties of guardianship
and custody rest with these institutions or
facilities.
- Children
with physical or mental disabilities are brought up in special boarding schools:
State general education and care institutions
and institutions for remediation
and social rehabilitation.
- Juvenile
offenders are placed in general education schools or vocational-technical
schools specializing in social rehabilitation.
- The
education authorities are responsible for monitoring the work of special schools
for children with physical or mental disabilities
and the general education and
vocational-technical social rehabilitation schools.
- The
Ministry of Education and the regional State offices for the administration of
education have guardianship and custody departments
or, at the district level,
agencies operating under the executive authorities (generally on a public
basis); their functions include
the solution of children’s
problems.
- Important
work is done by the Children’s Fund of Ukraine, a countrywide voluntary
organization which pools the efforts of the
public, sponsor organizations and
religious communities to defend the rights of orphans and children deprived of
parental care.
- Placement
in general education boarding schools for children with physical or mental
disabilities is governed by an Order concerning
special boarding schools
(schools, classes) for children with physical or mental disabilities, on the
basis of a medical diagnosis
of the child in question.
- The
medical care in these special schools is provided by their own medical staff,
supported if necessary by outside personnel and
Ministry medical institutions,
who carry out curative and preventive measures and provide rehabilitation
treatment; they are also
responsible for the monitoring and State supervision of
the quality of the children’s diet, their burden of school work, their
leisure activities and their physical education regime, as well as measures to
prevent injuries, compliance with the disease-prevention
rules, and the
school’s sanitation and hygiene arrangements. The medical and teaching
staff keep the children under clinical
observation in the classroom and in their
free time.
- The
medical personnel keep the teachers, carers and parents informed about the
results of the detailed medical examinations which
they carry out and about the
school’s health and hygiene arrangements, the clinical symptoms of
abnormal development in the
children, and any special features of the training
and conduct of abnormal children, as well as carrying out measures connected
with
the children’s health and hygiene training.
- The
specialized medical institutions for the area in which the special school is
located provide advisory methodological assistance
and help with the management
of the medical and rehabilitation work.
- The
special features of the teaching arrangements and of the conditions of the
children’s upbringing and maintenance in special
schools and social
rehabilitation institutions include: a special daily routine and special system
of educational and training activities;
constant supervision and educational
monitoring of the pupils; and refusal to allow pupils to leave the
institution’s grounds
without the permission of the
administration.
- Social
rehabilitation institutions operate under the authority of the education
agencies of the city administrations. Compliance
with the law and its correct
application in the work of these institutions are monitored by the
Procurator’s Office in accordance
with the Act “On the
Procurator’s Office”.
J. Abuse and neglect (art. 19), physical and psychological
recovery and social reintegration (art. 39)
- Children
are removed from families in which the parents violate the rights of the child,
abuse their parental authority, treat their
children cruelly or exert a harmful
influence on them through their antisocial or immoral behaviour. Parental
authority can be removed
only by judicial means on the application of one of the
parents or a legal representative of the child concerned or on the motion
of the
Procurator’s Office. A representative of the guardianship and custody
agencies must be present during the court hearing.
- The
court institutes criminal proceedings if the parents’ actions appear to
involve criminal activity, the systematic beating
or torture of their child,
sexual relations with the child, inducement of the child into criminal activity,
drunkenness, use of narcotic
drugs, prostitution, gambling or begging, or living
off the earnings of minors, etc.
- In
exceptional circumstances when there is a direct threat to a child’s life
or health the guardianship and custody agencies
are empowered to decide to
remove the child immediately from his parents or from other persons who are
actually maintaining him.
In such cases the agency concerned must immediately
inform the Procurator’s Office and apply to a court within seven days
of
its decision for suspension of the parental authority of one or both of the
parents or for removal of the child from their charge.
- Under
Ukrainian law a child whose lawful rights have been infringed is entitled to
apply for protection directly to the guardianship
and protection agencies, the
juvenile affairs services or the juvenile shelters
administration.
- The
coordination and monitoring of the work of protecting minors is a responsibility
of the juvenile affairs services, which are specialized
State agencies operating
under the local executive authorities. One of their tasks is to provide
services and assistance to minors
to help them solve problems of their social
and legal protection. Together with the guardianship and protection agencies
they are
empowered to investigate the living conditions of children in the
family when the parents (including adoptive parents) or guardians
are not
providing the necessary conditions for the children to live normal lives and to
investigate the conditions of the upbringing
of minors in special institutions.
Together with the local executive authorities the juvenile affairs services
establish shelters
for minors and in conjunction with the criminal police they
carry out activities to prevent child neglect.
- Children
who have run away from home because of cruel treatment by their parents,
children who have been abandoned by their parents
or have gone astray and
children removed by the criminal police from temporary families where their life
or health was under threat
may be placed in juvenile shelters.
- If
it is impossible for a child to return from a shelter to his former home for
want of the necessary conditions for his maintenance
or for other reasons, the
shelter officials so inform the juvenile affairs services in the place where the
shelter is located and
where the child lives; together with the guardianship and
custody agencies these services take measures for the child’s further
placement.
- In
order to ensure the child’s social and psychological rehabilitation and
identify and eliminate the specific causes and conditions
of the problem, the
shelter officials conduct a psychological-pedagogical examination of the child,
take action to establish his
identity, carry out individual and group
educational measures and psychotherapeutic exercises, during which special
attention is
paid to the development of positive inclinations and interests, the
correction of behavioural problems, and the establishment of
normal
relationships with adults and coevals, offer the child expert advisory services
(psychological, pedagogical, medical, legal)
and when
necessary
arrange for hospital stays and clinical investigation, and contribute to the
decisions on the creation of the necessary
conditions for the child to take his
place in the family, at school or at work, etc.
- The
management and staff of the shelters are responsible to society and the State
for safeguarding the child’s rights and for
his social protection in
accordance with the law.
- Any
member of the staff of a shelter found guilty of infringing a child’s
rights or causing him harm during his stay in the
shelter is liable to the
penalties provided by law.
- The
education system operates a psychological, medical and educational service as an
integral part of the State system for the improvement
of the protection of
children’s mental health. This service’s tasks include the
identification of any unusual features
of the development of individual children
and the determination of suitable arrangements for their instruction,
upbringing, remediation,
rehabilitation and eventual employment. This work is
done by the permanent psychological, medical and educational advisory services
established in the regions, which are staffed by qualified teachers, doctors and
psychologists.
- The
schools and boarding schools for children of limited capacities have committees
on psychological, medical and educational questions;
the content of their work
is determined by the special characteristics of the school’s children. If
it is found that a child
has been placed in the wrong type of school, the
committee prepares documents for consideration by the local or central committee
on psychological, medical and educational questions with a reasoned
recommendation for the child’s transfer to a different
type of
institution. In intensive remedial schools and classes (for mentally backward
children and children with serious speech
impediments) the school committee
prepares documents for the teaching board, which takes decisions on the transfer
to general education
schools of children whose school work has led to durable
positive changes.
- The
duties of the local and school committees include the provision of advisory and
methodological assistance to parents and their
surrogates and to teachers and
doctors on matters of the upbringing, instruction, remediation and treatment of
children exhibiting
deviant development or disruptive
behaviour.
- The
social services centres for young people and the juvenile affairs services do
social work with children and various categories
of family. The functions of
these centres and services include the design and operation of a system of
prevention and rehabilitation
measures, the provision of various social
services, and the furnishing of social assistance to children in the spheres of
information,
educational psychology, legal and medical-social questions,
etc.
- The
juvenile affairs service of the Kiev City Administration has created a unit on
“social and psychological assistance for
minors”. This unit
operates a telephone “Trust line” and a centre for social and
psychological assistance. A
programme for the training of volunteers to give
emergency psychological counselling has been designed and
introduced.
VI. BASIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
(arts. 6; 18, para. 3; 23; 24; 26; 27, paras. 1-3)
A. Disabled children (art. 23)
- Ukraine
established over a long period of time a State system of social support for
disabled children and children with physical and
mental problems; in
organizational terms this system was divided between the Ministry of Education,
the Ministry of Health, the Ministry
of Labour and Social Policy, the Ministry
of Family and Youth Affairs and the State Committee on Physical Culture and
Sports.
- The
legal foundations for the work of satisfying the basic needs of children with
physical and mental disabilities in the areas of
social protection, education,
treatment, guardianship and public activities are found in the Acts “On
the fundamentals of the
social protection of disabled persons”, “On
education”, “On pensions”, “On State assistance for
families with children”, “On physical culture and sports”,
“On the status and social protection of citizens
suffering as a result of
the Chernobyl disaster”, “On promotion of the social advancement and
development of young people”
and “On charity and charitable
organizations”, as well as in the Fundamentals of Health Legislation and
the Fundamentals
of Legislation on Culture.
- A
package of regulatory instruments was developed under the programme
“Education: Ukraine in the twenty-first century”
and the National
Programme “Children of Ukraine”; these instruments regulate the
activities of the special institutions
for children suffering from mental or
physical underdevelopment.
- Ukrainian
law does not define the concept of “disabled child”. The legal
basis for determining that a child is disabled
is contained in an Order of the
Ministry of Health.
- Disability
is declared for varying periods (two or five years up to age 16) depending on
the diagnosis. Disability in a child is
determined on the basis of pathological
conditions caused by congenital, inherited or acquired disorders or by
injury.
- Questions
of the determination of disability are considered after a diagnosis has been
made and treatment and rehabilitation measures
have been carried out. The
decision to declare a child disabled is taken by a national, regional or city
special children’s
hospital or polyclinic department.
- The
identification, registration and diagnosis of children with physical and mental
disabilities is undertaken by the local psychological,
medical and pedagogical
consultation services, which operate under the State education authorities.
These services select children
for treatment in special education/treatment
establishments and advise parents and teachers on the provision of medical and
psychological
assistance for them.
- Recent
years have seen a strong upward trend in the number of disabled children. The
statistics showed a total of 122,000 disabled
children aged up to 16 at the end
of 1993, but by the end of 1997 this total had already grown to 147,000. The
commonest causes
of disability are
disorders of the nervous system and
sensory organs, infant cerebral palsy, psychological disorders, and congenital
development deficits.
A third of disabled children live in rural areas and two
thirds in urban. Almost 20 per cent live in residential institutions,
i.e. they
are brought up apart from their families.
- The
fundamental areas of the work of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy and
its local agencies include the provision of the
necessary arrangements for the
residential care of disabled children in the children’s homes of the
social security system,
for their medical treatment and communal everyday needs,
and for their education, remediation and rehabilitation. The priorities
in this
work are to improve the regulatory basis of the social protection of disabled
children, upgrade the communal everyday services,
as well as the material
provision and the medical services, and improve the social adaption and remedial
training activities.
- Over
the period 1993-1997 the network of residential homes for children with
psychophysical and mental disabilities was reduced in
size. In 1993 there were
61 residential facilities but now there are 58 with a total of 9,600 places
catering, entirely at State
expense, for 8,100 disabled children aged 4 to
18 and over 2,000 orphans in need of parental care. The existing network meets
the
demand for places in full. There are currently 1,500 vacant
places.
- The
Ministry of Labour and Social Policy has carried out a number of measures over
the past five years to strengthen the material
provision in residential homes
for children and improve the living conditions of children with mental and
physical disabilities.
- Twenty-seven
of the current 58 institutions were fully or partially built to a standard
design; they house more than 6,000 children,
i.e. 80 per cent of the total
number of inmates. The other residential institutions have specially equipped
rebuilt premises with
the basic everyday conveniences: central heating, hot and
cold water and sewerage, and the necessary technical and refrigeration
equipment, and other fixed equipment; they are also equipped with telephones and
radios.
- The
average living space per inmate is six square metres, which meets the health
standard.
- The
children are provided with footwear, clothing, bed linen and furniture in
accordance with the standards fixed by the Cabinet of
Ministers. They have four
meals a day, including special diets, and the medical service is available round
the clock. The authorities
monitor the health and hygiene arrangements in the
residential homes for children and the correctional training
activities.
- Considerable
attention is paid to the provision of a correct diet for the children. The
new natural diet standards introduced since
1996 take into account the
special requirements of children of different ages and states of health. The
food rations include the
necessary quantities of vegetables and fruits, and
these quantities are increased by 10 per cent for the 90day
summer camp period.
The improvement of the diet in residential
institutions for children is backed by 43 auxiliary farms
growing agricultural produce,
which generally meet 40 to 70 per cent
of the institutions’ demand for basic foodstuffs from their own output;
some of them
satisfy 100 per cent of the demand.
- The
teaching and remedial work in these institutions are tailored to the
children’s mental and physical disabilities and their
individual
characteristics.
- The
basic priority in this work is to correct the mental and physical disabilities
as far as possible and to ensure the social adaptation
of the children to
hospital conditions. To this end the institutions employ specialists in the
correction of disabilities, teachers,
psychologists, speech therapists, and
doctors (paediatricians and psychoneurologists), as well as intermediate medical
and service
staff, who provide special training in appropriate facilities. On
average there is one staff member for 1.7 children.
- The
institutions conduct their remedial training work in rooms equipped with the
necessary educational literature and visual and other
technical teaching aids;
they also have medical posts equipped with various consulting rooms and special
medical apparatus and equipment
for specific treatment. Every institution has
the backing of specialized clinics which provide both consultation services and
assistance
with the conduct of in-hospital investigations and
treatment.
- In
order to ensure the children’s social adaption the institutions are
equipped with production-training workshops where they
can acquire work skills.
These workshops generally produce clothing and cardboard and carpentry items.
Some disabled children learn
trades in the vocational-technical residential
institutions and technical boarding schools for the disabled run by the social
security
system. On completion of their training they take jobs in the national
economy. The rehabilitation and remedial work is conducted
in parallel with the
education process in the workshops in each institution. The inmates work in
production-training workshops and
on the farms attached to the
institutions.
- The
institutions make constant efforts to improve the children’s health and
medical care and to reduce the morbidity and mortality
rates.
- The
physical culture activities are designed to support the work of the psychiatric
service and to improve the methodology of the
correction of physical
disabilities by using sports equipment and organizing special exercises in the
physical training/rehabilitation
halls and in the open air, as well as sports
days, games and morning exercises. The summer camp system has been retained; it
caters
for 70 per cent of the children.
- Order
No. 311 of the Cabinet of Ministers dated 5 November 1991 transferred all
residential homes operated by the Ministry of Labour
and Social Policy to
community ownership, and the cost of their maintenance is now covered by local
budgets; this means that the
work of the institutions is now dependent on the
financial and economic circumstances of their region.
- The
financial situation of the residential institutions of the system of social
protection worsened considerably over the past five
years. In 1997, for
example, on average only 84.3 per cent of residential home costs were fully
funded. There have been large cuts
in spending on food, medicines, clothing and
footwear, and there was no capital spending on the repair of buildings, bath and
laundry
rooms, boiler rooms, kitchen blocks and dining rooms.
- In
view of the State’s difficult financial situation, the Ministry of Labour
and Social Policy is seeking in conjunction with
the local social protection
agencies new forms of financing which would ensure additional resources for the
maintenance of disabled
children. To this end every institution has prepared
and adopted a business plan to attract additional funding.
- The
Ministry of Education runs special general education schools for children with
mild forms of disability, illness or pathological
condition. There are 688
residential institutions in 28 categories catering for 144,000 inmates,
including 384 special boarding
schools for children with psychological and
physical disorders, where 59,700 inmates, including 18,400 disabled
children, live and
study and enjoy the benefit of a range of remedial and
rehabilitation activities and medical treatments. Almost one in eight of
the
children is an orphan or in need of parental care. These institutions include
264 schools for children with psychological problems
(mental backwardness,
psychological immaturity) and 120 schools for children with physical
disabilities (blindness and defective
sight, deafness and defective hearing,
speech impediments, cerebral palsy).
- It
should be noted that large numbers of disabled children are not placed in
special schools. Most of them are children suffering
from cerebral palsy who
cannot move about without help or care for themselves and require individual
care, children who have frequent
epileptic fits or suffer from enuresis or
encopresis as a result of a minor disorder of the central nervous system, and
children
suffering from severe forms of mental backwardness, etc. Such children
are placed in residential homes or are cared for at home
by their
parents.
- Appropriate
educational, remedial and rehabilitation activities are carried out with the
pupils in educational institutions by speech
therapists, teachers of the deaf,
the blind and the mentally defective, and psychologists. The numbers of
psychoneurologists, orthopaedists,
otolaryngologists, ophthalmologists and
paediatricians employed by residential schools depend on the disability profile
of their
inmates.
- Efforts
are made to give effect to the principle of integrated training in residential
institutions. New types of educational institution
are being created for this
purpose: residential secondary schools, “kindergarten/boarding
school” facilities, and care
and rehabilitation centres for sick children
and children with physical disabilities. Experimental teaching units have been
set
up and are in operation in pre-school institutions and boarding
schools.
- The
positive results of this work have been incorporated in new programmes,
textbooks and practical aids. Programmes and techniques
devised by
psychologists, disability specialists and innovative teaching staff are tested
experimentally in pre-school institutions,
boarding schools and rehabilitation
centres.
- One
of the trends is to create rehabilitation centres for children with mental and
physical disabilities. New ways of working with
disabled children in their
micro-society are emerging and are being introduced by the youth social
services: social clubs, voluntary
assistance, telephone “Trust
lines”, arts festivals and competitions, and holiday breaks. The network
of 24-hour counselling
centres for psychological, medical and educational
problems is being expanded.
- Disabled
children aged up to 16 are awarded and paid a social benefit equal
to 100 per cent of the minimum old-age pension. Able-bodied
but
non-working parents receive an allowance for caring for a disabled
child.
- Specialists
are trained to work with children suffering from physical or mental
disabilities in order to ensure their comprehensive
education and
development and to create for them an environment which does not impair their
human dignity but instead promotes their
selfconfidence. Every year 250
disability specialists graduate from the teacher training colleges and go to
work in special schools.
Two more teacher training universities received
licences to train disability specialists in 1998. Training in the dual
speciality
of disability practitioner/psychologist has also been
initiated.
- Public
organizations for disabled children play a significant role in providing social
support for children with physical and mental
disabilities, as do the
children’s parents, who try to influence State policy in respect of the
solution of these children’s
problems.
- An
effort is being made to provide physically disabled children with prosthetic
devices and other aids and equipment to make it easier
for them to move
about.
- However,
certain stereotyped images of children and young people with special needs or
functional problems persist in society. This
means that priority is given to
people without functional problems when it comes to job
recruitment.
- There
are still some unresolved issues in the work of the residential homes run by the
Ministry of Labour and Social Policy. As a
result of the considerable reduction
of resources for these homes, which are funded from local budgets, and the
unpredictability
of the provision of funds in recent years they are still
finding it difficult to maintain their existing plant in an appropriate
technical condition and to renew the technical and refrigeration equipment,
furniture and other moveable items.
- One
big problem is that disabled children do not have unimpeded access in various
areas of daily life.
- National
television regularly includes in its programming topics connected with the lives
and creativity of disabled children, the
exercise of their creative abilities,
and the defence of their rights. However, ways must be found to increase the
discussion in
the mass media of the social aspects of disability and create a
positive image of the disabled; signing for the deaf must also be
introduced in
television programmes, for this would enable children with defective hearing to
take their place in Ukraine’s
information space.
B. Health and health services (art. 24)
- The
question of children’s health and their exercise of the right to use the
health services and the treatment and rehabilitation
facilities and the question
of guaranteeing every child access
to these services and
facilities are addressed in the Constitution, the Fundamentals of Health
Legislation and the Act “On safeguarding the people’s health and
protecting the people against
epidemic diseases”, and in the Labour
Code.
- Ukraine
has developed strategic policies for maternal and child health in the present
conditions of social and economic reform covering
vaccinations, antenatal and
post-natal care, and family planning. The five-year period saw the adoption of
a number of important
national programmes which have made a substantial
contribution to improvement of the medical services for children. They include
the Long-term Programme to Improve the Status of Women, Families and Maternal
and Child Welfare, the National Family Planning Programme
and the National
Programme “Children of Ukraine”.
- The
following amounts were allocated from budgets at all levels in the period
1993-1997 for the health care and treatment of children
in sanatoriums and for
the maintenance of children aged under three years in children’s
homes:
1.3 million hrivniyas against a planned 1 million, i.e. 130 per cent of the
scheduled allocations for 1993;
13.6 million against a planned 11.8 million, i.e. 115.3 per cent of the
scheduled allocations for 1994;
63 million against a planned 58.9 million, i.e. 106.9 per cent of the
scheduled allocations for 1995;
73.4 million against a planned 99.5 million, i.e. 73.8 per cent of the
scheduled allocations for 1996;
92.5 million against a planned 117.3 million, i.e. 78.8 per cent of the
scheduled allocations for 1997.
- There
was almost no change over the past five years in the contribution of the State
budget to the financing of children’s health
care, which amounted to 16.6
per cent on average.
- In
addition to the expenditure on the maintenance of the health institutions
mentioned above the health budget also funded the measures
contained in the
National Family Planning Programme and the Long-term Programme to Improve the
Status of Women, Families and Maternal
and Child Welfare. The following amounts
were appropriated for implementation of the programmes referred to above. The
National
Programme “Children of Ukraine” (upgrading of basic
equipment and technology in maternity institutions, establishment
of intensive
care units and improvement of their medical equipment, examination of newborn
babies for phenylketonuria and hypothyroidism,
inoculation of children aged
under 12 months, sanatorium treatment of children with sugar diabetes, and a
number of other measures):
1996 - 3.5 million hrivniyas; 1997 - 20.1 million.
The National Family Planning Programme (free contraceptive
devices for women and adolescents with contra-indication of
pregnancy): 1.5 and 1.6 million hrivniyas respectively for the two years.
The
Long-term Programme to Improve the Status of Women, Families and Maternal
and Child Welfare (establishment of family planning
centres): 4.3 and
5.7 million hrivniyas.
- Owing
to the high level of inflation it is impossible to make an analysis of the
distribution of budgetary allocations in 1993-1995.
A total of 37.2 million
hrivniyas was allocated for the maintenance of the health institutions mentioned
above and for the implementation
of the programme measures in 1997, i.e. 44.9
per cent more than in 1996.
- The
following indicators are used to monitor the quality and effectiveness of the
medical care of women and children: provision of
medical personnel and
outpatient and hospital facilities; coverage of preventive measures and medical
treatment, with an assessment
of their accessibility; evolution of maternal and
infant mortality rates; effectiveness of the preventive work; morbidity rates;
repair of maternal and childcare institutions; resources earmarked for care of
mothers and children; and effectiveness of medical
programmes.
- A
number of medical benefits for orphans, disabled children and children from poor
families were established by the Presidential Decrees
“On confirmation of
measures to improve the situation of orphans and children deprived of parental
care” (1997) and “On
certain measures affecting the State support of
the families with minor children of employees of internal affairs agencies who
lose
their lives in the performance of their official duties” (1988) and
by the Orders of the Cabinet of Ministers “On subsidized
medicines
prescribed by doctors during outpatient treatment for certain categories of the
population” (1992), “On subsidized
cars with hand controls and
motorized wheelchairs for disabled persons” (1993), “On additional
social safeguards for
poor families with sick children and children in the first
and second years of life” (1994) and “On improvement of the
upbringing, training and social care and material provision of orphans and
children deprived of parental care” (1994). HIV-positive
children may
obtain preventive medical care and treatment in any medical facility in the
country. A network of centres has been
established for the prevention and
treatment of AIDS.
- The
Ministry of Health adopted an Order “On improvement of gynaecology
services for girls” (1996) in order to upgrade
the provision of
specialized medical care for girls; this Order laid the foundations for the
creation of a network of gynaecology
consultation offices for
girls.
- As
of 1 January 1997 the system operated by the Ministry of Health had 30,284
children’s hospitals (3.04 hospitals per 1,000
children), as against
26,422 hospitals (2.41 per 1,000) in 1993. In orphanages for
under-three-year-olds the provision of medical
personnel (doctors, nurses and
junior nurses) increased from 0.8 per child in 1993
to 1.13 per child in 1997.
- With
a view to preventing congenital abnormalities in children the Ministry
established and is operating a network of medical genetics
centres: 65
consultation offices, 7 main centres, 25 interregional and regional
centres, and a scientific research institute for
inherited pathologies located
in Lvov. This has reduced the number of deaths due to congenital abnormalities
from 2.65 per 10,000
children in 1993 to 2.39 per 10,000 in
1997.
- The
Ministry opened and is operating 27 intensive care centres for newborn babies,
together with 28 intensive care units in maternity
homes and 25 in regional and
34 in city children’s hospitals; this has improved the quality of the
intensive care of sick infants.
The outpatient and polyclinic system has 38
“Doctor and Family” offices providing advice on family planning
problems.
- NGOs
have been playing a bigger role in recent times by bringing influence to bear on
the decisions of the executive authorities;
they also make a practical
contribution to the solution of problems affecting children. The main NGOs are
the Ukrainian Children’s
Fund, the Association of Paediatricians of
Ukraine, professional associations of doctors, and numerous women’s and
children’s
groups.
- Measures
to improve the vaccination cover were taken in 1992-1994 with the assistance of
international organizations. Two mass campaigns
for immunization of children
against poliomyelitis were carried out in 1996 and 1998, during which more than
2.5 million children
were immunized.
- Ukraine’s
first children’s centre for bone marrow transplants was established under
the National Programme “Children
of Ukraine”. A vigorous
anti-abortion campaign is being waged in conjunction with the United Nations
Population Fund and USAID.
- The
infant mortality rate in the first year of life is one of the clearest
indicators of a society’s level of social and economic
development, for it
subsumes the level of education and culture, the state of the natural
environment, the effectiveness of preventive
measures, the degree of access to
and the quality of medical care, and the distribution of social and material
benefits in society.
- This
infant mortality rate has been falling since 1993 (1993 - 14.9; 1997 - 14.0).
It is impossible to give a clear explanation of
higher or lower mortality rates
in the country’s various regions, but there is a definite tendency for the
rates to be higher
in industrial regions. Infant mortality is lower in rural
areas than in the country as a whole.
Infant mortality*
(per 1,000 live births)
|
|
Rural
|
1993
|
14.7
|
15.4
|
1997
|
14.2
|
13.7
|
* According to Ministry of Health data.
- When
evaluating the effectiveness of the measures to reduce infant mortality it is
important to keep in mind the stricter criteria
for the resuscitation and
intensive care of newborn babies with a high risk of fatal outcome resulting
from Ukraine’s adoption
of new criteria of live birth. A 1996 Order of
the Ministry of Health confirmed the Instructions on the determination of
criteria
of live birth, stillbirth and the perinatal period.
- The
reliability of the registration of child deaths improved during the reporting
period, especially with regard to deaths immediately
after birth and at an early
age. The mortality rate among children aged up to 14 years fell from 13.3 per
10,000 in 1993 to 11.3
in 1997.
- The
evolution of the volume of hospital activity is an important criterion of the
effectiveness of the efforts to prevent child deaths.
The number of admissions
of children to hospital has remained constant but the number of child deaths in
hospital has fallen; this
testifies to the positive changes in the quality of
the medical care of children and the enhanced probability of their survival of
illness.
- Children
have access to medical services, including primary medical care, through an
extensive system of treatment and prevention
facilities. Rural areas are
generally served by an outlying network consisting of rural district hospitals,
outpatients clinics
and health posts staffed by nurses and midwives, which work
in conjunction with the region’s central hospitals.
- Priority
was given under the plan for reorganization of the network of children’s
medical facilities to the outpatient and polyclinic
services, while the number
of hospital beds was reduced. There has been intensive development of
preventive services: genetic counselling
units, family planning centres, and
consultation/diagnosis centres.
Day hospitals attached to outpatient/polyclinic
institutions*
|
|
1997
|
Number of cases treated
|
26 164
|
43 320
|
Number of beds
|
1 009
|
1 933
|
* According to Ministry of Health data.
- The
number of paediatricians is increasing. Over the period 1993-1996 the number of
children aged under 15 per paediatrician fell
from 413 to 318. The number of
children under medical observation rose from 200 to 250 per
1,000.
- The
quality gaps between urban and rural areas in the provision of medical care for
children are narrowing. These gaps are not related
to children’s age, sex
or ethnic origins but are due mainly to the uneven development of specialized
services in different
regions of the country.
- There
are 27 regional children’s hospitals providing highly qualified medical
care; the “Okhmatdet” [mother and
childcare] specialized
children’s hospital was opened in 1996 pursuant to a Presidential Decree.
The reduction in the number
of children’s beds in the rural health system
from 30,177 in 1977 to 18,736 in 1997 was due to the concentration of
specialized
beds in the cities and the redeployment of medical services for
children from hospitals to home care and day hospitals.
- The
prevention of disease by means of immunization was a major activity during the
reporting period. A 1993 decision of the Cabinet
of Ministers confirmed the
public immunization programme for the period up to 2000. The vaccines are
mostly procured by the local
State authorities and only partly by the central
administration. An extensive information campaign was carried out among the
general
public through the mass media. The production of vaccines and toxoids
is being modernized and expanded. Medical personnel are being
trained in
immunization work. The number of contraindications of vaccination in accordance
with the WHO recommendations has fallen
since 1996.
- These
measures have produced a substantial increase in children’s vaccination
coverage. Ninety-seven per cent of newborn babies
were vaccinated
against tuberculosis (as against 89 per cent in 1993), and
the vaccination of children aged under two against measles
increased from
94 to 98 per cent. The indicators of the correct timing of children’s
vaccinations improved. In the first
year of life 95.7 per cent of
children were vaccinated against tuberculosis, 98.5 per cent against
diphtheria, 97.2 per cent against
whooping cough, 98.4 per cent
against tetanus, 97 per cent against measles, and 98.2 per cent against
poliomyelitis.
Coverage of children’s
vaccinations*
(percentages)
|
|
1997
|
Diptheria, first booster
|
93
|
98
|
Whooping cough
|
90
|
97
|
Poliomyelitis
|
91
|
98.2
|
* According to Ministry of Health data.
- The
increased coverage of children’s vaccinations led to a reduction of 30 per
cent in the number of cases of whooping cough
from 4.97 per 100,000 children in
1993 to 2.3 in 1997. Further progress in this area will require improvements in
vaccine production
technology and the production of additional combined
vaccines.
- Primary
medical care for children is provided on the basis of the territorial
principle n local children’s polyclinics. The
Ministry’s
system includes 250 children’s polyclinics, 151 children’s
hospitals and 89 independent maternity homes.
- The
city of Kiev has a children’s consultation/diagnosis polyclinic attached
to the “Okhmatdet” specialized children’s
hospital. The
overall provision of children’s beds is 67 per 10,000
children.
- Care/preventive
facilities for children employ 30,284 paediatricians: 3 for
every 1,000 children; 44 per cent of these paediatricians
are highly
qualified. There are nine higher medical institutes offering training for
paediatricians.
- Ukraine
has an extensive system of sanatorium care. In 1997 the health system had
in operation 24 children’s sanatoriums with
6,739 beds, including 3
sanatoriums which accommodate parents with their children. There were 164
children’s sanatoriums with
23,000 beds operated by local State
authorities.
- Recent
years have seen a substantial increase in the diagnostic capacity of
children’s hospitals as a result of the creation
of highly computerized
diagnostic services (ultrasound, endoscopy, functional diagnostics). Screening
for phenylketonuria was introduced
but has been cut back to 80 per cent owing to
lack of funds.
- The
official statistics record the increase of pathologies among newborn babies and
the distribution of chronic diseases over all
age groups. The commonest
childhood problems are functional disorders (of the nervous system, the
skeleton/locomotive apparatus,
organs of sight, etc.).
- There
was almost no change since 1993 in the total number of initial diagnoses of
illness per 1,000 children: 1993 - 1,061; 1996 -
974; 1997 -
1,062.
- According
to the findings of research conducted by the Academy of Medical Sciences under a
WHO project “Children of the 1990s”
and the National Programme
“Children of Ukraine”, there has been a significant increase in
child morbidity; the reason
is that in rural areas some 20 per cent of families
do not seek medical assistance when a child falls ill owing to the distance of
their home from the hospital and the high cost of transport; 84 per cent of the
families surveyed considered that they could cope
with minor illnesses
themselves. The variation in child morbidity over the years is due principally
to the sharp fluctuations in
acute respiratory diseases caused by outbreaks of
influenza and other viral complaints.
- Harmful
environmental factors (including radiation) also make their contribution to
this increased morbidity. Cases of neoplasm and
skin disease among
children increased from 1.4 to 1.7 per 1,000 children, disorders of
the nervous system and sensory organs from
69.9 to 78.6, and problems
of the skeleton/muscular apparatus and connective tissue from 14 to
19.4.
- The
incidence of illness caused by an unbalanced diet is increasing, mainly as a
result of micro-element and vitamin deficiency and
excessive consumption of
carbohydrates. Glandular and metabolic disorders increased by 13 per cent and
diseases of the blood and
the haematogenous organs by 15 per cent (anaemia by 42
per cent).
- Children
account for almost two thirds of all registered cases of acute intestinal
disease. One of the principal reasons for this
high level of morbidity is
pollution of the environment, especially reservoirs, which are the main source
of drinking water and are
not kept properly clean.
- The
problem of iodine deficiency has grown more acute in recent years owing to
the lack f large-scale iodization measures. According
to specific
research findings, almost 30 per cent of the country’s
territory falls in the endemic-site category, i.e. having
a high incidence
of subclinical hypothyroidism and goitre in children: the rate rose by 52 per
cent over the period.
- The
State has recently been furnishing financial support to enterprises producing
preparations containing iodine, including iodine-enriched
foodstuffs.
- Tooth
infections are a general problem. The level of tooth decay among children of
school age is running at 70 to 90 per cent. This
problem is caused by a failure
to take largescale preventive measures and by children’s unsuitable diet,
in which carbohydrates
predominate.
- There
remains the thorny question of the definition of diseases caused by insufficient
food intake. According to the WHO recommendations,
the incidence of this kind
of disease is determined on the basis of the weight gain of babies at
specific intervals. The weight
distribution of newborn babies remained almost
unchanged in Ukraine between 1993 and 1997. Six per cent of babies had low
birth
weight, which is typical of most developed countries and does not point to
widespread undernutrition in Ukraine.
- A
rule designed to improve the diet of young children was in effect in the
period 19931997; it provided for the free distribution
of special milk
products to all children in the first and second years of
life.
- Ukraine
has adopted the principle of targeting the distribution of these products
primarily on children aged under 12 months in poor
families.
- The
state of the environment is one of the most powerful influences on
children’s health. It has been established that the
inhabitants of most
of the country’s towns and villages are subject to harmful environmental
impacts at levels far in excess
of acceptable standards.
- The
high level of child morbidity is related to pollution of the environment and
food products, to violation of the health and hygiene
regulations during the
processing and transport of foodstuffs, and to the widespread presence of
various types of bacteria.
- What
is needed is new approaches to environmental monitoring for prevention of acute
intestinal disorders and to the supervision of
production plant, public
restaurant facilities, and food marketing organizations.
- The
main factors exerting a harmful impact on children’s health remain the
aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster, the high level
of chemical pollutants in
the atmosphere, and the high level of noise pollution.
- Another
major current problem is the maintenance and restoration of the health of people
suffering as a result of the Chernobyl disaster,
especially children and
pregnant women.
- As
of 1 January 1998 there were 1,104,464 children aged up to 18 receiving
assistance under the Act “On the status and social
protection of citizens
suffering as a result of the Chernobyl disaster”.
- In
1997 there were 433,464 children aged up to 14 under the supervision of
care/prevention facilities. Under the regional programmes
designed to minimize
the
consequences of the Chernobyl disaster, resources are allocated
every year to the provision of medical care by specialized medical
institutions
from the State budget and the Chernobyl Fund for the Purchase of Medical
Equipment.
- Medicinal
and prophylactic foodstuffs containing radiationprotection additives are
produced under the programme of measures to eliminate
the consequences of the
accident.
- Thyroiddosimetric
registration is employed in order to identify risk groups, prevent diseases from
developing, and provide medical
care for children who suffered thyroid gland
irradiation as a result of the disaster.
- Convalescent
facilities and sanatorium and healthspa treatment for such children have been
provided in accordance with the 1995 Order
“On the procedure for
organization of convalescence measures for citizens suffering as a result of the
Chernobyl disaster”.
A total of 420,580 children, or
59 per cent of all child victims, benefited from the convalescence
measures; 72 per cent were treated
in sanatoriums and healthspas, and
28 per cent spent time in holiday homes and camps and other boarding
facilities.
- A
list of sanatoriums and rehabilitation facilities for children suffering as a
result of the disaster was drawn up in 1997 with a
view to improving the quality
of the sanatorium and healthspa treatment and convalescent
care.
- Pursuant
to the Act “On value added tax”, an Order was adopted in 1997
“On the list of healthspa and convalescent
establishments in which the
cost of visits by children for treatment or convalescence are not subject to
value added tax” in
order to reduce the cost of children’s stays in
healthspas and convalescent facilities.
- The
Act “On the status and social protection of citizens suffering as a result
of the Chernobyl disaster” guarantees psychological
treatment and
assistance for such citizens.
- Under
an agreement with UNESCO Ukraine established in 1994 three social and
psychological rehabilitation centres to work with the
most vulnerable population
groups. New psychological and psychiatric techniques are helping to cure the
problems of people suffering
as a result of the disaster.
- These
centres are visited by about 60,000 children and young people every year. In
1997 they gave 3,961 individual psychological
consultations, conducted 2,825
group psychotherapy sessions, and delivered 305 lectures for children and young
people.
- The
State guarantees of the provision of health care for pregnant women are set out
in the Fundamentals of Health Legislation, the
Labour Code, and the Act
“On State assistance for families with children”.
- Ukraine
has an effective system for the provision of health care for pregnant women in
outpatient clinics and hospitals; there are
453 medical consultation offices for
women and 1,285 units providing antenatal services. The compulsory
antenatal care measures
include genetic counselling (for women in risk groups),
medical examinations (by therapeutists and other specialists), treatment
of
extragenital pathologies, examinations for intrauterine infections,
recommendations on diet, training classes for young mothers,
antenatal diagnosis
of the condition of the foetus, and monitoring of the pregnant woman’s
condition to detect possible complications
during pregnancy.
- Some
500,000 pregnancies a year are registered in Ukraine. Antenatal services are
available to all, but 1 per cent of pregnant women
are not monitored
by the antenatal units, at their own wish.
- Information
on pregnant women is transmitted from the units to the children’s
polyclinics. Motherstobe are invited to attend
the classes for young mothers
run by the children’s polyclinics.
- The
maternal mortality rate, which is not declining in Ukraine, is one of the most
significant criteria of women’s health and
the quality of the medical care
provided for pregnant women.
Maternal mortality* (per 100,000 live births)
|
1993
|
32.8
|
1997
|
30.9
|
* According to Ministry of Health data.
- The
principle cause of maternal mortality is illness not connected with pregnancy
(extragenital pathology). A significant proportion
of these illnesses consist
of heart and vascular disorders. Analysis shows that in 20 per cent
of cases the extragenital disorder
is accompanied by severe childbirth
complications which worsen the prognosis and the consequences of the birth.
Maternal mortality
from sepsis, haemorrhage and toxaemia is on the increase.
This trend is a direct consequence of the deterioration in the health
of
pregnant women, the poorer quality of medical care, and the difficult
environmental situation.
- The
Ministry of Health is preparing a “Safe maternity” programme, the
implementation of which will help to reduce the
level of maternal
mortality.
- The
Breastfeeding Support Programme 19961998 was introduced in order to solve the
breastfeeding problem; it is based on the experience
of countries with differing
levels of economic development and living standards. Ukraine now has three
breastfeeding support centres
in operation.
- A
number of measures are being taken to encourage breastfeeding, including the
creation of more conducive arrangements in maternity
homes. Since 1996 mother
and child have been entitled to stay together in the maternity units. More than
40 per cent of maternity
beds have been brought under a new regime
which encourages the initiation and continuation of
breastfeeding.
- The
number of breastfed children increased during the reporting
period.
Number of breastfed children*
(percentages)
|
1993
|
1997
|
Under three months
|
44
|
62.6
|
Under six months
|
32
|
37.4
|
* According to Ministry of Health data.
- Ukraine
has received considerable assistance in tackling breastfeeding problems from
international organizations: WHO, UNICEF and
USAID.
- Ukrainian
industrial enterprises produce special liquid and pasteurized milk products,
dried processed milk formulas, and other dried
products for feeding and
supplementary feeding, as well as fruit and vegetable preserves. The
production capacity is sufficient
to meet 60 to 100 per cent
of the national demand for these items.
- There
has been a sharp drop in the industrial output of special baby foods in recent
years. The main reason for this is the State’s
financial crisis
and the people’s weak purchasing power.
Output of baby foods*
|
|
1997
|
Liquid and pasteurized milk products (thousands of tons)
|
19.0
|
4.0
|
Fruit and vegetable preserves (millions of standard tins)
|
121
|
3.1
|
Dried milk formulas (thousands of tons)
|
10.1
|
2.8
|
* According to Ministry of Agroindustry data.
- The
output of baby foods has been adversely affected by the cancellation of the
State order and the lack of longterm credit for the
purchase of raw materials,
wrapping and packaging materials, etc. The enterprises are operating at present
on their own working
capital, loans from commercial banks, and income from
investments.
- The
regions designated farms to grow environmentally safe crops for the production
of baby foods. A 1996 Instruction on special raw
materials zones and
agroenvironmental requirements was confirmed by an Order of the Cabinet of
Ministers. However, the farms find
it unprofitable to produce
environmentallysafe crops since they are not allowed to use chemicals in the
cultivation of crops and
fodder or to use synthetic nitrogen additives in
livestock feeds; they therefore require State support, but the State budget
makes
no provision for resources for these purposes.
- In
order to halt this decline and increase the output of special baby foods, the
Cabinet of Ministers issued an Order in 1997 confirming
additional measures to
encourage the production of baby foods which provide for a fundamental
improvement in the use of the existing
production capacity, the introduction of
new products whose production is based on the national scientific,
technological, technical
capacity and on domestic raw materials and financing,
and the improvement of the economic conditions for the production and processing
of baby foods.
- Ukraine
is currently creating a network of family planning institutions. This move was
facilitated by the adoption of the National
Family Planning Programme, one of
the basic tasks of which is to establish a system of consultation services and
to help adolescents
and young people in matters of sex education, family
planning, sexual and reproductive behaviour, use of reliable and safe means
of
preventing unwanted pregnancies, and prevention of sexually transmitted
diseases.
- There
are currently 42 regional and interregional family planning centres in
operation, together with 415 family planning consultation
units attached to
district hospitals, which assist families in matters connected with childbirth
and maintenance of the health of
parents and children, as well as seeking
generally to enhance the people’s cultural awareness.
- The
health of mothers is determined to a considerable extent by the circumstances of
their childhood and adolescence.
- A
study of the health of adolescent girls has shown that this group is marked by
an increasing number of cases of heart and vascular
disorder, anaemia, and
diseases of the kidneys and sexual organs.
Morbidity in girls aged 1517 inclusive*
(per 10,000)
|
|
1996
|
1997
|
Anaemia
|
20.4
|
42.3
|
44.7
|
Diseases of the genitourinary system
|
345.6
|
527.1
|
608.0
|
* According to Ministry of Health data.
- Gynaecological
pathology is found in 98.9 of every 10,000 adolescent girls: disrupted
menstruation in 28.6 per cent; retarded sexual
development in
7.2 per cent; and inflammation of the sexual organs in
18.1 per cent.
- Adolescent
girls are future mothers: when they reach reproductive age they join a group at
high risk of maternal and infant mortality.
- While
the total number of abortions is declining, the abortion rate is rising among
women pregnant for the first time. Abortion remains
the principal cause of
maternal mortality, infertility, pregnancy complications, and the high level of
gynaecological disorders.
The abortion rate among adolescent girls remains
unacceptably high.
Abortion rate among adolescent girls*
(per 1,000)
|
1993
|
1997
|
Under 14 inclusive
|
0.17
|
0.14
|
1517 inclusive
|
22.00
|
17.70
|
* According to Ministry of Health data.
- The
adolescent abortion rate remains high in comparison with countries of western
Europe but it has shown a downward trend in recent
years.
- Studies
are currently being conducted in this area by the Centre for Child and
Adolescent Gynaecology of the Scientific Research Institute
for Paediatrics,
Childbirth and Gynaecology of the Academy of Medical Sciences and by the Kharkov
Scientific Research Institute for
Child and Adolescent Health.
- There
are 28 regional consultation units and departments of child and adolescent
gynaecology. Adolescent sex education centres were
opened in these departments
or in the family planning centres, and the post of child and adolescent
gynaecologist has been introduced.
- Measures
are being taken to make free contraceptive devices available to women and
adolescent girls from poor families. The production
of such devices is being
expanded. Particular attention is being given to education work among the
public at large, which includes
the distribution of various information
materials (printed materials, video films) and regular radio and television
broadcasts.
- Ukraine’s
healthcare strategy is generally consistent with healthcare policies in the rest
of Europe, and its priority is to
tackle the problems of improving the medical
and social protection of the family and the health of children and young people
and
ensuring them decent standards in their daily lives and development through
use of the existing physical, intellectual and social
potential.
- The
attainment of the targets for children’s health care will depend to a
large extent on how quickly Ukraine overcomes its
social and economic crisis and
improves the wellbeing of its people.
- The
efforts to prevent and combat AIDS are conducted in accordance with the Act
“On preventing AIDS and on the social protection
of the population”
(in its 1998 version).
- Citizens
of Ukraine and other States and stateless persons who have HIV or AIDS and are
residing or present in the territory of Ukraine
are entitled to respect and
humane treatment on the part of society, without any impairment of their human
dignity, and to confidentiality
of information about the state of their health,
provided that the conditions and specific characteristics of their lives and
work
do not constitute a threat to the health of others.
- Ukraine
carried out during the reporting period a specific programme for 19961997 on
prevention of the spread of diseases caused by
HIV.
Number of persons with an initial diagnosis*
|
|
1997
|
|
Total
|
including children up to age 14
|
Total
|
including children up to age 14
|
HIV
|
51
|
8
|
8 945
|
200
|
AIDS
|
11
|
2
|
191
|
5
|
* According to State Statistical Committee data.
- All
forms of medical assistance for HIVinfected children are provided free of
charge. Such children are classified as disabled and
are entitled to financial
assistance in accordance with the Order of the Cabinet of Ministers “On
the amounts of social assistance
for children infected with human
immunodeficiency virus or suffering from acquired immunodeficiency
syndrome”.
- Ukraine
does not have any widespread traditional practices prejudicial to
children’s health, such as genital mutilation, forced
marriage,
etc.
- There
are several international programmes working to improve Ukraine’s
arrangements for protecting maternal and child health.
- International
assistance for children is provided by United Nations agencies, the European
Union, the Organization for Economic Cooperation
and Development, the
Governments of the United States, Germany, Japan, Canada, the Netherlands, the
United Kingdom, France, Switzerland,
Italy and Egypt and by a number of
international funds and NGOs.
- Programmes
financed by UNDP, UNICEF, WHO and USAID were carried out during the reporting
period, specifically the Ukrainian healthcare
initiative, the programme to
monitor maternal, adolescent and child mortality, the children’s rights
programme, the programme
on elimination of iodinerelated disorders, the
childrenfriendly hospitals initiative, the Chernobyl project on humanitarian
assistance
and rehabilitation, the “Hope” project (a pilot project
on the treatment of tuberculosis), the programme on the health
care and
development of young people, the UNESCO Chernobyl programme (project No. 64 on
the construction of sociopsychological rehabilitation
centres for people
affected by the disaster), and many more.
C. Social security and childcare services and facilities
(arts. 26 and 18, para. 3)
- Families
with children are guaranteed State assistance if they have sick or disabled
children, if they lose their breadwinner, in
connection with childbirth and
child maintenance, and in other circumstances established by law. The
relevant provisions are contained
in the
Constitution, in the Acts
“On State assistance for families with children”, “On
pensions”, “On the status and social
protection of citizens
suffering as a result of the Chernobyl disaster” and “On the
fundamentals of the social protection
of the disabled”, as well as in the
Labour Code, the Housing Code of the Ukrainian SSR, and the Fundamentals of
Health Legislation.
- In
accordance with article 20 of the Act “On the budget system”
benefits awarded under the Act “On State assistance
for families with
children” are paid from local budgets, and the monitoring of the prompt
reimbursement of these expenditures
is the responsibility of the local executive
authorities. The resources for these purposes are allowed for every year in the
determination
of the amounts of the transfers from the State budget to the
budgets of the local administrative subdivisions in the form of grants
and
appropriations from general State taxes and duties. In recent years priority
has been given in the preparation of draft budgets
to expenditure on social
protection and social security.
- In
the compilation of the annual draft budgets the expenditures on State benefits
for families with children are calculated on the
basis of the number of persons
receiving the benefits in the preceding year, taking into account the dynamics
of this group and the
amounts of the benefits established in the legislation.
The forecast inflation rate for the year also enters into the
calculation.
- However,
owing to the country’s difficult economic situation in recent years the
appropriations for these benefits included
in the draft State budget were
corrected to bring them into line with the revenue part of the budget, which
depended in turn on the
state of the economy.
- The
principal features of the economic situation over the reporting period were
lower output and a smaller gross domestic product,
which led as a result of a
shortage of financial resources to a rise in the number of unresolved social
problems.
- In
the period 19931997 the proportion of actual spending on State benefits for
families with children in the total expenditure part
of local budgets
gradually declined to a level of 1.2 per cent in 1997, which was
2.1 per cent lower than in 1993. The proportion
of this spending in
total expenditure on social protection declined by 2.9 per cent over
the period.
- The
1997 figures show an upward trend in the proportion of spending on benefits for
families with children in total expenditure on
social protection (an increase of
2 per cent over the figure for the preceding year), which was due to
the implementation of State
policy in this area.
- In
fact, over the period 575.6 million hrivniyas were allocated under the budget
to expenditure on these State benefits: in 1993
7.5 million; in 1994
35.7 million;
in 1995 148.3 million; and in 1997 224.9
million.
- It
should be noted here that the period 19931997 saw changes in the structure of
spending on State benefits for families with children.
- The
range of State benefits for families with children can be divided into two
types: benefits for which entitlement depends on the
family income (for
example, benefits in respect of children aged under 16 or under 18 if they are
studying); and benefits of a compensatory
nature for which entitlement does not
depend on income (for example, child allowances for single mothers, allowances
for caring for
disabled children, temporary allowances in respect of children
whose parents refuse to pay maintenance). Over the reporting period
the
proportion of expenditure on allowances in respect of children aged under 16 or
under 18 if they are studying in total expenditure
on benefits for families with
children gradually declined from 82 per cent to a level of
69.1 per cent at the end of the period.
This was due mainly to the
country’s inflation rate. From 1996 the income level producing
entitlement to these benefits was
not corrected for inflation because there were
insufficient budgetary resources for calculation of the corresponding inflation
index.
- As
a result, personal incomes gradually increased, as did the prices of goods and
services, but the criteria for determining benefit
entitlement remained
unchanged. Accordingly, although the total number of families with children
increased, the number entitled
to benefits declined.
- In
the case of other assistance for families with children, which is funded from
local budgets and for which entitlement does not
depend on family income, the
proportion of spending on benefits for families with children rose in step with
the increase in the
number of recipients, i.e. single mothers, persons caring
for disabled children, unemployed mothers caring for children aged under
three,
and children whose parents refuse to pay maintenance.
- The
number of large families receiving the material assistance in question remained
more or less constant during the period, and thus
the proportion of expenditure
on these cash benefits was the same in 1997 as in 1994.
- There
are various kinds of social assistance for children and for families with
children: cash payments, social security pensions,
social services, cash
benefits, and benefits in kind. The State guarantees a minimum level of
material support for families with
children by means of payments based on family
size, income, age, state of children’s health, etc. Families are entitled
to
oneoff payments following the birth of a child, allowances for caring for
children until age three, allowances for mothers (or fathers)
caring for three
or more children aged under 16, allowances for caring for disabled children,
payments for children in guardianship
or care, etc. In all, there are more than
10 kinds of State benefit for families with children.
- Disabled
children aged up to 16 and orphans are entitled to a social security pension in
the event of the loss of the breadwinner.
This pension amounts to
100 per cent of the minimum oldage pension. This amount does not
provide for a child’s everyday needs
in today’s social and economic
conditions and its inadequacy leads to a considerable worsening of his
situation.
- The
total number of recipients of all kinds of child benefit increased by an average
of 22 per cent over the past four years. In
accordance with the
Act “On State assistance for families with children”, almost 3.5
million families with 4.9 million
children are eligible for State assistance.
The amounts of the social benefits for families with children are defined in
Order No.
832 of the Cabinet of Ministers dated 26 July
1996.
- There
are institutions, services and special agencies responsible for child care or
supervision.
- The
Act “On education” guarantees the right to preschool education in
institutions designed to attend in conjunction with
the families to the physical
and mental health of children and their comprehensive development, to help them
to acquire experience
of life, and to equip them with the skills and habits
necessary for their future studies.
- Ukraine
has an extended network of preschool education institutions: nursery schools,
kindergartens, nursery kindergartens, family
and walk groups, and remedial and
combined preschool institutions (for children in need of remedial physical or
mental development
training). These preschool institutions have various
operating schedules allowing for partday, day and 24hour attendance; there
are
also residential kindergartens, children’s homes, etc.
- The
preschool network has 18,400 units (8,700 in urban areas and 9,700 in rural),
which are attended by 1.2 million children (952,800
in urban areas and 219,000
in rural).
- For
every 100 places an average of 66 children attend preschool institutions (urban
76, rural 43). The coverage of general preschool
education is
33.5 per cent (urban 42.2, rural 17.6). There are 137,900
teachers working in kindergartens.
Permanent preschool education institutions*
|
|
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
No. of institutions (1 000s)
|
23.2
|
22.3
|
21.4
|
20.2
|
18.4**
|
Urban areas
|
11.4
|
10.9
|
10.5
|
9.7
|
8.7
|
Rural areas
|
11.8
|
11.4
|
10.9
|
10.5
|
9.7
|
Total attendance (1 000s)
|
1 918
|
1 736
|
1 536
|
1 342
|
1 172
|
Urban areas
|
1 506
|
1 365
|
1 222
|
1 085
|
953
|
Rural areas
|
412
|
371
|
314
|
257
|
219
|
Coverage (percentage of total population of preschool age)
|
49
|
47
|
44
|
41
|
33
|
Urban areas
|
56
|
54
|
53
|
51
|
42
|
Rural areas
|
34
|
31
|
28
|
23
|
18
|
* According to State Statistical Committee data.
**
Including 1,900 not operating roundtheyear.
- There
was a sharp reduction in the number of preschool institutions during the
reporting period. A threeyear experimental programme
was introduced in 18
institutions (with 500 children) under the “First Steps”
preschool education and development programme
of the Rebirth Fund headed by
George Soros.
- Preschool
institutions run additional educational activities for the study of foreign
languages, artistic skills and dancing, as well
as computer science,
etc.
- Combined
preschool/firstschool units have become a very common means of ensuring a smooth
transition between preschool institutions
and first schools; there are 804 such
units with a total attendance of 87,300.
- A
preschool education bill has been drafted and submitted for consideration; it
provides for the introduction of compulsory preschool
training for children at
the upper end of the preschool age range with a view to offering children
equality of opportunity before
they enrol in first school.
- The
State’s acknowledgement of the right of the child to enjoy the advantages
of social security is in fact only declarative,
for the financial and material
resources allocated for these purposes do not measure up to the children’s
needs.
- Child
allowances for nonworking parents are awarded and paid by the social protection
agencies, and for working parents by the employer
enterprise, establishment or
organization. The existing situation with regard to the payment of State
benefits for families with
children is extremely unsatisfactory. The shortage
of funds in the local budgets is the main reason for the increasing arrears in
the payment of State benefits in almost all regions. The payment of benefits by
employer enterprises, establishments and organizations
in various types of
ownership is a particularly contentious issue, for the overwhelming majority of
them suspend their operations
from time to time or become bankrupt and do not
have the means to pay the benefits due. The absence of standardized statistical
reporting of the payment of benefits to families with children by these bodies
obstructs the overall monitoring of benefit payments
and the adoption of the
necessary operational measures.
- The
problem of the inadequacy of the amounts of social benefits for families with
children is intensifying social tensions in Ukraine
and requires an immediate
solution.
- In
this connection, a revised version of the Act “On State assistance for
families with children” is currently being considered
by the Supreme
Council; it contains new criteria for determining entitlement to such assistance
and provides for review of the number
of persons receiving benefit in the light
of their material circumstances. The existing practice of basing the award of
benefits
on the minimum wage is to be replaced by a new indicator the social
security norm to be established every year and confirmed at
the same time as
the adoption of the State budget Act for the coming year.
- In
order to ensure equality in the exercise of the right to assistance for families
in which the parents are employed by enterprises
which are being restructured or
have become bankrupt and cannot pay the benefits, the Ministry of Labour and
Social Policy prepared
and submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers for
consideration a bill on amendments and additions to legislation
concerning individual payments to poor citizens by social
security and assistance units of the social protection departments; this
bill
provides for the transfer to the social protection agencies of the award and
payment of child allowances to working parents.
D. Standard of living (art. 27, paras. 1-3)
- Children’s
welfare and standard of living depend directly on the material circumstances of
each individual family and on the
State as a whole.
- The
deterioration in the material circumstances of most families in recent years has
led to a situation in which the category of poor
families and even the category
of families at risk now include not only families with disabled children, large
families and families
without work but also young and single-parent
families.
- The
decline in family living standards is connected with the considerable gap
between the nominal minimum wage and price rises. In
comparison with 1995,
prices rose faster than wages in 1997 with the result that real wages fell over
the year by 2.4 per cent.
- The
State is addressing the question of improving the people’s standard of
living. The Cabinet of Ministers proposed that the
amount of the minimum wage
should gradually be increased from 1 July 1998 to a level of 55 hrivniyas. The
pensions of almost 6 million
people were raised from 1 March of the current
year. The State is at present discussing with the trade unions the question of
extending
the category of persons eligible for a special pension supplement
designed to ensure that their total benefit provides an income
above the poverty
line; the modes of this assistance are to be extended at the same
time.
- The
State has an obligation to pursue an active policy of providing productive jobs
for the able-bodied categories of the population
and to ensure that they are
properly remunerated for their work. It is also necessary to ensure that
families recognize their responsibility
for their own
well-being.
- Owing
to the shortage of resources to fund State benefits for families for the
protection of children’s health and for their
education, the period
1996-1997 saw the accumulation of significant arrears in such expenditure. In
this connection, the President
of the Republic, the Supreme Council and the
Cabinet of Ministers take regular action to clear the arrears of wages of health
and
education employees and the arrears of education grants and social security
benefits. The President and the Cabinet of Ministers
have adopted in recent
years a number of decisions on reduction of the arrears of wages and benefits.
In addition, the Act “On
the State budget for 1998” includes a
list of protected headings of expenditure which includes the remuneration of the
labour
of budget personnel, transfers to the public (pensions, benefits,
education grants), purchase of medicines, and the food supply.
- Priority
is given to spending under these protected headings.
VII. EDUCATION, LEISURE AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES
(arts. 28; 29; and 31)
A. Education, including vocational training and guidance (art.
28)
- The
Constitution guarantees children equality of rights irrespective of their
origins or whether they were born within wedlock. Violence inflicted
on a child
and the exploitation of children are prosecuted by law. The maintenance and
upbringing of orphans and children deprived
of parental care are
responsibilities of the State. The State facilitates and supports all
charitable work for orphans.
- The
equality of children’s education rights is proclaimed in the Acts
“On education” and “On vocational and
technical
training”. The benefits and advantages connected with the right to
education are accorded to the children at greatest
social risk according to the
law in order to ensure true equality in the exercise of this
right.
- The
State and local budgets allocated 64.6 million hrivniyas in 1993 and 5,033.7
million in 1997 to the maintenance of educational
establishments.
- The
period 1993-1997 saw an upward trend in spending on the maintenance of general
education establishments (pre-school institutions,
general education schools,
boarding facilities of all kinds, out-of-school organizations, production
training centres, etc.).
Expenditure on the maintenance of general education
establishments*
Year
|
Total expenditure
|
State budget
|
Local budgets
|
Millions of hrivniyas
|
% of total
|
Millions of hrivniyas
|
% of total
|
Millions of hrivniyas
|
% of total
|
1993
|
47.8
|
74.0
|
2.0
|
13.4
|
45.8
|
92.0
|
1994
|
442.9
|
71.2
|
27.4
|
16.8
|
415.5
|
90.5
|
1995
|
2 111.1
|
72.0
|
97.2
|
13.0
|
2 013.9
|
92.4
|
1996
|
2 778.4
|
69.3
|
95.6
|
8.7
|
2 682.9
|
92.5
|
1997
|
3 677.4
|
73.1
|
135.8
|
11.0
|
3 541.6
|
93.3
|
* According to Ministry of Finance data.
- In
the spending structure of the total general education budget the largest
proportion of funds is allocated to the maintenance of
general education
schools and boarding schools of all types; this proportion increased
over the period by 5.9 per cent: in 1993
it accounted
for 67.8 per cent of the total; in 1994 for 69.7 per cent; in
1995 for 71.5 per cent; in 1996 for 73 per cent; and in
1997 for
73.7 per cent.
- Substantial
amounts are appropriated for teacher training (in vocational/technical schools,
higher education institutes and other
teacher training establishments), but the
proportion of this spending in total education spending declined in recent years
owing
to the country’s difficult economic situation.
Appropriations for teacher training*
Year
|
Total expenditure
|
State budget
|
Local budgets
|
Millions of hrivniyas
|
% of total
|
Millions of hrivniyas
|
% of total
|
Millions of hrivniyas
|
% of total
|
1993
|
15.3
|
23.8
|
12.8
|
86.6
|
2.5
|
5.1
|
1994
|
165.5
|
26.6
|
135.4
|
83.2
|
30.1
|
6.6
|
1995
|
759.5
|
25.9
|
652.8
|
87.0
|
106.7
|
4.9
|
1996
|
1 145.8
|
28.6
|
1 008.9
|
91.3
|
137.0
|
4.7
|
1997
|
1 258.6
|
25.0
|
1 100.0
|
89.0
|
158.6
|
4.2
|
* According to Ministry of Finance data.
- Ukraine
has a nationwide network of general education establishments which cater to
the cultural and educational requirements of members
of national
minorities. Teaching is conducted in Russian in 2,800 schools, in Romanian in
107, in Hungarian in 67, in Crimean Tartar
in 6, and in Polish in 3. In
addition to the Ukrainian-language institutions there
are 3,300 Russianlanguage pre-school institutions
and 115
kindergartens, as well as individual groups using other languages of
instruction (Hungarian, Polish, Hebrew, Romanian, etc.);
1,000 schools use
two or more languages of instruction.
- The
general principles of the Convention were taken into account in the drafting of
the Act “On education”. Children’s
right to vocational and
technical training is safeguarded specifically in the 1998 Act “On
vocational and technical training”.
The supervision by the State of the
activities of educational establishments, including the delivery of
children’s right to
education is regulated by the Act “On
education”, which is implemented (irrespective of the form of ownership
and jurisdictional
status of the establishment) by the central and local
education authorities and by the State Education Inspectorate of the Ministry
of
Education with a view to the application of a single State policy for education.
In addition, the regulations provide for supervision
of the arrangements for
school meals, health care and protection of the pupils’ and
students’ labour in educational establishments.
A total of 296 rural
vocational/technical schools were established in order to ensure the more
effective exercise by rural children
of their right to this type of
education.
- The
exercise of children’s right to study in vocational/technical schools and
to the various forms of secondary education is
regulated by the Act “On
vocational and technical training”, which provides for the possibility of
acquiring an occupation
at the same time as a full general secondary education
in a vocational/technical school or some other institution.
- Children
who for specific reasons cannot acquire a full general secondary education at
the same time as an occupation or who do not
have basic secondary education, as
well as children in need of social assistance and rehabilitation, may
simultaneously obtain a
vocational qualification in one of the occupations
contained in the list established by the Cabinet of Ministers.
- The
law accords pupils and students the right to access to information in all
branches of knowledge and free use of their institution’s
teaching,
scientific, production and cultural resources.
- Environmental
education activities in the period 1993-1997 were designed to instil an
environmental culture in individuals. This
goal is pursued in the work of the
executive authorities, in particular the Ministry of Environmental Protection
and Nuclear Safety
and its regional offices, and by schools, public
organizations, and the mass media (press, radio, television, cinema), as well as
by means of lectures, exhibitions, etc.
- In
their practical activities and in the implementation of environmental education
and information measures the State environmental
safety agencies in the regions
and their city and district offices are governed by article 7 of the Act
“On protection of the
natural environment”.
- The
State environmental safety agencies and the State environmental inspectorates in
the regions collaborate with public environmental
protection organizations,
schools at all levels of accreditation and the regional education authorities
with a view to improving
the forms and methods of environmental education. The
aim has been to ensure continual environmental education.
- The
foundations of this education are laid in the kindergarten. For example, the
integrated “Garden-School” programme
which is being introduced in
the city of Zaporozhe uses play activities and lessons, observation and
investigation, practical work
in the field, and extra environmental
instruction at weekends or on holidays. The natural environment of
Khortitsa island provides
the teaching resource for this subject.
Environmental schools are in operation in Zaporozhe, Donetsk and Vinnitsa
regions. Schools
in the Nikolayev region provide comprehensive environmental
education; there are 86 out-of-school environmental education groups
in
Chernigovsk region.
- Environmental
lecture courses, months and weeks have become traditional events in
Ukraine’s schools. Personnel from the State
inspectorates give talks and
hold seminars on environmental subjects for pupils and teachers in secondary
schools and for teachers
of palaeology, biology and geography and help schools
to design environmental teaching programmes. Pupils and students have access
to
the annual reports on the state of the environment in the regions produced by
the State environmental safety agencies.
- Ukraine
now has a large number of public environmental associations, more than 20 of
them operating nationwide.
- The
Ukrainian Environmental Protection Society, the “Green World”
association, and the National Ecological Centre are
among the largest and most
active of the public associations and State institutions which regard the
environmental education of schoolchildren
and young people as a core component
of their work. They have sponsored environmental activities at weekends and on
holidays, expeditions,
scientific/practical conferences, and seminars and round
tables, as well as organizing clubs, “young ecologist” schools,
school forestry work, and “green” and “blue”
patrols.
- Various
events attracting large numbers of schoolchildren and students have been held,
including: “Rivers of my childhood”,
the national “Living
water” campaign, the “Snowdrop”, “Stork”,
“Springs”, “Ant-hill”,
“Bioprotection” and
“Green spring” operations, the environmental protection relay-run
“Without willows
and roses there is no Ukraine”, and other measures
connected with the study and protection of the natural
environment.
- The
Presidium of the National Council of the Ukrainian Environmental Protection
Society, in conjunction with the Society’s branch
in Ivano-Frankovsk, held
an All-Ukrainian Children’s Environmental Assembly in
1997.
- Article
53 of the Constitution and the Act “On education” accord to children
State guarantees of the right to full general education, including
primary.
- The
Act entitles citizens to free education in all State educational
establishments irrespective of sex, race, nationality, social
and property
status, type and nature of studies, ideology, membership of political parties,
attitude to religion, religious denomination,
state of health, place of
residence, or other circumstances. The exercise of this right is ensured by an
extensive system of general
education establishments in State and other forms of
ownership.
- Depending
on their age, children spend three to four years in the primary school in
which they first enrolled. In the 1997/98 school
year the primary system
had 97,700 pupils, or 1.4 per cent of the total school
population; 38,700 (39.7 per cent) of these pupils
attended urban schools and
59,000 (60.3 per cent) rural.
- Various
kinds of moral and material encouragement have been provided for schoolchildren.
Academic success may be rewarded by inclusion
in the roll of honour in the
intermediate grades, and in the graduation year (eleventh grade) by a gold or
silver medal; mention
in the roll of honour is awarded for special success in
individual subjects, and in the ninth grade pupils may receive a certificate
of
incomplete secondary education with distinction. In some cases pupils are
awarded special scholarships and prizes.
- Medal-winners
and pupils who graduate from general secondary education with distinction,
prizewinners in national and international
competitions in the basic academic
subjects and in competitions organized by branches of the Junior Academy of
Sciences are given
preference in admission to institutes of higher
education.
- All
children of school age, including disabled children, children deprived of their
liberty, and pregnant girls, have the right to
education. They are entitled to
study in day and evening (shift) schools, individually at home, or on an
external basis.
- Sick
and disabled children and children deprived of their liberty have access to
suitable educational facilities where they may obtain
general secondary
education up to the level required by the State
regulations.
- The
Act “On education” prohibits the infliction of any kind of violence
on children and their exploitation. Teaching
staff are required to abide by the
rules of teaching ethics and morality and to respect children’s dignity,
protect them against
any kind of physical or mental bullying, prevent any
attempts to use alcohol or drugs, and save them from other harmful
habits.
- Pupils
in general education schools must comply with the legislation in force, moral
and ethical standards, and the school’s
statutes and internal rules of
procedure. The maintenance of discipline in schools is the responsibility of
the education authorities,
school administrators and teachers.
- Disciplinary
action may be taken against pupils who infringe the school’s statutes or
internal rules of procedure.
- The
Constitution accords to children the freedom of ideology and
religion.
- The
Church and other religious organizations are separated from the State, and
schools from the Church. No religion may be recognized
by the State as
compulsory.
- In
1992 Ukraine began to provide funding from the State budget for foreign students
admitted to educational establishments in Ukraine
in accordance with the
obligations of the former USSR. In 1993, pursuant to an Order of the Cabinet of
Ministers, Ukraine itself
authorized the enrolment of foreign students and
provided funding for their education from the State budget.
- There
were 1,200 persons studying under these arrangements in 1997.
- Since
1992 Ukraine has concluded 58 international agreements concerning education. It
is constantly supporting and extending its
fruitful contacts with over 50
international governmental and non-governmental organizations, programmes and
funds, including UNESCO,
the Council of Europe, the United States Information
Service, the United States Peace Corps, the British Council, the German Academic
Exchange Service, and the Fulbright and Muskie Programmes, as well as “Act
to support freedom” (USA), “Trampoline”,
“Sans
frontières” (France) and many others.
- In
1991 Ukraine began its cooperation with the Commission on Education and Science
of the Council of Europe. Since 1993 representatives
of Ukraine have been
taking part in increasing numbers in seminars on current problems of higher and
general secondary education
(system of continuous education, curriculum and
syllabus assessment, funding of education, access to education, management of
education
systems). The basic standards and methods of education in Ukraine
have been formulated in accordance with the recommendations of
these
seminars.
- The
United States Peace Corps has been operating programmes in Ukraine since 1993.
Four hundred Peace Corps volunteers have taken
part in the projects carried out
under the programmes on “Teaching English as a foreign language”,
“Young people’s
development” and
“Environmental and economic education”; they worked both
in secondary schools and in teacher training universities and
colleges.
Every year the volunteers instruct more than 4,200 schoolchildren and
more than 2,300 higher education students. Most
of the volunteers take part in
additional projects and public measures, helping with the creation of
environmental education programmes
in schools and with out-of-school
activities.
- Every
year since 1994, 270 pupils in the senior grades of secondary school
and 120 undergraduate and postgraduate students have spent
a year
studying in schools, colleges and universities in the United States under
the “Act in support of freedom” programme
funded by the United
States Government.
- Since
1996 the United States Government has been awarding grants of $2,200 each to
the 75 Ukrainian secondary teachers who come top
in the competition
“Ukrainian-American awards for teaching success” for them to
purchase teaching equipment and services
for their schools; 45 university
teacher training staff receive grants for a year’s scientific or
methodological study in American
universities.
- The
UNESCO associated schools project was initiated in November 1993; its aim is to
develop education in a spirit of peace and international
cooperation.
- At
present Ukraine has 22 institutions operating under the associated schools
system: 18 schools and 4 vocational/technical colleges.
In
addition, a further 30 institutions have applied to become associated schools.
They include grade schools, institutes of higher
education and out-of-school
institutions. This network of associated schools extends
over 11 regions, the city of Kiev and the Crimean
Autonomous
Republic.
- All
the associated schools communicate by correspondence and exchange delegations of
children, young people and teachers with their
overseas partners and hold
friendship festivals, meetings, discussion evenings, solidarity fairs,
competitions, UNESCO weeks, general
conferences for teachers, and adopted-towns
days, as well as establishing various funds for aid and charity work. Some
educational
establishments are collective members of friendship associations
with other countries.
- Equally
varied activities are found in the teaching work itself: conferences, seminars,
discussions, defence of topic papers, practical
role-playing games, and round
tables on educational problems. Special lessons on UNESCO and mock UNESCO
general conferences are
held, the history of international children’s and
youth organizations is studied, and UNESCO resource centres, chairs and halls
are established.
- The
town-twinning movement has become very popular in Ukraine, as have
“Lanterns of the world” and the international broadcasts
“The
world through children’s eyes” and “When I grow
up”.
- Educational
institutions carry out activities under the UNESCO programmes and projects
“Englofax”, “Lingofax”,
“East-West” and
“Intercollege”. There has also been widespread involvement in
international projects such
as Greenpeace, “School crossroads”,
“Rebirth of the cultural heritage”, “Other countries and
peoples”,
the international programmes “Twinned schools”,
“E-mail” and “Young people’s business”
(in
conjunction with the United States), and in the programmes “Let’s
preserve our land” (Denmark), “Life-link”
and “Ribbon of
peace” (Norway), “World environment” and “Clear blue
springs” (Russia), and “Blue
Danube” (the Danube
States).
- There
are also a number of regional programmes such as “Natural life of the
Dnieper”, “Chernobyl bells” and
“SEMEP - Black
Sea”. The programme “My land - land of my fathers” is helping
to create a national experience
and develop a national consciousness - an
especially important undertaking in view of the many different nationalities
making up
Ukraine’s population.
B. Aims of education (art. 29)
- Ukraine
has an integrated programme for the identification, training and education of
gifted children and young people with a view
to the comprehensive development of
individuals and their talents, mental and physical abilities and creative gifts.
There exists
for this purpose an extensive network of specialized schools,
including lycées, high schools, colleges and collegiate institutions;
in
the 1997/98 academic year Ukraine had a total of almost 400 such schools, with
over 157,000 students. In addition, there are
annual national students’
competitions in the main subjects, the winners of which take part in
international competitions in
mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology,
environmental studies and information technology. In the past three years
80 students
from Ukrainian schools have taken part in international
competitions, winning 11 gold, 21 silver and 28 bronze
medals.
- Children
receive instruction in legal matters as part of their study of school subjects
of a general and humanitarian nature. Special
attention is given to legal
questions in such subject components as “jurisprudence”,
“people and the world”,
etc. Pursuant to the Constitution, the Acts
“On education” and “On national minorities”, the
Conceptual Fundamentals of Humanitarian Education
and the Conceptual Outline of
Education for pupils and students in the national education system, every
citizen has the right to
unrestricted development in accordance with his
talents, mental and physical abilities, and individual requirements and
needs.
- Ukraine’s
general education schools devote time to instilling tolerance towards
nationalities and religions and respect for
the rights of adults and children.
The “Fundamentals of jurisprudence” course deals with questions of
human rights,
giving particular attention to the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. A large
proportion of
educational establishments teach the “Human rights”
course.
- An
optional course on “Christian ethics” has been introduced in Lvov,
Ternopol and Ivano-Frankovsk regions on an experimental
basis.
- In
the process of developing the national education system special attention is
being given to the educational content of the courses.
In this connection the
syllabuses of all the school subjects have been revised and improved to take
into account contemporary trends
in the development of education, new teaching
techniques, and the integration of education in Ukraine
in the world
educational space. The Cabinet of Ministers drafted and adopted a core
generaleducation curriculum. Work is proceeding
on the drafting of a State
standard for general secondary education. In a comparatively short space of
time Ukraine has created
its own system of curricula, textbooks and learning
aids for children studying in schools of various types and
specialities.
- See
also paragraphs 155 to 158 of this report.
- The
1994 Order of the Cabinet of Ministers “On the procedure for the
establishment, reorganization and disbanding of educational
institutions”
authorizes private individuals to found schools. Private schools must comply
with the State requirements in
respect of general education. The local
education authorities are responsible for monitoring the quality of the
education and the
level and quality of the pupils’ knowledge and skills in
reference to the State standard, in accordance with the national
legislation.
- Pursuant
to the Act “On education” educational institutions may be
established both by private individuals and by organizations
in various forms of
ownership provided that they comply fully with the requirements of the State
standard on the quality of education.
An institution may not open its doors
before obtaining a licence to provide services connected with education and the
training of
specialists to various levels of qualification.
- The
following are the fundamental principles governing the activities of educational
establishments:
Access of all citizens to all forms and types of education service;
Equality of all persons in respect of the full realization of their talents,
abilities and comprehensive development;
Humanism, democracy and the primacy of the universal spiritual values;
An organic linkage to world and national history, culture and traditions;
Independence from political parties and public and religious
organizations;
Reciprocal relations with educational institutions in other countries.
- General
education schools, including those in private ownership, must comply with the
regulations on safety and health and on the
strength and qualifications of
teaching staff.
- Educational
establishments, irrespective of their form of ownership, are monitored by the
central and local education authorities
and the Schools Inspectorate of the
Ministry of Education with a view to ensuring that a single State policy is
pursued in education
and that due attention is given to children’s
interests and rights.
- It
must be pointed out that a considerable amount of work was done during the
reporting period on the creation of a legal and regulatory
basis applicable to
all persons involved in the education system. This work is now in its
concluding stage.
- A
new version of the Act “On education” was adopted in 1996. This
provided the basis for the drafting of laws directly
affecting everyone involved
in education. The Act “On vocational and technical education” was
adopted in 1997, and the
Act “On general secondary education” has
been approved in first reading.
- Bills
on higher education, pre-school education, and State support for extramural
education have been submitted to the Cabinet of
Ministers.
- Structural
changes in the education system and multi-source funding arrangements were
introduced by the Presidential Decrees “On
the fundamentals of the reform
of higher education” (1995), “On the fundamentals of the reform of
vocational and technical
education” (1996) and “On measures to
improve the functioning and development of general secondary
education” (1998).
- A
new list of integrated occupations for the training of qualified workers in
vocational/technical institutions was introduced, together
with a list of
general and special subjects to be taught in such institutions as part of the
training of experts to the corresponding
levels of qualification. The
educational content of the courses is being updated and the curricula
and syllabuses improved. New
national textbooks are being
produced.
- The
number of educational establishments in the system is generally being maintained
and their standards are being improved.
- However,
the State’s exceptionally difficult financial and economic situation and
the underfunding of the education system have
caused school building projects to
be cut back. There are significant arrears in the payment of the salaries of
teaching staff.
And for want of funds textbooks cannot be printed in sufficient
numbers.
- The
failure to date to establish uniform State requirements in respect of the
content and scope of education and vocational training
is having a negative
effect on standards. Adequate arrangements for the provision of a full general
secondary education have not
been established. The system of educational work
with pupils and students needs to be improved, as does their social
protection,
especially in the case of orphans, disabled children and children
from poor families. The incidence of childhood complaints has
increased:
431,000 children are registered with the medical services but only 55,200
of them are in special education institutions.
There is a regional imbalance in
the provision of teaching staff for educational
establishments.
- The
following priority measures have been devised as solutions to these
problems:
Implementation of the requirements of the Constitution and the Act “On
education” in respect of the delivery of compulsory secondary education,
the registration of all children
of school age (up to age 18) who lack secondary
education, and their enrolment in the various establishments;
Completion of the shift to multi-stage education;
Introduction of the core curricula;
Drafting and adoption of State standards for higher education;
Establishment and renewal of textbook and general stocks in the libraries of
general education schools.
C. Leisure, recreation and cultural activities (art.
31)
- Children
are guaranteed the right to rest and leisure, the right to take part in play and
recreation activities in keeping with their
age and cultural development, and
the right to engage in artistic pursuits.
- The
Fundamentals of Legislation on Culture were adopted in order to safeguard the
people’s cultural rights.
- Various
clubs, hobby groups and circles and studio workshops have been created, together
with cultural centres, culture and leisure
parks and other cultural/educational
facilities in order to satisfy children’s needs in respect of creative
activities and
leisure and recreational pastimes.
- There
are 118,678 clubs of a cultural nature in existence, including 93,900 arts
groups, in which more than 1,603,000 persons, half
of them children and
adolescents, develop their abilities. However, the country’s economic
instability and the underfunding
of cultural activities have caused the number
of club facilities to decline since 1993, with a consequent drop of 400 in the
number
of children’s associations, whose membership has fallen by about
20,000. More than 800 games rooms have been set up in cultural
facilities,
together with 3,000 games machines and computers, making it possible for
children to spend their leisure time in active
and interesting ways. But the
children’s leisure industry requires further development.
- A
specific effort is being made to create the conditions for children and
adolescents to spend their rest and leisure time in active
and interesting ways
in summer camps, and school sports camps are being established in which
experienced instructors work with the
children.
- Ukraine
has a State network of special theatres to cater to the aesthetic needs of
the rising generation: seven young-audience theatres;
26 puppet
theatres; a theatre with
one actor and puppets; three
youth theatres; two children’s theatres; and a marionette theatre and a
children’s musical
theatre - a total or over 40 creative groups of various
kinds which use the theatre to educate the future generation of Ukrainians.
Every year this contingent of actors, which has about 2,000 creative workers,
puts on some 16,000 shows for a total audience of
almost
7 million.
- Ukraine
has developed over the years a system of organized physical culture and sports
activities available to people in their local
areas. It has a network of
physical culture and sports clubs for children and young people where the State
physical culture and
sports authorities organize sections for individual sports
and conduct competitions, thus helping not only to prevent juvenile crime
but
also to establish a system of activities to maintain and strengthen the health
of the younger generation. There are schools
for physical culture enthusiasts,
as well as physical culture and sports cooperatives, and physical culture and
sports clubs for
children and young people.
- Cultural
facilities are generally funded from local budgets. The most important events
having national or international status are
financed partly from the State
budget. A total of approximately 300,000 hrivniyas is appropriated annually
from central funds for
culture and the arts to support measures for the
development of children’s creativity.
- Ukraine
has a programme on the identification and support of talented and gifted
children and effective arrangements for the award
of presidential scholarships
to the most gifted young artistes. There is also a set of measures for the
implementation of the National
Programme “Children of Ukraine”, as
well as measures for improving the situation of orphans and children deprived of
parental care.
- This
National Programme was the setting for the holding, in conjunction with creative
associations and organizations, of the second
Vladimir Gorovets International
Piano Competition, the third National Ballet Festival “Young people of the
ballet 1997”,
the first Nestor Nizhankovsky National Young Pianists
Competition, the National Young Pianists Competition, the Chopin National Young
Pianists Competition, the International Music Festival “Visiting
Aivazovsky”, the “Green World” international
festival/competition for children’s national dance groups, and the
“Golden Autumn of Slavutich” international arts
festival for
children.
- All
educational establishments, irrespective of their form of ownership, provide
instruction in appreciation of the arts.
- Out-of-school
institutions provide facilities for clubs, arts appreciation and art and art
history groups, and other independent creative
groups and
associations.
- There
is also a network of out-of-school educational institutions to help to meet
children’s need for interesting leisure activities;
in 1997 there were
1,521 such institutions catering for 1,256,762 children with 35,232 teachers
(20,174 with higher education).
- The
number of these institutions and the number of children attending them have
declined in recent years as a result of the big financial
problems and
underfunding.
Network of out-of-school educational
institutions*
|
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
1998
|
Institutions
|
1 645
|
1 670
|
1 658
|
1 599
|
1 521
|
Children (thousands)
|
1 583.6
|
1 549.4
|
1 525.1
|
1 262.6
|
1 256.8
|
* According to State Statistical Committee data.
- It
has however proved possible to maintain the variety of types of these
institutions. The education system has more than 30 different
types of
institution, both multi-purpose and specific-purpose. Every year they run a
large number of mass arts and culture, sports,
games and education campaigns and
activities, including: the student movement for preservation and promotion of
traditions, customs
and ceremonies known as “My land - land of my
fathers”; “The beauty and suffering of Ukraine”; “A
thousand
wonders of Ukraine”; “Rivers of my childhood”;
“The tree of life”; “Birds of my land”;
the festival
“We’re all your children, Ukraine!”; “Thresholds of
heritage”; “Ukrainian bel canto”;
and the traditional annual
festival for disabled children “Believe in
yourself”.
- In
1996-1997 children from all regions of the country took part in a
UkraineUnited States space experiment under the education project
“Teachers and pupils study plants in outer
space”.
- The
Junior Academy of Sciences constitutes an interesting mode of working with
gifted children. There are some 33,000 students in
the Academy’s 27 local
branches.
- More
than 50 out-of-school institutions have become core elements of the organization
of students’ research work. Teachers
and scientists from institutes of
higher education and the scientific establishments of the National Academy of
Sciences give tutorials
and lectures to participants in the Junior Academy of
Sciences and act as their scientific guides.
- Every
year an increasing number of children from rural and remote areas win prizes.
At the same time the work of these institutions
is made extremely difficult by
the financial problems. Hardly any resources were allocated over the past three
years, either in
the centre or in the regions, for the development of the
physical plant or the purchase of the materials needed for the work with
children.
- State,
private and cooperative educational institutions are being established with a
view to the exercise by children of their right
to special education in the
cultural sphere: specialized schools, high schools and lycées for the
study of art, schools for
the arts (music, painting, dance, singing, etc.), as
well as other colleges and technical institutions.
- Ukraine
has 1,526 schools for the arts catering for 319,239 students,
including 325 schools in rural areas with 26,159 students.
There are
also four Stateowned secondary boarding schools of music and a secondary
school of art. These schools have a total of
2,264
students.
- An
enormous amount of attention is given to the development of physical culture.
There are 1,514 sports schools for children and
adolescents, including 229
specialized ones. A total of 599,700 children and adolescents (8 per
cent of the under-18 age group)
were studying physical culture and sports in
these schools in 1997; the 1993 total was 613,000.
- In
1997 these schools graduated 145,000 athletes and other sportspersons in junior
categories II and III (12-18 age group), 7,300
in category I, 3,700 candidates
for the qualification of master of sports, and 875 masters of
sport.
- The
fall-off in some of the figures for these categories is due to the higher
standards of sporting expertise expected of young people
under the new
classification for various types of sport.
- Ukrainian
children take part and win medals in international
competitions.
- In
the Olympic events in the 1997 world junior championships Ukrainians
took
15 first, 20 second and 6 third places, and in the non-Olympic
events 19 first, 11 second
and 8 third places; in the European
championships they took four first and one third place.
- Ukrainian
juniors took a total of 48 first, 53 second and 32 third places in competitions
at the world and European levels.
- Physical
culture and sports are used in the rehabilitation of disabled children.
Eighteen specialized sports schools for the rehabilitation
of children and young
people were opened in the past four years (12 in 1994, 2 in 1995, 3 in 1996, and
1 in 1997); they cater for
3,700 children with various mental and physical
disabilities.
- The
All-Ukrainian Disabled Children’s Spartakiad “Believe in
yourself” and various other sports championships have
been held every year
since 1994.
- Ukraine
is creating the conditions for the exercise by children of their right to rest
and leisure, their right to take part in cultural
life and their right to
equality of opportunities, rest and leisure. Traditional arts festivals and
competitions are held for disabled
children, again under the slogan
“Believe in yourself”.
- Ukraine
has more than 50 amateur children’s groups from the various nationalities,
which promote the development of amateur
activities and the renaissance of the
cultural traditions of Ukraine’s nationalities.
- Local
cultural authorities are making an effort to protect children, especially
children in the most vulnerable groups, against the
harmful impact of
environmental problems and the budget cutbacks.
- Free-admission
days to museums and cinemas have been introduced for socially vulnerable groups.
However, the shortage of funds and
the poor state of the physical plant of
cultural institutions, especially in rural areas, make it impossible
at present fully to satisfy the spiritual and cultural demands
of children and
young people. There is also a need to increase the publication of
children’s literature and feature and documentary
films for children, and
to protect children against the harmful influences of mass
culture.
VIII. SPECIAL PROTECTION MEASURES
(arts. 22; 38; 39; 40; 37 (b)-(d); 32-36)
A. Children in
situations of emergency
1. Refugee children (art. 22)
- The
rights and obligations of persons having refugee status are regulated by the
1993 Act “On refugees”. Children acquire
refugee status when it is
granted to their parents.
- Children
make up a significant proportion of the persons who have obtained refugee
status. As of 1 April 1998, 987 of the 2,757 persons
with refugee status in
Ukraine were children aged up to 16: 424 girls and 563 boys.
- Most
of the persons who have obtained refugee status in Ukraine are citizens of
Afghanistan; consequently most of the refugee children
also have Afghan
citizenship (860 or 87.1 per cent of all refugee children). Forty-three
(4.4 per cent) of these children arrived
from countries of Africa, 25 of
them from the Congo.
- Children
holding refugee status are entitled to education, medical care and social
services on an equal footing with citizens of Ukraine.
Number of refugee children as of 1 January 1998*
(children
aged 0-15 years)
|
Total
|
Girls
|
Boys
|
All countries
|
891
|
803
|
511
|
including:
|
|
|
|
Countries of Europe
|
10
|
4
|
6
|
Countries of Asia
|
853
|
362
|
491
|
Countries of Africa
|
28
|
14
|
14
|
* According to State Statistical Committee data.
- Ukraine
has settled the question of the registration of refugee children. If they are
born in Ukraine they are issued with a birth
certificate and their parents have
no problem registering them. On finishing school refugee children are issued
with a certificate
of education.
- On
reaching the age of majority they are entitled to apply for refugee status to
the local office of the migration service, and this
status is granted to them
and members of their family. Refugee children thus have the possibility of
living with their parents in
Ukrainian territory even after reaching the age of
majority; this facilitates compliance with the principle of family
reunification.
- The
regions having a large concentration of refugee children of the same nationality
(from Afghanistan, for example) make provision
for them to study their native
language in Sunday schools. Such schools already exist in the cities of Kiev
and Odessa, where Afghan
children study their native language and its grammar
and their people’s history and culture.
- In
a number of regions with refugee populations the executive authorities are
solving the problems of restoring the health of refugee
children, especially
children from large families, by having them spend time in holiday camps and
sanatoriums. Such children also
receive humanitarian
assistance.
- Pursuant
to the Act “On refugees” children whose parents have obtained
refugee status are entitled to attend pre-school
institutions and general
education schools. However, for objective reasons some refugee children,
especially older ones, do not
attend school. This prevents them from obtaining
an education and leads to their isolation in Ukrainian society. As they do not
have sufficient secondary education they are unable to acquire the vocational or
technical education which would later guarantee
them a job and a steady
income.
- The
Act accords to all refugees, including children, the right to medical care.
Order No. 252 of the Cabinet of Ministers dated 2
March 1998 requires
the health authorities to provide them with free medical care. However, as a
result of the health system’s
difficult financial position refugees’
rights are not always exercised in full.
- What
is needed is legislation to reinforce the status of refugee children and the
introduction at the State level of a mechanism for
granting refugee status to
children present in Ukraine without their parents and for assisting such
children to find their families.
2. Children in armed conflicts (art. 38), including physical
and
psychological recovery and social reintegration (art. 39)
- Ukraine
is a party to the following international human rights
instruments:
Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and
Sick in Armed Forces in the Field of 12 August 1949;
Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and
Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea of 12 August
1949;
Geneva
Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War of 12 August
1949;
Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of
War of 12 August 1949;
International Convention against the Taking
of Hostages;
Additional Protocols I and II to the 1949 Geneva Convention on the Protection
of the Victims of War.
- Since
there are no armed conflicts in Ukraine the law does not define categories of
citizens and children in armed conflicts, nor
does it refer to the questions of
their physical and psychological recovery.
- These
questions do need to be dealt with, for most of the refugees in Ukraine are
citizens of Afghanistan who had been involved in
armed conflicts. There is
indeed a problem of reintegration of both parents and children from that
country.
B. Children involved with the system of administration of
juvenile justice
1. The administration of juvenile justice (art. 40)
- The
Criminal Code provides that persons who had reached the age of 16 before
committing the crime in question may be held criminally
responsible. Persons
who commit a crime when aged 14 or 15 may be held criminally responsible only in
particularly serious cases
(art. 10).
- If
the court recognizes that a person who has committed a crime when aged under 18
but does not represent a major threat to society
may be corrected without the
imposition of a criminal sentence, it may order in respect of this person
coercive measures of an educational
nature which do not constitute a criminal
sentence: placement of the guilty party under the supervision of his parents or
their
surrogates; placement under the supervision of a public organization or a
labour collective with their consent or of individual citizens
at their request;
placement in a special education or health institution for juveniles (art.
11).
- The
hearing of cases involving persons aged under 18 is conducted in accordance with
the Code of Criminal Procedure, specifically
the chapter entitled “Special
proceedings in juvenile criminal cases”. Juveniles may be arrested and
taken into custody
as preventive measures only in exceptional circumstances when
such action is required by the seriousness of the crime, when sufficient
grounds
exist, and in accordance with the procedures established in various articles of
the Code of Criminal Procedure.
- Their
counsel must be present when juveniles are being charged or questioned. If a
juvenile is aged under 16 or is recognized to
be mentally backward, his teacher
or doctor, parents or legal representatives may be present during his charging
and questioning
and may themselves put questions to him and state their
comments.
- The
parents or other legal representatives of an accused juvenile are summoned to
attend the court hearing. Legal representatives
are entitled to lodge
challenges and to petition the court, to submit evidence and to participate in
the examination of evidence.
- Pursuant
to the Constitution, whose effects apply to all citizens regardless of age,
everybody has the right to personal freedom and inviolability. No one may
be
arrested or taken into custody except under a court order accompanied by an
explanation of grounds and only for the reasons and
in accordance with the
procedure established by law. These principles of the Constitution are applied
through the Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure.
- Juveniles
may be held in custody in the event of urgent necessity; the grounds for this
action must be examined by a court within
72 hours. The detainee must be
released immediately if within 72 hours of his arrest no court ruling on his
detention has been delivered
to him.
- A
person who has been arrested or detained must be informed without delay of the
grounds for his arrest or detention, his rights must
be explained to him, and he
must be given an opportunity immediately following his arrest to defend himself
and to have recourse
to legal assistance for his defence. When a juvenile is
arrested or detained his relatives must be informed without
delay.
- A
person is regarded as innocent of a crime and a criminal sentence may not be
imposed on him until his guilt has been proved and
he has been lawfully
convicted by a court. No one is compelled to prove his innocence of a crime.
Convictions may not be based
on evidence acquired by unlawful means or on
suppositions. The accused must be given the benefit of any doubt as to the
proof of
guilt.
- In
juvenile court proceedings the accused must be able to exercise his right to
defence; he may not be compelled to give testimony
or to confess guilt; and he
must be provided with the services of an interpreter if he does not understand
the language of the court
or does not speak it.
- During
the hearing of juvenile cases the court, in addition to clarifying the general
circumstances, also establishes the accused’s
living conditions and the
circumstances of his upbringing, including any circumstances which have had a
negative effect on his upbringing,
and the existence of any adult instigators or
other persons who involved the juvenile in criminal activity. The opinion of an
expert
in child and juvenile psychology (a psychologist or education expert)
must be obtained when necessary in order to establish a juvenile’s
general
level of development, his mental capacity, and whether he had been able fully to
understand the significance of his acts
and to control them; or these questions
may be decided by a psychiatrist.
- A
juvenile’s counsel must be present when he is being charged or questioned
and when the facts of the case are presented. Counsel
must be involved in the
proceedings from the moment of the issue of the detention order or the order
concerning the use of coercive
measures but not later than 24 hours from the
time of arrest.
- The
work of investigation units in the detection and investigation of crimes
committed by juveniles is subject to monitoring by the
administrative and court
authorities and to supervision by the Procurator’s Office.
- The
Code of Administrative Offences provides that persons who were over the age of
16 at the time of committing an administrative
offence are held to be
responsible for it. According to the Criminal Code, criminal responsibility is
incurred by persons who are
aged 16 or older at the time of committing the
crime; persons aged 14 or 15 at the time of committing the crime may be held
criminally
responsible only for particularly serious crimes.
- Cases
which may result in the imposition on a juvenile of a coercive measure of an
educational nature are heard in open court, where
a representative of the
Procurator’s Office and the accused’s counsel must be present. The
explanations of the juvenile
and his legal representative are heard, and the
evidence for and against the commission of the socially dangerous act by the
accused
is examined, as are the other facts of the case.
- The
court may on a provisional basis, for a maximum period of 30 days, place a child
in a juvenile reception/distribution centre or
in a special educational
institution, when sufficient grounds exist for concluding that the child in
question may otherwise engage
in illegal activities and when such placement is
necessary for the enforcement of the court’s decision.
- Juvenile
reception/distribution centres are special institutions of the internal affairs
agencies intended for the temporary placement
of juveniles aged 11 to 18 who
have committed acts constituting a public danger when there is a need for their
immediate isolation
or who have been committed by court order to a special
educational institution for juveniles.
- These
institutions include general education and vocational social rehabilitation
schools. Their main distinguishing features are
their special daytime schedule
and their system of educational work and social training, the constant
supervision and educational
monitoring of the inmates, and the impossibility of
their leaving the premises without the management’s
permission.
- Juveniles
aged 11 to 14 may be placed by court order in a special educational institution
for social rehabilitation and those older
than 14 in a vocational school.
Juveniles may be kept in these institutions for the period fixed by the court
but for no longer
than three years.
- Juveniles
aged 14 and older sentenced to deprivation of liberty serve their sentence in a
correctional labour colony of the Ministry
of Internal Affairs.
- These
colonies are supervised by the State Department for Enforcement of Sentences.
Agencies of the Procurator’s Office are
responsible for supervision of
compliance with the rules and application of the law in general education and
vocational social rehabilitation
schools in accordance with the Act “On
the Procurator’s Office”.
- A
juvenile police force based on the Juvenile Affairs Inspectorate was established
in 1995 for the purposes of the social protection
of children aged under 18
and the prevention of juvenile crime; from the organizational standpoint this
juvenile police is part of
the criminal police force of the system of the
Ministry of Internal Affairs.
- This
new criminal police force is concerned with the prevention of juvenile crime:
the identification, prevention and investigation
of crimes committed by
juveniles; the pre-trial preparation of materials relating to such crimes; the
conduct of inquiries within
the limits set by the criminal procedure
legislation; the conduct of searches for juveniles who have left home or run
away from school
or a special educational institution for juveniles; the
examination within the limits of its jurisdiction of statements and
communications
concerning crimes committed by juveniles; the identification of
the causes and circumstances which led to the commission of a crime;
the
application within the limits of its jurisdiction of measures to remove these
causes and circumstances; and participation in
the legal education of
juveniles.
- With
a view to stabilizing the operational context of their work with juveniles, the
agencies of the juvenile criminal police organize
and carry out targeted
nationwide preventive operations. For example, nine such operations were
carried out in 1997 (operations
“Holidays”, “Teenager”,
“Summer 97”, “Railway Station”, “Street
Children”,
etc.) in order to prevent juvenile crime and to inject new
vigour into the preventive work and operational sweeps of the units of
the
juvenile criminal police.
Numbers of juveniles convicted of crimes*
|
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
Total
|
12 659
|
16 745
|
19 043
|
18 363
|
including:
|
|
|
|
|
Intentional homicide and attempted homicide
|
93
|
147
|
202
|
198
|
Intentional serious bodily harm
|
156
|
155
|
177
|
212
|
Rape and attempted rape
|
671
|
276
|
247
|
232
|
Theft
|
7 252
|
9 967
|
10 746
|
11 416
|
Robbery
|
1 462
|
1 895
|
1 952
|
1 796
|
Mugging
|
356
|
594
|
619
|
599
|
Swindling
|
40
|
57
|
62
|
56
|
Hooliganism
|
1 068
|
1 302
|
1 538
|
1 703
|
Drug crimes
|
86
|
316
|
471
|
520
|
* According to State Statistical Committee data.
- In
1997 the number of crimes committed by juveniles or with their participation
was 4.3 per cent lower than in 1996. The investigation
of 20,445
criminal cases was completed, and 15,719 of them proceeded to court. A total of
29,498 persons were indicted in these
cases,
including 22,284 juveniles -
1.2 per cent more than in 1996. A total of 2,380 juveniles were deemed not
criminally responsible, and
their cases were referred to the courts for the
imposition of coercive measures of an educational nature.
- In
1997 units of the criminal police carried out checks on the lifestyles of 77,900
juvenile offenders.
- The
Ministry of Internal Affairs has repeatedly submitted to the Cabinet of
Ministers proposals for the improvement of the legal and
social protection of
juveniles and for changes and additions to the juvenile law, as well as
transmitting information to the relevant
ministries and other central executive
authorities with recommendations on the removal of the causes and circumstances
resulting
in child neglect and juvenile delinquency.
- The
measures taken contributed to the downward trend of juvenile crime since 1995
indicated by the figures given in the table.
- The
Ministry is planning further organizational and practical measures to improve
the application of the Convention and the prevention
of juvenile
crime.
Number of crimes committed by juveniles in 1997*
|
|
Percentage change over preceding year
|
1993
|
37 928
|
(+8.8)
|
1994
|
40 661
|
(+7.2)
|
1995
|
41 648
|
(+2.4)
|
1996
|
41 837
|
(+0.5)
|
1997
|
40 051
|
(-4.3)
|
* According to Ministry of Internal Affairs
data.
2. Children deprived of their liberty, including any form of
detention,
imprisonment or placement in custodial settings (art. 37
(b)-(d))
- Juveniles
may be arrested and taken into custody as a preventive measure only when they
have committed a serious crime for which convincing
evidence is to hand. The
investigation units of the juvenile police are subject to administrative and
court monitoring and to supervision
by the Procurator’s
Office.
- If
when determining the nature of a sentence of deprivation of liberty the court
concludes in the light of the facts of the case and
the personality of the
guilty party that it is inappropriate for him to serve the available sentence,
it may impose a suspended sentence
accompanied by a mandatory explanation in the
sentence itself of the grounds for the suspension. In such cases the court
rules that
the sentence shall not be enforced provided that for the duration of
a probationary period fixed by the court the guilty party does
not commit
another crime and justifies the trust
placed in him through his exemplary
behaviour and honest work. The conduct of juveniles
serving
suspended sentences is monitored by the juvenile affairs services of the
executive committees of local councils in accordance
with the law. The
probationary period under suspended sentences may be from one to three
years.
- Juveniles
aged under 18 sentenced to deprivation of liberty may be released on parole or
have the unserved part of their sentence
commuted to a lighter penalty. These
measures may be applied only when the convicted juvenile has demonstrated his
reform by means
of exemplary conduct and an honest attitude to
work.
- Juveniles
aged under 18 are not committed to prison for the purposes of their correction
but serve their sentences in correctional
labour colonies.
- One
of the following coercive measures of an educational nature which do not
constitute criminal sentences may be imposed on a person
aged under 18 who has
committed a crime but is not a danger to society and is susceptible of
correction without a criminal sentence:
placement under the supervision of his
parents or their surrogates; placement under the supervision of a public
organization or
labour collective with their consent or of individual citizens
at their request; committal to a special juvenile educational or medical
institution.
- The
conditions of the maintenance, education and medical care of juveniles in
special educational institutions are monitored in accordance
with the
regulations on general education and vocational social rehabilitation schools
adopted by the Cabinet of Ministers in 1993.
The conditions of the maintenance
of children in medical-social rehabilitation centres are monitored in accordance
with the 1996
regulations on medical-social centres for the rehabilitation of
juveniles.
- The
preventive supervision of juveniles deemed not to bear criminal responsibility
is effected by the agencies of the juvenile criminal
police in accordance with
the 1995 Order of the Cabinet of Ministers “On the establishment of a
juvenile criminal police”.
Number of juveniles registered for supervision by
the
juvenile criminal police (at year’s end)*
|
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
Total
|
66 096
|
66 991
|
52 927
|
49 875
|
including: aged under 13
|
12 304
|
13 506
|
8 870
|
8 117
|
aged 14-15
|
20 720
|
22 707
|
18 726
|
16 244
|
aged 16-17
|
33 072
|
30 778
|
25 331
|
25 514
|
In secondary schools
|
26 117
|
29 393
|
21 085
|
20 759
|
In vocational/technical schools
|
16 079
|
10 657
|
8 844
|
8 477
|
Working
|
15 714
|
7 941
|
5 475
|
5 326
|
Not working or studying
|
5 393
|
15 938
|
14 520
|
14 218
|
Having one parent
|
21 889
|
18 893
|
12 981
|
13 363
|
Having no parents
|
1 264
|
1 241
|
913
|
884
|
Living in children’s homes, etc.
|
1 240
|
1 357
|
879
|
1 065
|
* According to State Statistical Committee data.
- The
directives and other legislative acts of the Ministry of Internal Affairs take
into account the recommendations of the Committee
on the Rights of the Child for
the improvement of the work of combating juvenile crime. Organizational and
practical measures have
been introduced to ensure the unconditional
implementation of the Comprehensive Programme to Combat Juvenile Crime
(1996-2000), the
National Programme “Children of Ukraine”, and the
Decrees of the President and his instructions to the Cabinet of Ministers
concerning leisure and recreational activities for children and the prevention
of child neglect.
- Persons
who have obtained refugee status in Ukraine must obey Ukrainian law and they are
subject to the provisions of the criminal
legislation in force. These
provisions apply equally to refugee children.
- The
juvenile affairs services operating under the Act “On juvenile affairs
agencies and services and on special juvenile institutions”
are involved
in the correction and re-education of juveniles serving sentences of deprivation
of liberty in correctional labour colonies
or sentenced to correctional work
without deprivation of liberty, as well as in the monitoring of the agencies and
institutions which
enforce the sentences of the courts. A community council is
created in each correctional labour colony in order to organize the
support
activities of volunteers and sponsors; it operates in accordance with the
Correctional Labour Code and the Community Councils
Order adopted by the
Presidium of the Supreme Council.
- In
the period 1993-1997 an average of 3,600 juveniles were serving sentences in
the 11 correctional labour colonies run by the State
Department for
Enforcement of Sentences, together with 30,500 juveniles held to be criminally
responsible and convicted of criminal
offences. Ukraine is thus complying with
the requirement of article 37 of the Convention that the imposition of sentences
of deprivation
of liberty on juvenile offenders should be used only as a measure
of last resort.
Juvenile delinquency by type of crime, 1993-1997*
(average
annual percentages)
|
48.5
|
Robbery
|
13.4
|
Mugging
|
12.4
|
Hooliganism
|
5.9
|
Rape
|
8.3
|
Intentional homicide
|
2.8
|
Serious bodily harm
|
2.6
|
Other crimes
|
6.1
|
* According to Ministry of Internal Affairs data.
Age composition of convicted juveniles, 1993-1997*
(average
annual percentages)
|
11.3
|
Aged 16 and 17
|
23.3
|
Aged 17 and 18
|
40.6
|
Aged over 18
|
24.8
|
* According to Ministry of Internal Affairs data.
- The
Constitution provides that everyone is entitled to respect for his human
dignity. No one may be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or
degrading
treatment.
- The
procedures governing the pre-trial detention of juveniles and the serving of
sentences by juveniles in correctional labour colonies
set out in the Act
“On pre-trial detention”, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the
Correctional Labour Code take into
account the requirements of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights and the other international legal rules and
standards concerning
the treatment of prisoners.
- The
treatment of persons taken into custody must be commensurate with the
seriousness and nature of the offence. No measure may be
used which causes them
physical or moral suffering or impairs their human dignity. The use of physical
coercion, special measures
and firearms in dealing with juveniles is prohibited,
except in the event of a group attack which threatens the lives or health of
the
personnel of a place of pre-trial detention or of other persons, or in the event
of armed resistance.
- Juveniles
held in custody are kept separate from adults. In exceptional cases and
in order to prevent infringement of the rules governing
places of
detention, cells where juveniles are being held may also be occupied, with
the authorization of the Procurator’s
Office, by not more than two
adults who are being prosecuted for the first time and
for minor offences. Juveniles may not be kept
in single-occupancy
cells; in the event of a threat to their lives juveniles are
transferred to another limited-bed cell or to a
communal
cell.
- Convicted
juveniles held in correctional labour colonies maintain constant links with
their relatives. They are allowed short visits
(a maximum of four hours) once a
month and long visits (up to three days) once every three months. These long
visits come with the
right to live together with close
relatives.
- When
technically possible, inmates are entitled to one free 15-minute telephone call,
monitored by the administration. If they wish,
persons serving sentences in
these colonies may swap short visits for long ones and telephone calls for short
or long visits.
- Juvenile
inmates are entitled to receive and send unrestricted numbers of letters.
Letters to or from inmates are delivered or posted
by the administration within
three days of the letters’ arrival or handing in.
- Pursuant
to the Act “On remedies available to citizens” juveniles have the
right to transmit proposals, statements and
complaints to the executive
authorities, public organizations, and officials. Proposals, statements and
complaints addressed to
the Procurator’s Office are not subject to review
by the colony’s administration and must be sent off within 24 hours.
The
outcome is communicated to the inmate on receipt.
- The
health care of juvenile inmates and preventive and anti-epidemiological measures
in correctional labour colonies are attended
to in accordance with the health
care legislation; the colonies have medical services for this purpose. When
hospital care is needed,
inmates are sent to the inter-regional hospitals of the
Ministry of Internal Affairs. They are entitled to request consultations
and
treatment in institutions which charge for their services. Any such services
are paid for by the inmates’ parents or relatives
from their own
pockets.
- All
the colonies operate measures to prevent juveniles from using narcotic drugs or
psychotropic substances. There are five establishments
specializing in carrying
out court orders concerning the compulsory treatment of drug addiction or
alcoholism. Seventy-one juveniles
are currently undergoing courses of
treatment for drug addiction and 52 for alcoholism.
- The
colonies have schools offering three grades of secondary general education; they
have an annual average of 3,500 students. In
conjunction with the Ministry of
Education the authorities carry out comprehensive inspections of schools in the
colonies and prepare
proposals for further improvement of their
work.
- The
secondary and vocational education is organized in accordance with the Act
“On education”, the 1996 Presidential Decree
“On the
fundamentals of the reform of vocational and technical training”, and the
provisions of the National Education
Programme. The schools teach the curricula
of five-grade secondary general education schools. As almost none of the
juveniles in
the colonies has an occupation or profession, the colonies have
vocational/technical schools providing training in more than 20
occupations.
- Education
for work and the acquisition of the habit of socially useful work is one of the
principal remedial measures used with juveniles.
The colonies’
administrations provide their inmates with work suited to their abilities and
inclinations. The working day
is four hours for children aged up to 16 and six
hours for older juveniles. Their earnings are deposited in personal accounts to
be spent in accordance with their wishes or handed over to them on their
release.
- The
Act “On pre-trial detention” establishes the procedure for persons
taken into custody to make complaints and statements.
Complaints, applications
and letters addressed to the Procurator’s Office are not subject to review
by the administration
of the place of pre-trial detention and must be sent off
within 24 hours of their handing in.
- Complaints
against the acts of persons conducting inquiries or against interrogators are
transmitted by the administration of the
place of pre-trial detention to a
procurator, and complaints against the acts or decisions of a procurator (except
for appeals against
his approval of arrests) are transmitted to a more senior
procurator within three days from the time of their handing in. Other
complaints, statements, applications and letters connected with the conduct of
the case are transmitted by the administration to
the official or agency dealing
with the case within three days of the time of their handing
in.
- Compliance
with the law during the serving of sentences of deprivation of liberty or
corrective work without deprivation of liberty
is supervised by the
Procurator-General and his subordinates. He is obliged to take action to put an
end to any infringement of
the law regardless of the identity of the
perpetrator, to make good any violation of rights, and to prosecute in
accordance with
the procedure established by law the persons who allowed such
infringements or violations.
- The
decisions and orders of a procurator in respect of compliance with the
regulations governing the serving of sentences under the
correctional labour
legislation are binding and subject to immediate implementation by the
administrations of correctional labour
institutions and the agencies supervising
the performance of correctional work without deprivation of
liberty.
- Persons
serving sentences of deprivation of liberty may on their written request be
accorded access to a lawyer with a view to receiving
legal assistance. If the
prisoner or the lawyer so wishes, they meet in the correctional labour
institution face to face. Such
interviews are not counted as interviews
provided for in the Correctional Labour Code; their number and duration are not
subject
to any restriction.
- Prisoners
are entitled to submit proposals, statements and complaints to the executive
authorities of the State, public organizations,
and officials. Such
communications are transmitted to their addressees in accordance with the
internal rules of procedure of the
correctional labour institutions and are
dealt with in the manner established by law. When addressed to a
procurator they are not
subject to review by the institution’s
administration and must be sent off within 24 hours. The prisoner
concerned must be
informed of the outcome of the consideration of his proposal,
statement or complaint immediately on receipt.
3. The sentencing of children, with particular reference to
the prohibition of
capital punishment and life imprisonment (art. 37
(a))
- The
Criminal Code prohibits the imposition of the death penalty on persons aged
under 18 at the time of commission of the crime.
Such persons may not be
sentenced to a term of deprivation of liberty exceeding 10
years.
- Representatives
of registered public organizations and the mass media may visit the agencies
responsible for the enforcement of sentences
imposed on juvenile offenders. In
February 1998 these agencies were inspected by the European Committee for the
Prevention of Torture
and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which
did not find any evidence of the torture or cruel treatment of children in
correctional labour colonies. This is all evidence of the fact that the
requirements of article 37 of the Convention are satisfied
in the places of
detention where juveniles serve their sentences.
4. Physical and psychological recovery and social
reintegration of the child (art. 39)
- Juveniles
released from a correctional labour colony before their eighteenth birthday
return to their parents or surrogate parents.
When possible, the juvenile
affairs services in a released juvenile’s place of residence take action,
on notification by the
administration of the colony, to find him work in the
occupation he has acquired or to make study arrangements for him and to find
him
accommodation.
- In
exceptional cases when it is deemed inappropriate from the educational
standpoint for a juvenile to proceed from the colony to
his former place of
residence, the local juvenile affairs services settle him in a new location on
the recommendation of the colony’s
administration and in the light of his
own wishes.
- Released
juveniles aged up to 16 are accompanied to their place of residence by relatives
(with their consent) or by a member of the
colony’s
staff.
- The
colony’s administration verifies that released juveniles do in fact arrive
at their place of residence and helps them to
find a job or a study place
through the executive committees of the local councils, the juvenile affairs
services, internal affairs
agencies, and other bodies.
- On
the proposal and with the assistance of UNICEF, in October 1997 and January 1998
the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Justice,
the Ministry of Family and
Youth Affairs, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the National Committee for
the Protection of Children
held a national competition for the best essay on
“My rights” by a secondary general education pupil or child serving
a sentence in a correctional labour colony with a view to publicizing and
promoting the provisions of the Convention. A total of
3,416 children entered
for the first stage of the competition. After assessment, 115 essays by colony
children were selected to
go forward to the second stage; 40 of these children
were successful and were awarded diplomas of honour.
- The
provision of social protection for juveniles and the prevention of juvenile
crime are responsibilities of the juvenile affairs
agencies and services, whose
activities are regulated by the 1995 Act “On juvenile affairs
agencies and services”. The
services monitor the conditions of
maintenance and education in special juvenile institutions and the organization
of educational
work in the schools and out-of-school institutions at the place
of residence.
C. Children in situations of exploitation, including
physical
and psychological recovery and social reintegration
1. Economic exploitation of children, including child labour
(art. 32)
- The
Constitution prohibits the use of forced labour in Ukraine. Every citizen has
the right to reliable, safe and healthy working conditions and
to wages not
lower than the minimum established by law.
- The
rules and regulations governing work by minors are set out in the Labour Code.
The employment of minors in work which is dangerous
to their health is
prohibited.
- The
Constitution provides that any act of violence or exploitation affecting
children shall be prosecuted.
- As
an integral part of Ukraine’s younger generation children fall under the
scope of the 1993 Act “On promotion of the
social advancement and
development of young people”, which defines the general principles of the
creation of the organizational,
socio-economic and legal conditions for the
social advancement and development of young citizens for the benefit of the
whole State.
- Children
aged under 18 may not be employed in heavy work or work in harmful or dangerous
conditions, in underground work and the lifting
or moving of objects heavier
than the maximum established for such objects in the regulations. Children aged
under 18 may not be
employed in night work or work overtime or on
holidays.
- In
agreement with the State Committee on the Supervision of Labour Protection the
Ministry of Health approved the list of heavy work
and work in harmful or
dangerous conditions and the weight limits for the lifting or moving of heavy
objects by children aged under
18. These standards are established in the list
of heavy work and work in harmful or dangerous conditions in which the labour of
minors may not be used (1994 Order of the Ministry of Health) and in the weight
limits for the lifting or moving of heavy objects
by minors (1996 Order of the
Ministry of Health), as well as in the regulations on the training of minors in
occupations involving
heavy work or work in harmful or dangerous conditions
(1994 Order of the State Committee on the Supervision of Labour
Protection).
- The
recruitment of any person aged under 18 must be preceded by a medical
examination, and further medical examinations must be conducted
annually
thereafter.
- Under
the Act “On employment” the State is responsible for providing
additional guarantees of the employment of young
people who have completed or
interrupted their secondary general education vocational training or have
completed their period of
compulsory military or alternative (non-military)
service. The legislation requires the local administrative authorities of the
State to set aside 5 per cent of all jobs for young people on the basis of their
occupational qualifications. A total of 186,200
jobs were reserved in 1997,
54.4 per cent of them for young people.
Employment of graduates of educational institutions who
registered with the State Employment Service*
|
Employment applications
|
Persons employed
|
|
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
Total
|
53 273
|
54 947
|
64 956
|
77 621
|
27 454
|
24 934
|
22 049
|
25 583
|
Including:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
General education
|
21 628
|
21 225
|
17 352
|
16 560
|
11 978
|
10 595
|
7 401
|
6 261
|
Vocational training
|
17 943
|
18 431
|
25 617
|
32 481
|
9 230
|
8 306
|
8 181
|
9 760
|
Higher education
|
13 702
|
15 291
|
21 987
|
28 580
|
6 246
|
6 033
|
6 467
|
9 562
|
* According to State Statistical Committee data.
- A
National Employment Programme (1997-2000) was produced by the Ministry of Labour
and Social Policy and adopted by the Cabinet of
Ministers with a view to
preventing unemployment and helping young people to find jobs. The social
services of the Ministry of Family
and Youth Affairs provide young people with
considerable assistance in the labour market and in the acquisition of
vocational training
and qualifications.
- Children’s
right to work and to protection against economic exploitation, established in
article 32 of the Convention, is confirmed
in Ukraine’s Labour Code
(chapter XIII, articles 187200, on work performed by young people, and
chapter XIV). Benefits for
persons combining work with study (arts. 201-220)
are described in the Acts “On education”, “On
employment”,
“On leave”, “On the remuneration of
labour” and “On labour protection”.
- Juveniles
in legal labour relationships have the same rights as adults but they enjoy
additional privileges established by law in
respect of their labour protection,
working hours, leave, and certain other terms of their
employment.
- Children
aged under 16 may not be admitted to employment. Fifteen-year-olds may be
recruited on an exceptional basis and with the
consent of one of their parents
or surrogate parents.
- For
the purposes of training young people for productive work pupils aged 14 in
general education, vocational/technical and specialized
secondary schools may be
employed, outside of school hours and with the consent of their parents or
surrogate parents, to perform
light work which does not harm their health or
disrupt their education.
- The
regulations provide for shorter working hours, longer holidays and lower
production norms for child workers.
- Parents,
adoptive parents and guardians of minors, the executive authorities and the
officials responsible for supervising compliance
with the labour legislation are
entitled to demand the suspension of a labour contract with a minor, for a
lengthy period if necessary,
if its continuation threatens the minor’s
health or infringes his legal rights.
- It
should be noted that, while in the public sector such demands are complied with
or monitored by the corresponding State and public
bodies (juvenile affairs
agencies and services, State labour and labour protection inspectorates, trade
unions), in the non-public
sector, which is expanding as a result of the growth
of private business activity, private farming and individual and family
enterprises,
the monitoring of the use of child labour is subject to severe
constraints and difficulties. This means that the State must introduce
compulsory programmes of education and vocational training with a view to
preventing the use of forced labour harmful to children’s
health and
development.
- The
juvenile affairs agencies and services, the agencies of the Procurator’s
Office, and the labour protection inspectorates
are responsible for monitoring
compliance with the child labour legislation.
- In
August 1996 the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy created the Labour
Inspectorate, which is responsible for monitoring compliance
with the labour
legislation, particularly in respect of children, in enterprises and
organizations in all forms of ownership. In
the event of the discovery of
violations of this legislation the State labour inspectors are empowered to take
administrative legal
action against the culprits.
- The
state of compliance with the child labour legislation is currently being studied
by the State Labour Inspectorate in conjunction
with the Ministry of Education
and the Ministry of Family and Youth Affairs. The findings of this study will
appear in a report
of the Cabinet of Ministers.
- Reviews
are being conducted of the regulations governing safety during the work training
and summer practical work performed by children
in the tenth and eleventh grades
of secondary general education schools attached to agricultural enterprises and
the regulations
governing the safety of school work in chemistry, physics and
biology laboratories in other general education secondary
schools.
- The
State labour protection agencies and the State Labour Inspectorate have
established systematic monitoring of compliance with the
regulations on
children’s working hours and on the procedure for recruiting
them.
- However,
despite the existence of this regulatory framework some business
managers continue to use child labour in work in harmful
or dangerous
conditions. A total of 1,813 children have been found assigned to such
work.
- The
work being done by the State is helping to improve children’s working
conditions and reduce work injuries among children.
Numbers of injuries to minors in the workplace*
|
|
Fatal injuries
|
1993
|
644
|
24
|
1994
|
498
|
17
|
1995
|
380
|
16
|
1996
|
248
|
8
|
1997
|
144
|
3
|
* According to Ministry of Labour and Social Policy
data.
- The
organization of public works is one means of helping young people, including
students, to find jobs. The local State administrations,
together with the
State employment services, are establishing special funds from the resources of
local budgets and enterprises and
of the State jobs creation fund with a view to
financing public works to provide employment for pupils from general education
and
vocational/technical schools and older students outside school hours and in
the summer holidays.
- An
analysis of the employment needs led to a shift to the reservation of jobs for
orphans, children leaving boarding facilities and
children with criminal
records.
2. Drug abuse (art. 33)
- The
Criminal Code establishes criminal responsibility for involving minors in the
nonmedical use of medicines and other substances
(art. 208-2) or in the use of
narcotic drugs (art. 229-5).
- Ukraine
has ratified the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the Convention on
Psychotropic Substances, and the 1988 United Nations
Convention against Illicit
Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.
- Measures
to prevent alcoholism and drug addiction among minors are set out in the
comprehensive targeted crime-prevention programme
for 1996-2000 adopted in
1996.
- One
of the chief measures for the social protection of minors is the creation of
centres for their social and medical rehabilitation
under the health-care
agencies.
- These
centres are being set up in the State health system in order to create the
conditions for and ensure the treatment of children
for alcoholism and addiction
to drugs or toxic substances, as well as their psychological recovery and
remediation. Children aged
11 or older are placed with the centres on the basis
of the findings of an expert medical committee.
- Such
children remain in the centre for the period necessary for their recovery up to
a maximum of two years. Matters connected with
a child’s stay in a centre
are considered on the basis of an application made by his parents, adoptive
parents or guardians
with his consent.
- Such
centres have now been established and are operating in Donetsk and Lugansk
regions and the Crimean Autonomous Republic.
- Despite
the action taken, recent years have seen an increase in juvenile crime connected
with the use of narcotic and other powerful
drugs and
substances.
Number of children aged up to 17 registered as having committed
crimes connected
with narcotic drugs or psychotropic and other powerful
substances*
|
|
Schoolchildren
|
Percentage of all persons committing drugs-related
crimes
|
1993
|
541
|
28
|
3.1
|
1995
|
799
|
72
|
3.1
|
1996
|
1 013
|
102
|
3.6
|
1997
|
1 036
|
111
|
3.5
|
* According to State Statistical Committee data.
- A
UNICEF “Street children” project is being implemented in accordance
with the recommendations of a committee of experts
on the introduction of
measures to prevent such negative phenomena among children as the rise in the
number of AIDS cases, abortions,
drug dependency and social misconduct. A
number of teaching seminars were held in Kiev and Odessa in August 1997 with the
main aim
of training national specialists and volunteers to work with street
children. A start has been made on a “Friendly clinics”
project,
which envisages the creation of a network of clinics to determine the priority
tasks in tackling disease among children
(five clinics in Kiev, three in
Odessa).
- The
Criminal Code establishes criminal responsibility for inducing a minor to get
drunk and the inducement of a minor into a drunken
state by a person who is his
superior (art. 208). The Code of Administrative Offences establishes the
liability of parents and their
surrogates and of all other persons to
prosecution for inducing a minor into a drunken state (art. 180). However, the
number of
prosecutions under these articles does not reflect the true number of
offences. The protection of children’s rights in this
regard will require
the production of an effective mechanism for punishing persons who induce minors
to get drunk.
Number of recorded crimes involving infringement of
children’s rights*
|
Recorded crimes by year
|
1993
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
Inducement into drunken state
|
208
|
1
|
4
|
3
|
2
|
Inducement into non-medical use of medicines and other narcotic
substances
|
208
|
2
|
1
|
4
|
3
|
* According to State Statistical Committee data.
- The
social services centres for young people work to prevent drug addiction,
alcoholism and smoking among juveniles.
- These
centres are guided in their preventive work by the State’s administrative
and legislative acts, by the national programme
for 1994-1997 to combat the use
of narcotic drugs and their illicit traffic, by an Order of the Cabinet of
Ministers concerning measures
to combat drunkenness, alcoholism and smoking, and
by the National Programme “Children of Ukraine”.
- According
to the statistics, over 190,000 young people were helped in 1997 under the
programmes to prevent drug use and addiction.
3. Sexual exploitation and sexual abuse (art. 34)
- The
law establishes criminal responsibility for rape (Criminal Code, art. 117), the
satisfaction of sexual passion by unnatural means
(art. 118), sexual relations
with persons below the age of sexual maturity (art. 120), the seduction of
minors (art. 121) and pederasty
(art. 122).
Number of recorded crimes involving infringement of
children’s rights*
Articles of Criminal Code
|
Recorded crimes by year
|
1993
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
Sexual relations with a person below the age of sexual maturity
|
120
|
83
|
64
|
46
|
59
|
Seduction of minors
|
121
|
260
|
282
|
321
|
298
|
* According to State Statistical Committee data.
- The
right of the child to protection against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse
established in article 34 of the Convention and
the right established in article
40 of children charged with or convicted of a crime to respect for their human
dignity and in particular
to use of all means of independent judicial process
are guaranteed in part in the Criminal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure and
the Code of Administrative Offences.
- Unfortunately,
a number of the legal rules corresponding to articles of the Convention and
other related international instruments
are not always fully applied in
practice. The main reason for this is that Ukrainian legislation on children is
principally of a
declarative rather than of a practical nature, so that Ukraine
is unable to guarantee compliance with and exercise of the established
rights of
the child. In addition, effective national machinery for ensuring the
application and the monitoring of the application
of individual regulations on
children’s rights is virtually non-existent.
4. Sale, trafficking and abduction (art. 35)
- The
Criminal Code establishes criminal responsibility for the abduction or
substitution of another person’s child for purposes
of gain (art.
124).
- On
the initiative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, in 1998 the Supreme Council
incorporated additions in the Criminal Code in
order to prevent the trafficking,
smuggling and abduction of children; specifically, article 115-2 establishes
serious criminal responsibility
for unlawful activities connected with adoption,
and article 124-1 for trafficking in persons, including
children.
- According
to the statistics, the number of recorded crimes concerning the abduction of
another person’s child is insignificant;
there were 17 cases in
1997.
5. Other forms of exploitation (art. 36)
- The
Housing Code establishes the right of all citizens to housing. Juveniles cannot
exercise the right to be allocated housing independently
until age 18 or until
they marry or take jobs in the circumstances specified by law on reaching the
age of majority. Minors aged
15 to 18 may exercise this right with the consent
of their parents or guardians.
- A
place is retained in the accommodation which he left for a child being raised in
a children’s home for the whole duration
of his stay in the home, provided
that other members of his family continue to live in the
accommodation.
- If
no family members continued to live in the accommodation which the child left
and it was allocated to other citizens or if it cannot
be used for some other
reason, when a child leaves a State children’s institution or returns from
being cared for by relatives
or guardians he is found accommodation by the
executive committee of the local council in his last place of permanent
residence.
- The
interests of children are taken into account in the issue of instruments of
privatization (under the procedure adopted in 1995
for the issue of instruments
of privatization to minors, to citizens declared legally incapable in accordance
with the established
rules, and to citizens serving sentences of deprivation of
liberty, and the procedure for their use) and in the determination of
the modes
of use of such instruments.
- In
matters connected with the privatization of the residential property of State
enterprises special attention was given during the
reporting period to the
provision of assistance in obtaining certificates of privatized accommodation to
orphans, disabled children,
children deprived of parental care, and minors
serving sentences of deprivation of liberty. In 1996 and 1997 such certificates
were
issued to 95.4 per cent of orphans, 5.4 per cent of disabled children,
and 88.6 per cent of minors serving sentences in places of
detention.
D. Children belonging to a minority or an indigenous group
(art. 30)
- Equal
political, economic, social and cultural rights are guaranteed to all the
nationalities living in Ukraine by domestic legislation,
specifically the
Declaration of the Rights of Nationalities and the Acts “On national
minorities”, “On refugees”,
“On citizenship of
Ukraine” and “On local self-government”. The Constitution
prohibits all privileges and restrictions based on race, colour of skin, or
political, religious or other beliefs.
- The
Constitution guarantees assistance with the development of the ethnic, cultural,
linguistic and religious independence of all the indigenous peoples
and national
minorities, together with the right to be educated in one’s mother tongue
or to study it in schools in State or
community ownership or in the cultural
societies of the nationalities.
- In
determining the rights of members of national minorities Ukraine is guided by
the principle that these rights are an inalienable
component of the generally
recognized human rights.
- A
programme on the introduction and development of education for the national
minorities in the period up to 2000 was formulated and
adopted in 1994. It
contains school curricula and syllabuses which include a number of subjects with
an ethical slant in the humanities
and arts courses (mother tongues and
literature, history, geography, national traditions, applied decorative
arts).
- Schools
run optional activities and clubs (for a total of about 200,000 pupils), where
children study Bulgarian, Armenian, Greek,
German and Korean. Special-subject
classes and special schools, high schools and lycées are being
established for the support
and development of the most gifted and talented
children.
- Almost
350 different titles were published in 1994-1997, including literature,
textbooks and other learning aids, and phrase-books
in 22 of the languages of
the country’s national minorities, with a view to satisfying
schoolchildren’s cultural and
educational needs.
- A
number of cultural and educational measures for the renaissance of the cultures,
languages, customs and traditions of ethnic groups
were carried out in 1994-1997
by public associations of the country’s national minorities with the
active encouragement and
financial support of the State Committee on
Nationalities and Migration.
- The
return and resettlement of deported persons is a major problem for Ukraine. For
example, more than 250,000 Crimean Tartars, as
well as some 12,000 Bulgarians,
Armenians, Greeks and Germans, have returned to the Crimean Autonomous Republic
from places of deportation
and are now living there. A total of 62.2 per cent
of them are adults and 31.9 per cent (over 70,000) are
children.
- Crimean
Tartar children account for 21.5 per cent of the total population and
for 17.1 per cent of the mortality rate of newborn babies.
The
morbidity rate among the Crimean Tartar population is 4,808.3 per 10,000
persons. The rates of serious illness are 5,518.2
for adults and
3,008.8 for children. Despite the action taken to improve the health of
returnee children (in 1997 alone more than
15,000 children were restored to
health) the situation remains difficult.
- Problems
connected with culture and education require urgent solution, in particular the
problem of satisfying the educational demands
of the returnees and of educating
and training the children in their mother tongue. According to the figures of
the Ministry of
Education of the Crimean Autonomous Republic, only 1,500 of the
36,000 Crimean Tartar children of school age have an opportunity
of studying the
Crimean Tartar language. The Republic has only two private high schools in
which Crimean Tartar is offered, along
with Russian, English and Turkish. These
schools were opened by a Turkish company in collaboration with the
Republic’s Ministry
of Education. They have about 130 Crimean Tartar
pupils.
- The
need for the comprehensive solution of these and other problems was reflected in
the draft State programme for the adaptation
and integration in Ukrainian
society of deported Crimean Tartars and members of other nationalities and the
renaissance and development
of their education and their cultures, which was
prepared by the State Committee on Nationalities and Migration in collaboration
with the ministries and other central executive authorities
concerned.
-----
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