Kyiv now has a city ombudsperson: what will change now

Lesia Petrivska

Alice Smahina

The ombudsperson's primary task is to protect the rights of citizens from illegal decisions or "mismanagement" by the authorities. Now such a position has appeared in the capital of Ukraine. By the decision of the Kyiv City Council, Lesia Petrivska, a deputy of the Kyiv City Council and co-founder of the NGO "All-Ukrainian Association of Sign Language Translators and People with Disabilities", was appointed Commissioner for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Kyiv is the first Ukrainian city to have its own ombudsperson. The city ombudsperson, or more precisely the ombudswoman, will ensure that the Kyiv City Council exercises its constitutional powers to ensure the observance of the rights and legitimate interests of people with disabilities, including those who have been disabled in the anti-terrorist operation zone and disabled soldiers.

World practice knows examples of the work of both specialized and local ombudspersons. Thus, in the 1970s, the law on local government introduced the institution of the local ombudsperson in the UK; later, regional ombudspersons began to operate in Europe, New Zealand, India, South Africa. In France, the position of mediator exists in every prefecture. In Canada (where, for instance, 7 municipal ombudspersons are currently defending human rights at the local level) and Australia, on the other hand, the ombud system originated from the bottom, i.e. ombudspersons were first introduced at the state, provincial and regional levels. The United States, which holds such a position in the municipalities of many cities (Anchorage, Portland, Seattle, Newark, Atlanta, Detroit, New York, etc.) pays particular attention to specialization; only university ombudspersons comprise more than 500. At the same time, public advocates, regardless of level and specifics, do a common cause — protect human rights.