The Ukrainska Pravda website reported on Monday that on April 4, Kyiv had written to the Council of Europe’s (CoE) secretariat in Strasbourg to inform the organization that it had imposed limitations on some provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights, including freedom of speech.
The Ukrainian authorities also informed the Council that due to Russia’s ongoing aggression, they were not in a position to guarantee other elements of the convention, such as the right to respect for private and family life, freedom of assembly and association, freedom of movement, and the right to education and participation in free elections.
Independent Russian media outlet Meduza reported that the restrictions also applied to obligations to guarantee citizens the right to confidentiality in correspondence, including telephone conversations, and to collect, store and disseminate information.
Signatories to the convention have the right to a reasoned derogation of some of its obligations under certain circumstances, including military aggression.
Ukrainska Pravda highlighted that the Kyiv government had twice before – in 2015 and 2022 – informed the CoE that it would be unable to uphold all the convention’s provisions. In both cases, the reason given had been conflict with Moscow, first in the breakaway Donbas region, and later following Russia’s full-scale invasion.
The April 4 document to Strasbourg reinstated some of the obligations binding on Kyiv under the convention that had been suspended since 2022, including the prohibition of discrimination, the right for foreigners to be politically active, the right to compensation, freedom of conscience, and other aspects of the convention related to slave labor.
The European Convention on Human Rights came into force in 1953 and has been ratified by all 46 member states of the Council of Europe. Poland joined the accord in 1993.
Independent Russian media outlet Meduza reported that the restrictions also applied to obligations to guarantee citizens the right to confidentiality in correspondence, including telephone conversations, and to collect, store and disseminate information.
Signatories to the convention have the right to a reasoned derogation of some of its obligations under certain circumstances, including military aggression.
Ukrainska Pravda highlighted that the Kyiv government had twice before – in 2015 and 2022 – informed the CoE that it would be unable to uphold all the convention’s provisions. In both cases, the reason given had been conflict with Moscow, first in the breakaway Donbas region, and later following Russia’s full-scale invasion.
The April 4 document to Strasbourg reinstated some of the obligations binding on Kyiv under the convention that had been suspended since 2022, including the prohibition of discrimination, the right for foreigners to be politically active, the right to compensation, freedom of conscience, and other aspects of the convention related to slave labor.
The European Convention on Human Rights came into force in 1953 and has been ratified by all 46 member states of the Council of Europe. Poland joined the accord in 1993.
Source: PAP, Ukrainska Pravda
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