A candidate for the brand new function of Navy ombudsman has been chosen and will probably be revealed in a presidential decree on Dec. 30, President Volodymyr Zelensky stated in his night deal with on Dec. 29.
Ukrainian officers first introduced they’d appoint a Navy Ombudsman in April to make sure troopers had a mechanism to report violations of their rights.
The ombudsman "will probably be accountable for contemplating appeals and complaints of servicemen, offering main authorized help, conducting inspections, and investigating violations of the rights of servicemen and their members of the family," the Protection Ministry said after the announcement of the place in April.
Requires a army ombudsman have intensified in current days following media studies of abuse in Ukraine's 211th Pontoon Bridge Brigade, and have doubtless pushed authorities to swiftly appoint a army ombudsman.
Senior Lieutenant Vladyslav Pastukh has been accused of abusing authority, beating, and humiliating subordinates, the Prosecutor Common's Workplace reported on Dec. 26. Whereas, his godfather, Colonel Oleh Poberezhniuk was detained on Dec. 29 for failing to handle abuse and torture allegations involving his subordinates.
"There was a request from our army, and it’s an goal necessity — to create a particular establishment of a Navy Ombudsman," Zelensky stated on Dec. 29. "We’d like an individual who can successfully shield the rights of our warriors."
The incidents stemming from the 211th Pontoon Bridge Brigade garnered widespread backlash following studies of abuse. In one of many alleged circumstances of abuse, Pastukh ordered subordinates to tie a sufferer to a wood cross, the place the soldier was immobilized for 4 hours.
"Along with the brand new commissioner, the human rights group, and the Ministry of Protection, we’ll draft a corresponding invoice on the Navy Ombudsman and set up the institutional framework for its operation," Zelensky stated.
Zelensky added that the work of the ombudsman will begin shortly, doubtless within the new 12 months.
Whereas the place of army ombudsman will probably be new to Ukraine, different militaries in Europe have lengthy had an ombudsman to supervise the rights of army personnel, together with Norway, Austria, Czechia, Belgium, and Sweden.
The Kyiv IndependentDmytro Basmat