KYIV, 27 November 2012 – The state social adaptation programme for discharged military personnel was the focus of a roundtable discussion supported by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine (PCU) in Kyiv today.

Co-organized with the country’s Ministry of Social Policy, the event brought together representatives of state authorities and the NGO community dealing with the issue of retraining of military personnel that have left or are about to leave the Ukrainian armed forces as they undergo reform.

“The PCU has been assisting Ukraine with the social adaptation of discharged military personnel since 2004 and in recent years we have been gradually handing over this project to the authorities,” said Ambassador Madina Jarbussynova, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine. “This year, the Ministry of Social Policy has taken over the retraining of family members of military personnel and I hope the next year the Ministry will also take over some of the retraining of military personnel.” 

The participants developed recommendations on how to strengthen the state social adaptation system.

Mykola Shambir, the Acting First Deputy Minister of Social Policy, stressed the effectiveness of the OSCE social adaptation project and said:  “The OSCE assistance will be especially valuable in 2013 when it is planned to discharge twice as many military personnel as in 2012.”

This year the OSCE has been helping more than 700 military servicepersons in 23 cities and towns across Ukraine retrain as well as informing more than 450 serving middle rank officers of the social rights and guarantees of military personnel being discharged through seminars and training events.