OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine Launches the Parliament–Civil Society Platform

KYIV, 9 July 2015 – The OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine (PCU) facilitated today the launch of the Parliament-Civil Society Platform – a forum for an inclusive national dialogue, public debate, and dissemination of information on Ukraine’s reform agenda.

The launch event focused on one of the crucial aspects of Ukraine’s reform agenda – constitutional process, including the challenges of decentralization, judicial reform, and reintegration of the Donbas region. The meeting was attended by around 150 participants such as government officials, members of parliament and judges of Supreme and Constitutional Courts of Ukraine, prominent scholars, experts, civil society activists and media from across the country. Representatives of diplomatic missions and international agencies working in Ukraine also took part.

Keynote speakers included Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman, Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration of Ukraine Oleksiy Filatov, Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Valeriya Lutkovska, and Member of the Constitutional Commission Serhii Holovatyi.

The initiative is established jointly with the European Union Advisory Mission to Ukraine (EUAM), in partnership with the parliament, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, as well as the National Council of Reforms under the Administration of the President of Ukraine.

“National dialogue between the government and the civil society, as well as between all segments of society, is an indispensable ingredient for the success of Ukraine’s fundamental reforms process,” said Ambassador Vaidotas Verba, OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine commenting on the launch of the Platform. “Responding to the requests of our Ukrainian partners, we support this comprehensive dialogue initiative engaging a broad range of stakeholders, who are jointly working out mechanisms for building a future for their nation that is based on values at the core of the OSCE,” added Verba.

The PCU has been providing its support to the national dialogue process in Ukraine since spring 2014, which included needs assessment, capacity-building for the national mediation experts, facilitation of discussions among civil society activists, and a public forum on the current status and prospects for normalization in the Donbas region of Ukraine.

The event was organized within the framework of the PCU project “Supporting National Dialogue” and is also supported through PCU’s efforts in promoting the national dialogue in Ukraine funded by a group of donors, in particular by the Italian Government.