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Ukrainian Community Press Releases |
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from and about Ukraine & Ukrainians
Ukrainian Community Press Releases |
December 14, 1998
New YorkBook Launch Reception
"The New Yalta: commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights"
Left: Ambassador Yel'chenko; Right: Mr. Anton Kruiderink As reported by Ukrainian Broadcasting Network last week, Ukraine’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations hosted a reception on Monday, December 7, 1998, in order to launch the distribution of the published report titled "The New Yalta: commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights." The reception which was attended by approximately 30 ambassadors and other dignitaries representing the countries that participated in the Conference was another event that marked Ukraine’s presence in the community of other European nations.
The conference took place in Yalta, Ukraine from September 2nd to the 4th, 1998. Delegations from 30 countries participated in the Regional Conference on Human Rights (RCHR). Representatives from various other national and international organizations also attended as expert advisors and observers.
Three years after the now infamous Yalta conference that took place in 1945, the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights was proclaimed in Paris. While the intentions of the 1945 Yalta conference were to advance world peace and bring WWII to a close, the effects of establishing spheres of influence by Russia, England, and the U.S. instead gave way to the Cold War and lead to the restriction of human rights. "It is symbolic that Yalta was chosen as the site of this major international conference dedicated to the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration. For, although the city has been associated with the consequences of totalitarian regimes, it is an appropriate venue to take stock of the remarkable progress that has been made in the sphere of human rights since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the events surrounding the tearing down of the Berlin Wall in 1989. It is against this backdrop that participants of the Conference examined the principles and themes incorporated in the Universal Declaration." (The New Yalta, p.12)
Ambassadors from the "GUAM"
countries - Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Moldova. Click to enlarge.
L-R: Consul Bohdan Yaremenko standing with General Consul Yuri V. Bohaievsky, from the Consulate General of Ukraine in NY The gathering held in New York last week was opened with introductory remarks made by His Excellency Ambassador Volodymyr Yel'chenko, followed by a short presentation by Mr. Anton Kruiderink, Assistant Administrator and Regional Director of the Regional Bureau for Europe and the CIS. We include below recordings that were made at the reception.
Ambassador Yel'chenko’s opening remarks
Mr. Anton Kruiderink’s presentation of the "The New Yalta"
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FREE DownloadIn answer to a question about Ukraine’s progress toward meeting the criteria of the Declaration of Human Rights, Ambassador Yel’chenko had this to say:
"There is still a lot more to be done, as Hennadiy Udovenko, the new Chairman of the Committee on Human rights in the Ukrainian Parliament, who knows the situation very well, [pointed out]. Hennadiy Udovenko, in giving his first press conference in that capacity, said exactly the same thing, that there is a lot more to be done with regard to the protection of human rights."
Mr. Yel’chenko said that not only must the problem of capital punishment be addressed, that being the most obvious, but that we must go below the surface to tackle the problem at a more basic level. More must be done to "disseminate information about the tools of protection of human rights which the ordinary people of Ukraine simply do not know. They are not aware of existing mechanisms such as the Council of Europe, the International Court of Human Rights, etc.," so more must be done to inform them about these institutions.
In a recent proposal submitted to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine, the ambassador adapted an idea which was put forward by Sweden and some other Western European countries, to publish and distribute the text of the Declaration of Human Rights in public places such as the underground, trolley busses, etc. Places where people spend a considerable amount of time – enough time hopefully to notice and read such a document. "This may be a small thing, but if it is implemented in Ukraine, it will show the world that we really want to do something about human rights."
As to the Yalta Conference, Yel’chenko sees it as having been a "critical" event for Ukraine. In response to the concerns about the issue of capital punishment, Ukraine was able to voice it’s own difficulties. The regional members of the Council of Europe "are countries with 100-200 years of history, and they have 75-100 years of democratic history." He said that it is "impossible to abolish capital punishment in one year" because the "people are not ready, public opinion is not ready. They should learn first about the existing instruments of protecting themselves as human beings, and then apply the [principles to new legislation] on human rights."
The Ambassador made it clear that he was not objecting to "the prohibition of capital punishment," but feels that it is not realistic to have expectations of such a profound change to be implemented "immediately, or in one month, or in one year." In the last seven years, he said, Ukraine has already done quite a lot.
Mr. Kruiderink was asked to elaborate on the comment that he made about "friction" between delegations that was evident during the Conference.
"… In the Baltics, for instance, the Russians have become a minority, and that has created a lot of problems for both groups. You have the issue of the Tatars in the Crimea, so you have a lot of issues that can be defined as a relationship between a majority and minority, and this conference allowed the minorities in an organized setting to voice their frustration. Our main concern in advance was [whether or not] those to whom the concerns were addressed will be ready at last to listen and engage themselves in a discussion. And I must say that perhaps because as UNDP acted as a convener, and we said that it was very important that each and every voice could be heard, those moments that were not ‘comfortable’ passed by to the satisfaction of all those involved. We were very proud that in the end a lot of time was spent on these issues where the people really got the feeling they were listened to , they were heard, and they know those issues are and continue to be on the agenda and they were treated seriously. "
Limited copies of "The New Yalta: commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights" are available, and may be ordered from:
Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the United NAtions 220 East 51st Street New York, NY 10022 (tel) 212-759-7003 (fax) 212-355-9455 or Regional Bureau for Europe and the CIS
United Nations Development Programme
One United Nations Plaza
New York, NY 10017
Some of you may want to know what’s included, and we offer you the Table of Contents as a guide:
I
Opening SessionMessage from the Secretary-General of the United Nations Message from the High Commissioner on Human Rights
Message from Mr. Leonid Kuchma, President of Ukraine
Statement by Mr. Anton KruiderinkII
The New Yalta The International ContextHuman Rights -- Indivisible, Interdependent and Inalienable Economic, Social and Cultural RightsThe Development of Rights in Central and Eastern Europe, the Baltic States and the Commonwealth of Independent States
The New Dawn ? Disillusions and Deceptions of the First Decade New Institutions for Human Rights Civil Society: Roles and Limitations of Non-Governmental Organisations Conditionality: The Role of International Agencies Concluding Points III
Reports by the moderators of the working groups
Selection of papers:
Minorities in a decentralized environmentMr. Asbjorn Eide Protection of Those Who Cannot Protect Themselves: The Case of Ukraine
Mr. Simon Gluzman The Private Sector: Entering the Human Rights Dialogue
Mr. Dusty Kidd Social Security at the End of the 20th Century: Market-Oriented or Human Needs-Oriented?
Professor Lucie Lamarche The role of NGOs in the promotion of human rights
Ms. Maria Lundberg and Ms. Vibeke Greni Protecting transition, protecting rights
Ms. Paula Newberg Violence against Women - Issues and Mechanisms, Public and Private Aspects
Ms. Urszula Nowakowska Enlisting the Private Sector as a Force for Human Rights
Mr. Elliot Schrage and Anthony Ewing Achieving Economic and Social Rights within Globalisation
Mr. Guy Standing Judicial, legislative or educational approaches to overcoming discrimination in the Baltic countries
Mr. Boris Tsilevich OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities - A non-traditional approach to conflict prevention
Mr. Stephan Vassilev The Ombudsman's Role in Protecting the Rights of the Poor
Professor Adam Zielinski IV
Commemorating the UDHA in the RBEC region
General framework Activities at country level Activities at regional level Appendices
- Conference Agenda
- List of participants
- Copy of cover pages of national commemorative reports and contact information to the UNDP Country Offices
A. Krill, BRAMA
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