Freedom House: legislation risks "serious harm to democracy":
By RFE/RL
U.S.-based human rights group Freedom House says Ukraine’s parliament risks endangering the country’s democracy if it votes on draft laws that would increase government monitoring of civil society institutions.
The group on February 28 said the parliament, known as the Verkhovna Rada, plans to vote on two draft laws that "imitate efforts by authoritarian governments to limit the influence of civil society in the guise of promoting transparency."
The statement said Ukraine's actions would attempt to put civil society under government control, "similar to actions taken in Russia and Kazakhstan."
It urged a rejection of the bills or a delay of the vote while the legislation is being reviewed by the Council of Europe's Venice Commission, a group of independent experts in constitutional law.
Results are expected on March 18.
"The Rada risks doing serious harm to democracy in Ukraine by passing legislation that would add burdensome oversight of civil society organizations and undermine the effectiveness of the ombudsman," said Marc Behrendt, Freedom House's director for its Europe and Eurasia programs.
Freedom House hit at the parliament's proposal to select a new ombudsman, formally known as the Ukrainian parliament commissioner for human rights, saying only candidates chosen by political factions were being considered.
The position's credibility would be damaged if it "represents political interests and is subject to political horse-trading," it said.
According to the parliamentary website, the legislation was scheduled to be voted upon on January 18 but was delayed without explanation. No new date was listed.
Kyiv moves closer to creating anticorruption court:
By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service
Ukraine's parliament has approved legislation creating an anticorruption court demanded by protest groups and the country’s external backers.
The bill passed with support of 282 deputies in its first reading on March 1.
Ahead of the vote, Verkhovna Rada speaker Andriy Parubiy called on the lawmakers to support the proposed law, saying its text could be amended before the second and final reading.
Leaders of the European Union and International Monetary Fund (IMF) have demanded the anticorruption reforms in the country, which last year ranked 130th out of 180 countries rated by Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index.
The IMF has called the establishment of an anticorruption court a "benchmark" of Ukraine's progress toward Western legal standards, and has said it would help ease the release of loans in the future.
In an apparent response to demands from Western allies as well as protesters camped outside parliament in Kyiv, President Petro Poroshenko in October vowed to push for legislation creating an anticorruption court by the end of 2017.
He also said he had already included money for an anticorruption court in this year's draft budget.