Two months ago we have signed Memorandum between the Ministry of Justice and the National Police, and today we have the first graduates of a special training course on Protection of Human Rights. Moreover, our lawyers who work in the centers for free legal aid were very surprised and really happy when they receive regular access to detainees and able to defend their rights. It had never been successful for authorities to establish such cooperation before. Police considers lawyers who defend those whom they caught as their enemies, - said Deputy Minister of Justice Gia Getsadze.
According to him, different departments are the united team that has a common goal now - to serve Ukrainian citizens.
The less we will create obstacles for citizens, the more qualitatively we will protect their rights - the better our work can be called. We will have many joint steps forward, and we will continue cooperation in order to protect our citizens, – stressed the Deputy Minister of Justice.
In her turn, the head of National Police Khatia Dekanoidze reported that few months ago a special administration on protection of human rights was created. Its main goal is to cooperate closely with the Ministry of Justice and international experts.
Today we have the first result of such synchronous work. We give certificates to our employees who have successfully completed the training. We have to understand how important is human rights for us. This is a value which personally I and all who are present here must respect. If the police officer does not understand why he must protect human rights, then we will not succeed, - said she.
According to the words of the head of Council of Europe office in Ukraine Martin Enberg, those police officers who work in the field of human rights protection have done a very responsible step.
This direction is very important for Ukraine, especially when we talk about human rights compliance in activity of law enforcement. If you can deal with the challenges that stand before you, the National Police will receive a huge vote of confidence and support in the future reform process,- said he.
He also expressed a belief that the newly established administration will become a guarantor of preventing and combating human rights violations by police officers.