General Purposes

About this grant

This grant will assist the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union in their efforts to increase access to justice in Ukraine through protection of fundamental rights and freedoms. Particular attention will be given to the growing range of rights and justice issues arising from Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The grantee will connect civilian victims to relevant justice services, placing accountability and war-related monitoring and documentation at the heart of human rights work. The grantee will also pursue war-related strategic litigation, both nationally and internationally. Additionally, the grantee will increase focus on emerging transitional justice issues of re-integration and social-psychological consequences of war. In 2023 alone, the grantee, through its 21 public reception offices, provided almost 20,000 individual consultations through its legal aid centers, responding to justice needs ranging from displacement to war crimes. Through its lengthy experience of bringing cases to the European Court of Human Rights, the grantee has proven to be an important player in a Ukrainian government initiative to hold Russian forces accountable for violations of international humanitarian law with over 77,000 submissions received so far. Established in 2004, the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union works to promote practical observance of the range of international human rights instruments to which Ukraine is a party.