On 29 February 2024, the second meeting of the Steering Committee of the Council of Europe project “Strengthening Social Protection in Ukraine” took place.
The Head of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine Maciej Janczak, Head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Social Policy and Veterans' Rights Halyna Tretiakova, Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets, Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine Oksana Zholnovych and Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Yuliia Sokolovska delivered welcoming remarks.
In her speech, Halyna Tretiakova, the Chairperson of the Committee, thanked all those who stayed in Ukraine during the war, as well as those who stayed with Ukraine. “We are in an extremely difficult historical phase of Ukraine's development. On the one hand, the enemy is trying to violate our borders, and on the other hand, it is trying to “shake” the society inside Ukraine. Social policy is part of the policy that we need to keep inside the country in order to be stronger in the face of the enemy,” said Tretiakova.
The main challenge in the field of social policy in Ukraine – namely, the reset of the social model – can be solved by adopting a Social Code created in accordance with the provisions of the European Social Charter. “On the one hand, there is a need to reboot the social model as a whole and move away from paternalism. On the other hand, we need to provide opportunities for people to develop, even during the war,” said Halyna Tretiakova, the Chair of the Committee, adding that the social protection infrastructure in Ukraine also needs to be developed.
“The policy of the socialist country was aimed at paying off people with money only. The infrastructure, when the state takes care of people through its front offices, has not been developed. We are also talking about information interaction with citizens, the work of a social worker, visiting families in which a soldier has been killed, visiting families where a soldier has been wounded, visiting and caring for families with palliative care patients or people who need constant care,” the Head of the Committee stressed. – “If we solve these problems, if we reboot the social model, we will finally get rid of the shameful practice of arrears under international and national court decisions. I believe that together with Europe we will accomplish this task.”
During the event, the progress of the project “Strengthening Social Protection in Ukraine” and the project's Work Plan for 2024 were presented.
The full report on the results of the second meeting of the Steering Committee of the Council of Europe project “Social Protection Links in Ukraine” will be posted on the website of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine at the following link: https://www.coe.int/uk/web/kyiv