Hearings entitled “On elimination of corruption component in the work with employees in the prosecutor’s office and the law enforcement bodies of Ukraine” were held in the Committee on Legislative Support of Law Enforcement
10 April 2014, 11:18
The people’s deputies of Ukraine, representatives of the Prosecutor General’s Office, Ministry of Internal Affairs, State Penitentiary Service, State Border Service, tax militia and other law-enforcement bodies, as well as experts and representatives of international organizations and NGOs participated in the event.
Opening hearings, the Committee Chair Andrii Kozhemiakin noted that previous
Committee’s attempts to analyze work with the personnel in the prosecutor’s
office and law-enforcement bodies evoked resistance on the part of authority of
these departments. “All this has led to the so called policy of “friend-or-foe”
when appointing to leading posts, or appointment of those who are ready to pay
for the post,” he stressed. A.Kozhemiakin attached special attention to the period of 2010 – 2014. “During this period there were situations when high-toned people, professionals, and people of exemplar business reputation were dismissed from the posts.
They were substituted by people coming from one region and not of good reputation, dependant on oligarchic and criminal groups, and the ones that agreed to serve the criminal regime, instead of serving Ukrainian people.
All this made lots of professionals and honest law enforcers to either quit or take up an attitude “it's nothing to do with me”. Only a small part of officers continued to honestly serve the Law,” he noted.
A.Kozhemiakin noted that during the period of confrontation between Ukrainian people and “the criminal Yanukovych’s regime”, the Committee has taken a range of measures in order to bring activity of law enforcement bodies to the legal terrain and prevent crimes on their part.
“We have in a written form warned former Prosecutor General, Foreign
Affairs Minister, Commander of internal military forces and all commanders of
“Berkut” special units that they will bear personal responsibility for the crimes
against humanity to the International Criminal Court. Unfortunately, not only
the higher leadership of these departments, but also mid-level executives turned
a deaf ear to our calls and demands,” stressed the Committee Chair. Chairman of the Committee informed that leaders of the prosecutor’s office, Ministry of Internal Affairs and other law enforcement departments reassure that they update personnel.
A.Kozhemiakin noted that the Committee receives mass appeals from members of the public pertaining to “inadequate new appointments in the law enforcement bodies.”
The people’s deputy named numerous facts of such “appointments” and stressed that it is necessary to “break not only the “spine” but simultaneously change the corruption “brain”, i.e. clean the power-administrative vertical.” He stressed that this is “not an easy task, since the system obviously lacks high-toned people.”
The Committee Chair addressed all those serving in the prosecutor’s office and law enforcement bodies saying that “no external threat or internal problem should halt restoration of prestige of honest and devoted service in the law enforcement bodies of Ukraine.
We will settle the issue of material provision and provide for proper protection of life and health of employees and members of their families.
We will secure it that your service will lie in observing the Law and in serving Ukrainian people.”
Participants of the committee hearings granted a hearing to the people’s deputies, representatives of the Prosecutor General’s Office, Ministry of Internal Affairs, State Penitentiary Service, State Border Service, tax militia and other law-enforcement bodies, as well as experts and representatives of international organizations and NGOs, representatives of “Maidan Self-Defense” and “Avtomaidan”, etc.
Numerous facts of corruption dispersal in the bodies of state power of Ukraine, including in the law-enforcement bodies, were provided in the speeches.
The speakers noted that this serious problem poses one of the main threats to national security and democratic development of our state. They emphasized that this negative phenomenon affects all the aspects of political and socio-economic development of the society.
Participants of the hearings stressed the necessity to increase efficiency of preventing and counteracting to corruption in the law-enforcement bodies. They believe that it is needed to accelerate adoption of a number of top priority legislative acts in order to efficiently prevent and counteract corruption in the law-enforcement bodies.
The Government was suggested activate the process of development and approval the Concept of reforming the law-enforcement bodies.
Participants of the hearings stressed that the Prosecutor’s General Office, Internal Affairs Ministry and other law-enforcement bodies should take urgent measures to increase the quality of law enforcement staffing.
Participants of the hearings made also several other suggestions to the Committee that will be considered in further work on preparation of legislative acts that aim at qualitative staffing of the law enforcement and prosecutor’s bodies of Ukraine.