Lubinets: Working to expel Russia from all international human rights institutions

The Office of the Ombudsman of Ukraine is working to expel the Russian Federation from all international human rights institutions.

According to Ukrinform, this was stated by the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets in Telegram.

On the Day of the Diplomatic Service of Ukraine, the Ombudsman congratulated diplomats: “️I sincerely congratulate all those who follow the diplomatic path, uniting countries and peoples for common goals and peace. Thanks to your hard work, Ukraine confidently holds its place in the world.”

Mr. Lubinets emphasized that the Ombudsman's Office is also actively engaged in a dialogue with international partners. According to him, this year the office held more than 400 meetings and made more than 100 foreign visits, which resulted in human rights initiatives and the implementation of a number of humanitarian issues.

“In January 2024, as the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, I was elected to the Board of Directors of the European Region of the International Ombudsman Institute. And in the fall of the same year, my colleagues elected me to the Board of the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI),” Lubinets said.

He called it a “great victory” for the Ombudsman's Office that the institution of the Russian Ombudsman will no longer be a national human rights institution from October 2024. According to him, this decision was made by the Subcommittee on Accreditation of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (SCA GANHRI) based on the information provided by the office at its fall session. Lubinets emphasized that the list of 118 accredited national human rights institutions from around the world no longer includes the institution of the aggressor state of Russia.

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In addition, according to Lubinets, back in August 2022, she was expelled from the International Ombudsman Institute (IOI), the largest network of ombudsmen in the world. Also in 2023, according to Lubinets, the institution of the Russian Ombudsman was jointly expelled from the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI). And in October 2024, Lubinets emphasized, “by joint efforts, we expelled the Russian Ombudsman from the Association of Mediterranean Ombudsmen (AMO).”

“We are working to isolate the Russian Federation from all international networks and platforms of national human rights institutions and ombudsmen,” Lubinets said.

He emphasized that the work to strengthen Ukraine on international platforms will continue.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI) voted to expel the institution of the Russian Federation Ombudsman headed by Ombudsman Tatyana Moskalkova from the organization.