Matviychuk’s speech at Democracy Defender Award 2016
Human rights defender Oleksandra Matviychuk’s statement at the official prize–giving ceremony of Democracy Defender Award-2016
======================================
I represent the civil initiative Euromaidan SOS that was created in response to brutal dispersal of peaceful student demonstration. We have brought together thousands of ordinary people to provide legal protection for protesters. Every day a large number of people passed through our care. People who were arrested, beaten, tortured, accused of trumped-up criminal cases, and later – the dead and the missing people.
For the second time in the last ten years, Ukrainian people rose to defend their choice to build a democratic state based on common values with European countries. We paid a rather high price for it.
After the fall of authoritarian regime, in order to stop democratic transformations in Ukraine Russia occupied Crimea and started a hybrid war in Donbas. Murders, abductions, tortures, sexual violence, human shields, political persecutions on the occupied territories – all this has become our reality.
Today we gather victims’ evidence and document these violations to present them for international justice. At the same time, we struggle to reform our police, courts and prosecutors, so in the future we are not facing a situation in where our government shoots unarmed demonstrators.
In this regard, I would like to share a few lessons that we have learned from these past events:
- In many countries human rights activists aren’t just working for protection of human rights. These activists are fighting every day for human rights. Often it seems almost hopeless. However, we should do our work honestly. The results of our efforts can unexpectedly be achieved.
- When people achieve the recognition of human rights from authorities, often in practice it means only one thing. No authorities but just civil society needs freedom of associations, the right to a fair trial, civil society oversight of police. This only means that human rights activists simply won new tasks for themselves. This is why the civil society should become an equal partner with the state authorities in the eyes of international organizations.
- The so-called “Ukrainian crisis”, in fact, is a direct reflection of a global crisis in the post-war world system. This is a value crisis. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is often and openly questioned. International human rights law has become secondary. Civil activists, journalists, human rights defenders are persecuted and held in prisons in Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan etc. There is an ongoing fundamental change of ideologies, which, for decades, have been the basis for international organizations.
There is a great temptation to avoid solving difficult problems, hoping that they will just vanish. But the truth is that these problems are increasing. There are new gray areas with uncertain statuses appearing on the map. That is not only about the future of the OSCE and the Helsinki Accords. That is about the entire world where everything is interconnected and only the spread of freedom and human rights is making it safe.
Finding the solution to this crisis is our historic task. We must continue fighting for human dignity. Even if there is nothing left but words and our own example.
February 24, 2016, Vienna
