Realities and Future of Civil Society in Ukraine — Key Points from the Discussion

Publication date: December 23, 2024

Author: Yuliia Bilyk, Communications Manager, Legal Development Network

On November 26 in Kyiv, a public discussion titled “Civil Society: Realities and Future” addressed the development of the civic and non-governmental human rights sector and the current challenges faced by human rights organizations. This event marked the 15th anniversary of the informal establishment of human rights organizations into a public union known as the Legal Development Network. It brought together partners, friends, and like-minded individuals. This article briefly summarizes the key points made by the discussion participants.

From Human Rights Service to a Chain of Networks

Although 2024 marks the 15th anniversary of the informal establishment of the Legal Development Network as a union, the human rights movement began much earlier.

“Initially, there was no free legal aid available for civil cases in Ukraine. However, Article 59 of the Constitution of Ukraine stipulates that ‘everyone has the right to professional legal assistance,’ with such assistance to be provided free of charge. Additionally, several rulings by the European Court of Human Rights recognized violations of human rights related to inadequate legal assistance. In 2007, supported by the International Renaissance Foundation and other partners, a pilot project was launched in Bila Tserkva—the Legal Aid Center, which provided citizens with primary legal consultations”, recalls Andriy Misyats, Chairman of the Legal Development Network Board.

Over time, similar legal services emerged in other cities of Ukraine, such as Kherson and Khmelnytskyi. Before various organizations united, a discussion took place: whether to formalize their work or continue operating independently. This discussion concluded with the establishment of a public union—a network of organizations united by the idea of promoting human rights protection and accessible legal aid.

“The Legal Development Network initially emerged as the ‘Network of Legal Information and Consultation Centers.’ At that time, the organization had a distinctly service-oriented function. Over time, the Network incorporated an advocacy component and now, to a significant extent, develops products and solutions for implementation by executive authorities and local self-governance bodies. This represents growth”, emphasizes Mykola Sioma, Director of the Ukrainian Legal Aid Foundation (ULAF).

Today, the Network comprises a Union of 22 organizations from nearly all regions of the country.

“We are diverse, and our strength lies in this diversity. This approach of the Network enables us to unite not only equals among equals or the strong among the strong but also to provide expert legal support to local self-governance bodies and improve access to justice in remote areas. As our experience in the South shows, these are places where even public transportation does not always reach”, notes Olha Nastina, Legal Development Network Executive Director 

The Formation of Civil Society in Ukraine

The participants in the discussion reflected on how civil society in Ukraine has been influenced by the political powers of different eras.

“We have worked under various banners, in different organizations, and with different functions. However, we all focused on ensuring that individuals have access to legal assistance. There must be a door where a person can enter and receive justice. Along the way, we tried different approaches to engaging with the authorities. For instance, during the presidency of the fugitive Yanukovych, it was nearly impossible to access the Ministry of Justice for advocacy purposes. Later, this trend began to change”, notes Mykola Sioma.

Civil Society in Wartime

Natalia Kozarenko, Coordinator of the Network of Public Reception Centers of the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union (UHHRU), expressed her belief that in the first months following russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine, and especially its civil society, surprised the world.

“Our civil society created such a robust system to counter russian military aggression that it was unexpected—not only for russia but even for our own society. I believe this is partly the achievement of our organization (UHHRU), which has worked from the beginning to foster active, engaged individuals prepared to self-organize and take responsibility — not just for their actions but also for the actions of their state”, emphasizes Natalia Kozarenko.

According to her, one of the legacies of the Soviet era in Ukraine is the pervasive distrust of state institutions among citizens, which has also led to a certain passivity rooted in the belief that individual actions have no impact. Consequently, the invasion became a catalyst for the formation of like-minded groups — individuals willing to unite and act without hesitation.

“Many leaders of civil society organizations mobilized, volunteered, and stood up to defend our state. Public organizations that previously operated in diverse areas shifted their focus to volunteer activities and providing aid to those affected by the consequences of the war”, adds Natalia Kozarenko.

The Head of the Trykutnyk NGO (located in Kolomyia, Ivano-Frankivsk region), Solomiia Zynets-Matyshyn, shared insights about her team’s work, which, in addition to legal assistance, now includes areas such as education, advocacy, strengthening community capacity, and supporting veterans and their families. 

“As experience shows, we turned out to be the ones who were ready to work hard, who can either do things well or not do them at all. It’s fortunate that we chose to do things well. As a result, our services are developing and becoming more systematic”, says Solomiia Zynets-Matyshyn.

For her part, the Executive Director of the Northern Human Rights Group NGO (located in Sumy), Natalia Yesina, emphasized the challenges faced by civil society organizations (CSOs) in the border region of Sumy.

“Sumy is like an anthill, uniting around challenges in a very broad context — administrative, social, under the pressure of overloaded tasks, lack of time and people. Working in communities, in shelters, and on recovery issues, I often say this is a very unique situation: we talk about recovery under the threat of Shaheds. There are people who are ready to work on development while being in a situation of destruction. I would describe the entire situation currently unfolding as ‘terrifyingly interesting.’ What is happening in the areas of security and recovery is very sensitive and has its own development prospects in all directions”, says Natalia Yesina.

Hanna Ilashchuk, Head of the Association of Public Advisors of Ukraine NGO, emphasized the leading role of civil society in transforming society in the context of war.

“Transformation is not carried out by an individual; it is carried out by an institution, and the individual creates institutions, influencing their development. Our task is to ensure that the values foundational to these institutions and their influence on the transformation of our country, especially regarding access to justice, are truly of high quality”, says Hanna Ilashchuk.

The Value of People

One of the most significant challenges for civil society organizations today is the preservation and support of the people working in the public sector. This sentiment was shared by all the participants in the discussion.

“By the third year of the war, people are exhausted. I see this among our colleagues and colleagues from other organizations. In the first years of the invasion, most of us had no days off at all, and this is still having an impact now”, notes Oleksandr Halkin, Director of the Right to Protection Charity Foundation.

In the context of a shortage of professional and motivated staff, the civil sector must make special efforts to support its people and seek new opportunities for this.

Exacerbation of the Awareness Issue

Natalia Kostryba, Deputy Director of the Coordinating Center for Legal Aid, emphasized the issue of low public awareness of their rights and ways to receive legal assistance.

“Public awareness has always been a relevant issue, same as access to justice. Raising awareness of people’s rights is something the free legal aid system worked on both before and during the full-scale invasion. Now, this issue has worsened”, says Natalia Kostryba.

According to Natalia Kostryba, the reason why, despite all the legal awareness programs, the level of awareness remains quite low is information overload. Due to the excess of information, it is difficult for an individual to find what is truly necessary for them.

“When, at a certain moment, the topic does not concern a person, they skip it, and only when they directly face the problem do they begin to search for information. And after that, it’s a matter of luck. Therefore, it is very important that people at least know where and to whom they can turn”, notes Natalia Kostryba.

Changes in the Provision of Legal Aid

Veronika Rudkovska, Coordinator of the “Human Rights and Justice” Program at the International Renaissance Foundation, emphasized the crucial role of civil society organizations (CSOs) in guaranteeing the right to access justice during martial law.

“Organizations ensure the exercise of such right for citizens, particularly by providing legal assistance — through the operation of hotlines, conducting field missions to hard-to-reach regions, redirecting people to specialized organizations and institutions, carrying out monitoring missions to ensure compliance with justice implementation requirements, and conducting sociological surveys to identify obstacles faced by citizens when approaching the courts”, she said.

Partners from member organizations of the Legal Development Network shared their recent experiences. This experience is linked to expanding the formats of providing legal and other forms of assistance to citizens, as the methods previously used were not sufficient to meet the full spectrum of needs.

“Due to the rapid growth and legislative changes, it was challenging for an ordinary person to comprehend and adapt. As a team, we understood that we had to create a convenient, fast, and simple way for people to access legal aid. Our regional teams, working in 22 regions, began to expand. Online assistance also grew, with primary legal consultations now available not only via a hotline but also through a Telegram channel and the ‘Legal Advisor for IDPs’ chatbot. This led to a rapid increase in trust in the organization. People realized that they could receive quality assistance”, explains Nadiia Koreneva, Legal Aid Program Representative at the Right to Protection Charity Foundation.

Humanitarian Response

After 2022, the Legal Development Network expanded its humanitarian efforts to meet the needs of the communities most affected by the war, strengthening their resilience and capacity for recovery. One of the Network’s partners in this area is the People in Need Czech Humanitarian Organization.

Kateryna Matsienko, Coordinator for Resilience and Recovery at the People in Need Czech Humanitarian Organization, shared how the partnership with the Legal Development Network (LDN) evolved.

“In 2022, when our organization was only present in the East, we rapidly expanded our activities, responding to requests and spreading them across the entire territory of Ukraine. Clearly, in such a fast-paced environment, we needed national organizations that had already established cooperation with local authorities, had established connections within territorial communities, and, most importantly, understood the needs of these communities or the specific territories where they operate. Therefore, the Legal Development Network is not only an organization that responds to needs at the national level but also on a territorial level, depending on the region”.

The People in Need Organization applies a local response approach in its work, involving as many national actors as possible in providing assistance. Often, these actors are niche organizations that have their own expertise, in which they have gained certain authority and are actively developing.

“We work with the Legal Development Network (LDN) in the South and Ivano-Frankivsk region. However, this is not our limited list. I believe that the areas where we operate will only expand. At the same time, in such projects, we combine humanitarian response with the recovery projects we are implementing. Because we all live in conditions now that we cannot wait until the war ends, we must begin recovery now. Often, this happens within the same community. For example, the Shevchenkove community in the Mykolaiv region, where part of the community suffered greatly as a result of occupation, shelling, and other consequences of the war. At the same time, part of the community wants to develop and implement its own recovery projects. The sooner they recover, the sooner they will be able to meet their own humanitarian needs”, emphasizes Kateryna Matsienko.

Photo: Participants of the “Civil Society: Realities and Future” Public Discussion (November 26, 2024, Kyiv).

This material was created with the support of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. The content of the publication is the sole responsibility of the Legal Development Network Public Union.

If you have notices an error on the web-site, please, highlight the text and press ctrl-enter.