The inaugural meeting of the Working Group under the Advisory and Expert Council of the State Migration Service took place in Kyiv: Bohdan Khmelnytsky, founder of Strategic Advocacy, took part in the event.

On August 6, the inaugural meeting of the Working Group under the Advisory and Expert Council of the State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine (SPSU) took place in Kyiv. The main goal of the newly created group is to develop effective solutions to improve the functioning of the penitentiary system, particularly in the areas of human rights, conditions of detention, and ensuring legality in penal institutions.

The Working Group includes representatives of civil society organizations, experts, human rights defenders, and specialists in penitentiary law. Among them is Bohdan Khmelnytsky, a member of the Advisory and Expert Council at the State Penitentiary Service, founder and managing partner of the Strategic Advocacy Law Firm.

Bogdan Khmelnitsky’s participation in this initiative is further proof that Strategic Advocacy is actively involved in the process of reforming the penal system, upholding the principles of legality, transparency, and human rights protection.

“We are convinced that without open dialogue between the state, experts, and civil society, it is impossible to achieve real change. The working group under the Advisory and Expert Council of the State Penitentiary Service is an important step towards building an effective and fair penitentiary system,” said Bohdan Khmelnytskyi.

The meeting identified priority areas of work, including:

• analysis of the regulatory framework and preparation of proposals for its improvement;

• audit of conditions in pretrial detention centers and penal institutions;

• implementation of European human rights standards in Ukrainian legislation.

The Strategic Advocacy Law Firm welcomes the creation of such a platform and continues to work on strengthening legal guarantees for all participants in the criminal process, including convicted persons.

We believe that only through synergy can a sustainable transformation of the penal system in Ukraine be achieved.