Invitation

PROTECTING SOCIAL RIGHTS IN TIMES OF WAR IN UKRAINE

EVENT ON THE OCCASION OF THE HIGH-LEVEL CONFERENCE ON THE EUROPEAN

SOCIAL CHARTER,

3 July 2024

Vilnius, Lithuania

BACKGROUND

To take stock of the implementation of the Reykjavik Declaration1 as well as of the Committee

of Ministers’ operational decisions on reform of the European Social Charter system2, the

Council of Europe is organising a High-Level Conference on the European Social Charter

on 3-4 July 2024 in Vilnius (Lithuania). The Conference is organised under the Lithuanian

Chairmanship to the Committee of Ministers with assistance of the Department of Social

Rights; the Committee of Ministers Rapporteur Group on Social and Health Questions (GR-

SOC) was entrusted with leading the preparation. At the conference, Ministers responsible for

social policy will explore further steps to be taken to improve social rights protection and

longer-term measures to be taken by the Council of Europe in respect of the Charter. The

event will feature plenary sessions, keynote speeches and parallel events.

The full-scale war launched against Ukraine by the Russian Federation in February 2022

affected the lives of millions of Ukrainians who fled abroad, became internally displaced

people, whose houses were destroyed, with their social and economic rights violated. The war

has also immensely influenced the social and economic landscape of the Council of Europe

member States. It is of utmost importance to safeguard the social human rights in times

of war. The crisis caused by the war against Ukraine should not have as a consequence the

reduction of protection of the rights recognised by the Charter, both within Ukraine and beyond

its borders.

The case of Ukraine shows that, despite the challenges, horrific destructions and suffering,

the EU integration process remains active and the reforms in the area of social rights remain

high on the agenda of the Ukrainian Government.

The Council of Europe is implementing a project “Enhanced social protection in Ukraine”

(project) within the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine “Resiliency,

Recovery and Reconstruction” for 2023-2026. The project provides support to the national

authorities of Ukraine in the launching and implementation of the reforms in the social rights

sphere aiming to provide decent level of social protection to the population affected by war.

The project works closely with national authorities and social partners.

Thus, prior to the High-Level Conference on the European Social Charter an event on

safeguarding the social human rights in times of war taking into account Ukrainian

example will be organised. The event will also serve to showcase cooperation activities

implemented by the Council of Europe in the area of social rights in support of member States

efforts to implement the European Social Charter.

1 Reykjavik Declaration – United around our values, Reykjavík Summit 4th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe, 16-17 May 2023.

The Reykjavik Declaration “United around our values” adopted at the Fourth Summit of the Council of Europe in May 2023, reiterates the crucial role of social justice for democratic stability and security and full commitment to the protection and implementation of social rights as guaranteed by the European Social Charter system. Furthermore, it proposed that a high- level conference on the European Social Charter be organised as a step to take further commitments under the Charter where possible. 2 http://search.coe.int/cm/Pages/result_details.aspx?ObjectId=0900001680a8412f

Draft as of 05 July 2024

AGENDA

Venue: Conference hall “Zeta” of the Radisson Blu Hotel Lietuva, Vilnius

(Konstitucijos Av. 20, Vilnius, LT-09308, Lithuania)

Moderator: Mr Rafael Benitez, Director of Social Rights, Health and Environment, DGI,

Council of Europe

10:00 – 10:30 Registration of the participants. Welcome coffee.

10:30 – 11:00 Opening remarks

• Mr Michael O' Flaherty, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights

• Ms Monika Navickienė, Minister of Social Security and Labour of Lithuania

• Ms Oksana Zholnovych, Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine

• Ms Aoife Nolan, President of the European Committee of Social Rights

11:00 – 12:30 SESSION 1. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SOCIAL RIGHTS IN TIMES OF

WAR

The full-scale war launched against Ukraine by the Russian Federation in February 2022 affected

the lives of millions of Ukrainians. More and more Ukrainians are becoming vulnerable because of

destructions caused by military actions lasting for more than 2 years. The war in Ukraine also has a

fall-out effect on the social and economic landscape in Europe and beyond. Safeguarding social

rights during war becomes a crucial assignment for the Ukrainian authorities and for all countries

that ratified The European Social Charter. This session is aimed at providing a general overview of

the importance of protecting social rights in times of war with a specific focus on Ukraine’s recovery

and reconstruction. It will address the following specific issues: The current situation and challenges

in the social policy in Ukraine; the on-going reforms in the social protection area that are changing

the entire (outdated) model; the support provided by Lithuania to Ukraine in the context of social

policy in times of war; the support provided by the Council of Europe Development Bank to the

recovery, reconstruction of Ukraine.

Keynote speech

Ms Alla Fedorova, member of the European Committee of Social Rights

Speakers

• Ms Oksana ZHOLNOVYCH, Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine (tbc)

• Ms Galyna TRETIAKOVA, Head of the Parliament Committee of Social Policy and Protection of Rights of Veterans (online)

• Ms Tetiana LOMAKINA, Advisor-Commissioner of the President of Ukraine on Barrier Free Issues (tbc)

• Ms Justina JAKŠTIENĖ, Vice-Minister of Social Security and Labour

(tbc)

• Representative of the Council of Europe Development Bank (TBC)

DISCUSSION

12:30 – 13:30 Lunch break

13:30 – 14:40 SESSION 2. THE EUROPEAN SOCIAL CHARTER AS A STEPPING STONE

TO ALIGN WITH THE EU ACQUIS: THE POTENTIAL OF SOCIAL RIGHTS

FOR A SMOOTHER ACCESSION

On 14 December 2023, the EU leaders agreed to open accession negotiations with Ukraine and

reconfirmed their commitment to continue strong support to the country and its people as long as it

takes. The cooperation with Ukraine in the area of social policy based on gradual alignment with EU

acquis and practices, and with international norms and standards, including European Social

Charter, is actively on-going despite the challenges caused by war. Enhanced dialogue has been

launched by the Ukrainian authorities with many counterparts from the Council of Europe member

States in the social policy area. The aim of the session is to present how the enhanced

implementation of the European Social Charter as a social constitution of Europe can assist in the

EU integration process. It will explore which features the Charter and EU standards have in common,

and address the following specific issues: Support to Ukraine in enhancing the implementation of

the Charter and aligning national legislation with EU acquis; the key takeaways from the Lithuanian

experience in the approximation to EU acquis; how cooperation projects and experience sharing

with other countries, such as Germany, Sweden, Moldova, and others can help to make this process

smoother.

Keynote speech

Dr. Giuseppe Palmisano, Council of Europe consultant (Italy), Professor in

International Law of University of Roma Tre, former President of the European

Committee of Social Rights

Speakers

• Representative of the European Commission (tbc)

• Ms Iryna POSTOLOVSKA, Deputy Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine on European integration

• Ms Rita ŽEMAITYTĖ-TACK, Senior Adviser, International Cooperation

Unit, Ministry of Social Security and Labour

• Representative of Germany

• Representative of Sweden

• Representative of Estonia

• Representative of Moldova

DISCUSSION WITH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM HIGH-LEVEL PARTICIPANTS

OF OTHER COUNTRIES

14:40 – 15:00 Coffee break

15:00 – 16:10 SESSION 3. PROTECTION OF CHILDREN’S RIGHTS IN THE BROAD

CONTEXT OF WAR

The impacts of war are uneven, and they greatly affect children as the most vulnerable group. The

aim of the session is to present the immense work done by the Ukrainian stakeholders and the

international community for the effective protection of the social human rights of Ukrainian children

affected by war in different pillars: return of illegally deported children to Russia from the temporary

occupied territories of Ukraine; protection and support to children who were relocated to the Council

of Europe members states; efforts to building a system of better care and protection for all children

in Ukraine; support to Ukrainian children who found temporary protection in Lithuania and the key

challenges faced, as well as upcoming plans.

• Mr Dmytro LUBINETS, Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights (video address)

• Ms Regina JENSDOTTIR, Head of Division and Council of Europe Co- ordinator for the Rights of the Child, Human Dignity and Gender Equality Department, DG II, Council of Europe

• Ms Iryna TULYAKOVA, Head of the Coordinating Center for the Development of Family Education and Childcare

• Representative of the Family and Child Rights Protection Group of the Ministry of Social Security and Labour or the State Child Rights Protection and Adoption Service (tbc)

DISCUSSION

16:10 – 16:25 Closing remarks

• Claus NEUKIRCH, Director of Directorate of Programme Co-ordination, Council of Europe

• Ms Oksana ZHOLNOVYCH, Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine (tbc)

PROTECTING SOCIAL RIGHTS IN TIMES OF WAR IN UKRAINE

EVENT ON THE OCCASION OF THE HIGH-LEVEL CONFERENCE ON THE EUROPEAN

SOCIAL CHARTER,

3 July 2024

Vilnius, Lithuania

BACKGROUND

To take stock of the implementation of the Reykjavik Declaration1 as well as of the Committee

of Ministers’ operational decisions on reform of the European Social Charter system2, the

Council of Europe is organising a High-Level Conference on the European Social Charter

on 3-4 July 2024 in Vilnius (Lithuania). The Conference is organised under the Lithuanian

Chairmanship to the Committee of Ministers with assistance of the Department of Social

Rights; the Committee of Ministers Rapporteur Group on Social and Health Questions (GR-

SOC) was entrusted with leading the preparation. At the conference, Ministers responsible for

social policy will explore further steps to be taken to improve social rights protection and

longer-term measures to be taken by the Council of Europe in respect of the Charter. The

event will feature plenary sessions, keynote speeches and parallel events.

The full-scale war launched against Ukraine by the Russian Federation in February 2022

affected the lives of millions of Ukrainians who fled abroad, became internally displaced

people, whose houses were destroyed, with their social and economic rights violated. The war

has also immensely influenced the social and economic landscape of the Council of Europe

member States. It is of utmost importance to safeguard the social human rights in times

of war. The crisis caused by the war against Ukraine should not have as a consequence the

reduction of protection of the rights recognised by the Charter, both within Ukraine and beyond

its borders.

The case of Ukraine shows that, despite the challenges, horrific destructions and suffering,

the EU integration process remains active and the reforms in the area of social rights remain

high on the agenda of the Ukrainian Government.

The Council of Europe is implementing a project “Enhanced social protection in Ukraine”

(project) within the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine “Resiliency,

Recovery and Reconstruction” for 2023-2026. The project provides support to the national

authorities of Ukraine in the launching and implementation of the reforms in the social rights

sphere aiming to provide decent level of social protection to the population affected by war.

The project works closely with national authorities and social partners.

Thus, prior to the High-Level Conference on the European Social Charter an event on

safeguarding the social human rights in times of war taking into account Ukrainian

example will be organised. The event will also serve to showcase cooperation activities

implemented by the Council of Europe in the area of social rights in support of member States

efforts to implement the European Social Charter.

1 Reykjavik Declaration – United around our values, Reykjavík Summit 4th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe, 16-17 May 2023.

The Reykjavik Declaration “United around our values” adopted at the Fourth Summit of the Council of Europe in May 2023, reiterates the crucial role of social justice for democratic stability and security and full commitment to the protection and implementation of social rights as guaranteed by the European Social Charter system. Furthermore, it proposed that a high- level conference on the European Social Charter be organised as a step to take further commitments under the Charter where possible. 2 http://search.coe.int/cm/Pages/result_details.aspx?ObjectId=0900001680a8412f

Draft as of 05 July 2024

AGENDA

Venue: Conference hall “Zeta” of the Radisson Blu Hotel Lietuva, Vilnius

(Konstitucijos Av. 20, Vilnius, LT-09308, Lithuania)

Moderator: Mr Rafael Benitez, Director of Social Rights, Health and Environment, DGI,

Council of Europe

10:00 – 10:30 Registration of the participants. Welcome coffee.

10:30 – 11:00 Opening remarks

• Mr Michael O' Flaherty, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights

• Ms Monika Navickienė, Minister of Social Security and Labour of Lithuania

• Ms Oksana Zholnovych, Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine

• Ms Aoife Nolan, President of the European Committee of Social Rights

11:00 – 12:30 SESSION 1. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SOCIAL RIGHTS IN TIMES OF

WAR

The full-scale war launched against Ukraine by the Russian Federation in February 2022 affected

the lives of millions of Ukrainians. More and more Ukrainians are becoming vulnerable because of

destructions caused by military actions lasting for more than 2 years. The war in Ukraine also has a

fall-out effect on the social and economic landscape in Europe and beyond. Safeguarding social

rights during war becomes a crucial assignment for the Ukrainian authorities and for all countries

that ratified The European Social Charter. This session is aimed at providing a general overview of

the importance of protecting social rights in times of war with a specific focus on Ukraine’s recovery

and reconstruction. It will address the following specific issues: The current situation and challenges

in the social policy in Ukraine; the on-going reforms in the social protection area that are changing

the entire (outdated) model; the support provided by Lithuania to Ukraine in the context of social

policy in times of war; the support provided by the Council of Europe Development Bank to the

recovery, reconstruction of Ukraine.

Keynote speech

Ms Alla Fedorova, member of the European Committee of Social Rights

Speakers

• Ms Oksana ZHOLNOVYCH, Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine (tbc)

• Ms Galyna TRETIAKOVA, Head of the Parliament Committee of Social Policy and Protection of Rights of Veterans (online)

• Ms Tetiana LOMAKINA, Advisor-Commissioner of the President of Ukraine on Barrier Free Issues (tbc)

• Ms Justina JAKŠTIENĖ, Vice-Minister of Social Security and Labour

(tbc)

• Representative of the Council of Europe Development Bank (TBC)

DISCUSSION

12:30 – 13:30 Lunch break

13:30 – 14:40 SESSION 2. THE EUROPEAN SOCIAL CHARTER AS A STEPPING STONE

TO ALIGN WITH THE EU ACQUIS: THE POTENTIAL OF SOCIAL RIGHTS

FOR A SMOOTHER ACCESSION

On 14 December 2023, the EU leaders agreed to open accession negotiations with Ukraine and

reconfirmed their commitment to continue strong support to the country and its people as long as it

takes. The cooperation with Ukraine in the area of social policy based on gradual alignment with EU

acquis and practices, and with international norms and standards, including European Social

Charter, is actively on-going despite the challenges caused by war. Enhanced dialogue has been

launched by the Ukrainian authorities with many counterparts from the Council of Europe member

States in the social policy area. The aim of the session is to present how the enhanced

implementation of the European Social Charter as a social constitution of Europe can assist in the

EU integration process. It will explore which features the Charter and EU standards have in common,

and address the following specific issues: Support to Ukraine in enhancing the implementation of

the Charter and aligning national legislation with EU acquis; the key takeaways from the Lithuanian

experience in the approximation to EU acquis; how cooperation projects and experience sharing

with other countries, such as Germany, Sweden, Moldova, and others can help to make this process

smoother.

Keynote speech

Dr. Giuseppe Palmisano, Council of Europe consultant (Italy), Professor in

International Law of University of Roma Tre, former President of the European

Committee of Social Rights

Speakers

• Representative of the European Commission (tbc)

• Ms Iryna POSTOLOVSKA, Deputy Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine on European integration

• Ms Rita ŽEMAITYTĖ-TACK, Senior Adviser, International Cooperation

Unit, Ministry of Social Security and Labour

• Representative of Germany

• Representative of Sweden

• Representative of Estonia

• Representative of Moldova

DISCUSSION WITH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM HIGH-LEVEL PARTICIPANTS

OF OTHER COUNTRIES

14:40 – 15:00 Coffee break

15:00 – 16:10 SESSION 3. PROTECTION OF CHILDREN’S RIGHTS IN THE BROAD

CONTEXT OF WAR

The impacts of war are uneven, and they greatly affect children as the most vulnerable group. The

aim of the session is to present the immense work done by the Ukrainian stakeholders and the

international community for the effective protection of the social human rights of Ukrainian children

affected by war in different pillars: return of illegally deported children to Russia from the temporary

occupied territories of Ukraine; protection and support to children who were relocated to the Council

of Europe members states; efforts to building a system of better care and protection for all children

in Ukraine; support to Ukrainian children who found temporary protection in Lithuania and the key

challenges faced, as well as upcoming plans.

• Mr Dmytro LUBINETS, Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights (video address)

• Ms Regina JENSDOTTIR, Head of Division and Council of Europe Co- ordinator for the Rights of the Child, Human Dignity and Gender Equality Department, DG II, Council of Europe

• Ms Iryna TULYAKOVA, Head of the Coordinating Center for the Development of Family Education and Childcare

• Representative of the Family and Child Rights Protection Group of the Ministry of Social Security and Labour or the State Child Rights Protection and Adoption Service (tbc)

DISCUSSION

16:10 – 16:25 Closing remarks

• Claus NEUKIRCH, Director of Directorate of Programme Co-ordination, Council of Europe

• Ms Oksana ZHOLNOVYCH, Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine (tbc)

COUNCIL OF EUROPE

F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex www.coe.int Tel ► +33 (0)3 XX XX XX XX Fax ► +33 (0)3 YY YY YY YY

Mail ► [email protected] Site ► www.coe.int/

DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN DIGNITY

DIRECTORATE OF EQUAL RIGHTS AND DIGNITY

Ref ► ESPU/2/5 Kyiv, 07 June 2024 Dear Madam Minister, The Council of Europe Office in Ukraine presents its compliments to the Ministry of Social Affairs of the Republic of Estonia and would like to inform you of the following. The Council of Europe Office in Ukraine, within the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine “Resiliency, Recovery and Reconstruction” for 2023-2026, is implementing the project “Enhanced social protection in Ukraine” (the Project). The aim of the Project is to ensure that people from vulnerable groups, including the war-affected population in Ukraine, enjoy an improved level of social rights and social protection. On 03 July 2024, the Project, in co-operation with the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine and the Ministry of Social Security and Labour of Lithuania, is organizing the event “Protecting social rights in times of war in Ukraine” in Vilnius, Lithuania (hereinafter – event). This event will be held prior to the High-Level Conference on the European Social Charter, organized by the Council of Europe under the Lithuanian Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers on 04 July 2024. The purpose of the event is to discuss the importance of protecting social rights in times of war in Ukraine, including the role of the European Social Charter in aligning Ukrainian legislation with the EU acquis, and the protection of children's rights as the most vulnerable group in the broad context of the war in Ukraine. Given the high-level dialogue launched by Ukrainian authorities with some EU countries, including Estonia, in the social policy area, we kindly invite you or a delegated representative from the Ministry of Social Affairs of Estonia to take part in the event, specifically contributing to Session 2: “The European Social Charter as a Stepping Stone to Align with the EU Acquis: The Potential of Social Rights for a Smoother Accession”. The aim of this session is to present how the enhanced implementation of the European Social Charter, as the social constitution of Europe, can assist in the EU integration process. Additionally, it will discuss how the cooperation projects and the sharing of experiences with EU countries can help to make the process of EU integration in the social policy area smoother.

Ms. Signe Riisalo Minister of Social Protection of the Republic of Estonia

2 / 2

The event will bring together the representatives from the authorities of Ukraine, Lithuania and other countries, members of the European Committee of Social Rights, international experts, representatives of the Council of Europe and others. The working languages of the event will be English, Lithuanian, and Ukrainian. We would appreciate if you could kindly confirm the participation of a representative of the Ministry of Social Affairs of the Republic of Estonia by 17 June 2024 to Ms. Iryna Ostapa, Senior Project Officer, at e-mail: [email protected] who remains at your disposal should you require any additional information.

Yours respectfully,

Maciej JANCZAK Head of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine

Appendix: Draft Agenda of the event.

COUNCIL OF EUROPE

F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex www.coe.int Tel ► +33 (0)3 XX XX XX XX Fax ► +33 (0)3 YY YY YY YY

Mail ► [email protected] Site ► www.coe.int/

DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN DIGNITY

DIRECTORATE OF EQUAL RIGHTS AND DIGNITY

Ref ► ESPU/2/5 Kyiv, 07 June 2024 Dear Madam Minister, The Council of Europe Office in Ukraine presents its compliments to the Ministry of Social Affairs of the Republic of Estonia and would like to inform you of the following. The Council of Europe Office in Ukraine, within the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine “Resiliency, Recovery and Reconstruction” for 2023-2026, is implementing the project “Enhanced social protection in Ukraine” (the Project). The aim of the Project is to ensure that people from vulnerable groups, including the war-affected population in Ukraine, enjoy an improved level of social rights and social protection. On 03 July 2024, the Project, in co-operation with the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine and the Ministry of Social Security and Labour of Lithuania, is organizing the event “Protecting social rights in times of war in Ukraine” in Vilnius, Lithuania (hereinafter – event). This event will be held prior to the High-Level Conference on the European Social Charter, organized by the Council of Europe under the Lithuanian Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers on 04 July 2024. The purpose of the event is to discuss the importance of protecting social rights in times of war in Ukraine, including the role of the European Social Charter in aligning Ukrainian legislation with the EU acquis, and the protection of children's rights as the most vulnerable group in the broad context of the war in Ukraine. Given the high-level dialogue launched by Ukrainian authorities with some EU countries, including Estonia, in the social policy area, we kindly invite you or a delegated representative from the Ministry of Social Affairs of Estonia to take part in the event, specifically contributing to Session 2: “The European Social Charter as a Stepping Stone to Align with the EU Acquis: The Potential of Social Rights for a Smoother Accession”. The aim of this session is to present how the enhanced implementation of the European Social Charter, as the social constitution of Europe, can assist in the EU integration process. Additionally, it will discuss how the cooperation projects and the sharing of experiences with EU countries can help to make the process of EU integration in the social policy area smoother.

Ms. Signe Riisalo Minister of Social Protection of the Republic of Estonia

2 / 2

The event will bring together the representatives from the authorities of Ukraine, Lithuania and other countries, members of the European Committee of Social Rights, international experts, representatives of the Council of Europe and others. The working languages of the event will be English, Lithuanian, and Ukrainian. We would appreciate if you could kindly confirm the participation of a representative of the Ministry of Social Affairs of the Republic of Estonia by 17 June 2024 to Ms. Iryna Ostapa, Senior Project Officer, at e-mail: [email protected] who remains at your disposal should you require any additional information.

Yours respectfully,

Maciej JANCZAK Head of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine

Appendix: Draft Agenda of the event.