Counternarcotics and Law Enforcement Country Program: Ukraine
U.S. Law Enforcement Goals
Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) projects pursue a complementary strategic and tactical approach towards harmonizing Ukraine’s justice and law enforcement systems with those of the European Union (EU). Bringing Ukraine’s laws and institutions in line with the EU’s is a prerequisite for Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic integration, for sustainable political and economic reforms, and for the creation of credible Ukrainian law enforcement agencies. Achieving this goal will also strengthen U.S. homeland security and anti-terrorism efforts as well as U.S. efforts to combat transnational crime, including organized crime, drug trafficking, trafficking in persons, and corruption.
U.S. Program Components and Accomplishments
Strategic Approach: Our Ukraine program succeeded in promoting the adoption in April 2008 of a comprehensive criminal justice reform concept that is moving Ukraine’s justice system and its institutions towards meeting EU standards and norms. Work has begun on the implementation phase of the action plan for this concept, specifically focusing on the reform of individual law enforcement agencies. A second project is supporting the drafting of a Council of Europe-compliant criminal procedure code; the draft of this code was completed during 2008 and will be presented to the Parliament once the current political crisis has been resolved. INL projects also support legislative drafting of laws on a unified bar and on pre-trial detention compliant with European standards. Recipients of INL assistance include the Secretariat of the National Security and Defense Council, National Commission for Rule of Law and Democracy, and Ministry of Justice.Tactical Approach: INL’s tactical approach in Ukraine is to promote the harmonization of individual law enforcement agencies with EU norms and standards. Recipients of INL assistance include the following:
- State Border Guard Service (SBGS) – The SBGS goal is to be EU Schengen compliant by 2015. INL projects include: creating EU-compliant risk and criminal analysis capabilities; adopting EU-compliant recruitment process, personnel system, and training systems; adopt EU and internationally accepted adult training methodology; and introducing EU-level information technology (IT) capabilities. Donor partners on these projects include the EU, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and Department of Defense.
- Criminal Courts – The criminal courts are open to change. INL projects include: creating an-EU compliant bar association and strengthening defense lawyers through sustainable professional training; adopting EU-compliant pre-trial detention system; and introducing a technical system for secure witness testimony, including for trafficking in persons (TIP) cases.
- Ministry of Interior (MOI) – INL’s focus with its assistance to the Ministry has been on TIP, forensics, and IT. However, starting in FY 2009, INL will work with the MOI on its concept for overall reform, which may provide new avenues to achieve change. INL projects include achieving International Organization for Standardization accreditation for the MOI forensic center; developing EU standard IT network system; strengthening TIP investigative capabilities; and supporting the Government of Ukraine’s working group in the drafting and development of the MOI reform concept.
- Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) – INL projects with the PGO include introducing new courses at Prosecutor’s Academy and promoting specialization for anti-money laundering, terrorist financing, and TIP cases.