It is necessary to initiate a public discussion on how the state and the legal system should interact with veterans who have gone through war, returned to civilian life, but in certain situations may find themselves in the justice system as defendants or victims. To this end, the L.I.I.D. Foundation, with the support of the Ministry of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine and the International Renaissance Foundation, held a round table on the topic: ‘Identification of veterans in the justice system: challenges and opportunities for Ukraine.’
The L.I.I.D. Foundation is convinced that the punitive function of the judiciary should give way to rehabilitation. After all, veterans are people with special life experience who defended Ukraine, and this fact should be taken into account in the justice system.
Lesya Klyarovska, head of projects and programmes at the L.I.I.D. Foundation, emphasised the need to develop a unified terminology: “Even among experts, there is no clear distinction between the concepts of ATO, OOS or combatant. Because of this, we cannot keep accurate statistics on veterans who have committed crimes or those who have become victims. As a result, there is no complete picture of crime among veterans, society receives distorted information, and support programmes become ineffective.”
Farhad Farhadov, Deputy Minister for Veterans Affairs of Ukraine, emphasised the cross-sectoral nature of the issue: “The identification of veterans is important not only in justice, but also in all areas of life and public policy. A veteran is a person who had a civilian profession but went through combat experience. Returning to peaceful life, they have special needs and opportunities. The state must both support and thank these people for defending Ukraine’s independence.”
In turn, Olga Galchenko, manager of the Civil Resilience programme at the International Renaissance Foundation, drew attention to the need for a comprehensive approach.
“Society often promotes a positive image of veterans as successful entrepreneurs or active community leaders. But not all veterans have the same path. Some of them face difficult life circumstances and may end up in the justice system. Our task is to prepare ourselves so that our interaction with veterans is dignified, environmentally friendly, and safe,” she emphasised.
The participants of the round table emphasised that identifying veterans in the justice system is a complex but necessary task. The lack of clear statistics and established terminology complicates the development of effective support mechanisms and creates room for manipulation. That is why public discussion of this topic is an important step towards forming a fair approach.
The organisers are confident that the discussion will contribute to establishing cooperation between state institutions, the public sector and international partners. It should result in new approaches in the field of justice that take into account the needs of veterans, increase public trust and help avoid re-traumatising those who have already survived the war.
Source: UKMC
