Visit of colleagues from Ukraine

In the period June 10 – 14 we had the opportunity to host colleagues from several human rights organizations from Ukraine. 10 activists from 6 civil society organizations and different parts of Ukraine arrived in Zagreb to share their experience in the fields of support for people in occupied territories, documenting war suffering, rebuilding destroyed houses, youth work, and promoting equality in wartime conditions.

During the visit, we discussed the current needs in Ukraine and the relevant experience of civil society in Croatia and the region in the protection of human rights during and after the wars of the 1990s. Colleagues from Ukraine learned more about Documenta’s research on human losses during the war in Croatia and about relevant processes of transitional justice. Documenta’s director Vesna Teršelič and the co-founder of the Pakrac Volunteer Project (1993) and the Center for Peace Studies Goran Božičević moderated the exchange of perspectives from Croatia and Ukraine and shared with the group their experience from the Antiwar Campaign of Croatia.

We are happy that colleagues from the Croatian Youth Network, the Center for Peace Studies, the Youth Initiative for Human Rights, the Serbian National Council and the House of Human Rights responded to our invitation and took the time to talk with the group from Ukraine in order to jointly detect practices that can be implemented in Ukraine.