Military ombudsman to be created in Ukraine: what will he do?
19 November 17:47
Ukraine needs to introduce the post of military ombudsman to ensure that he has the trust of the military. This was stated by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his speech in the session hall of the Verkhovna Rada on November 19, Komersant ukrainskyi reports.
The head of state emphasized that the defense forces need to be able to solve problems that arise from violations of rights.
“We should not be afraid to talk about difficult things and problems in the army. Effective solutions are possible only if we have an honest conversation. About mobilization. About reservations. We need to overcome the problems, not hide them. The reasons must be found out and removed,” Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian leader added that confidential opportunities are needed within the Defense Forces for soldiers to solve problems arising from violations of rights.
“The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and the military command must select and appoint a military ombudsman – a person who will enjoy the trust of society. I expect this to happen in the near future,” the President of Ukraine elaborated.
It should be noted that a little earlier, the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Rustem Umerov spoke about the introduction of the position of military ombudsman in the country.
According to him, the ministry wants to “protect the rights of servicemen” in this way. It is planned that the ombudsman will take care of the military needs of the people and soldiers.
“We have been working to propose a military ombudsman. This year we focused on working out how many complaints and lawsuits there were (if I’m not mistaken, we worked out several thousand). We are currently preparing several candidates to announce who will be the military ombudsman,” the Defense Ministry chief said.
