On 6 October 2026, representatives of civil society and human rights organisations, think tanks and professional associations came together for the webinar “The European Social Charter as a Mechanism for Protecting Social Rights: Opportunities for Civil Society Organisations”.

The event highlighted how the European Social Charter can serve as a practical tool for civil society to promote and protect social and economic rights.

Participants gained insight into the European Social Charter system and the work of the European Committee of Social Rights, including how the implementation of the Charter is monitored and how civil society organisations can contribute to this process. Particular attention was given to Ukraine’s commitments under the Charter and the European Committee of Social Rights’ conclusions concerning Ukraine, providing participants with a clearer understanding of how European social rights standards can be used in their advocacy, monitoring and analytical work.

The webinar also introduced the collective complaints procedure, exploring the opportunities it offers for addressing systemic issues affecting social rights and the potential role of civil society organisations in making effective use of this mechanism.

The webinar helped to strengthen practical skills in applying the provisions of the European Social Charter and the case law of the European Committee of Social Rights in the work of civil society organisations. The knowledge gained can be used to analyse public policies, monitor Ukraine’s compliance with its obligations in the field of social and economic rights, prepare alternative reports to the European Committee of Social Rights, and strengthen advocacy and human rights work.

The event was organised by the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union with the support of the Council of Europe project “Strengthening the Social Dimension in Ukraine”, implemented within the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine 2023–2026 “Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction”.