Students and cadets of the National Academy of Internal Affairs increased their awareness of practical approaches to ensuring the rights of people with disabilities and implementing in practice the principles of the National Strategy for the Creation of a Barrier-Free Environment until 2030 in their activities.

The seminar, “National Strategy for a Barrier-Free Space in Ukraine: From Policy to Practice,” was held in Kyiv on 12 December 2025.

Barrier-free access is a cross-cutting principle of modern state policy in Ukraine and an integral part of human rights protection.

It is important that the accessibility principles are also integrated into the training of police officers and the daily work of law enforcement agencies—from accessible infrastructure to high-quality communication with citizens, — emphasized Ms Tetiana Lomakina, the Advisor - Commissioner of the President of Ukraine for Barrier-Free Environment.

Special attention during the seminar was given to ensuring the rights of people with disabilities, which is an important component of Ukraine’s obligations under the European Social Charter. Ms Iryna Ostapa, Senior Officer of the Council of Europe project “Strengthening the social dimension in Ukraine,” presented the project’s activities aimed at supporting Ukraine in fulfilling these obligations, particularly through expert support in implementing the National Strategy for the Creation of a Barrier-Free Environment in Ukraine.

A separate session was devoted to best practices in police interaction with people with disabilities. It was presented by Ms Olena Herasymchuk, Head of the barrier-free sector of the human rights compliance department of the department of the main inspectorate and human rights compliance of the National Police of Ukraine. In particular, Ms Herasymchuk presented recommendations from a manual on effective communication between police officers and people with disabilities (available in Ukrainian only), developed in cooperation with the Council of Europe.

The event served as a platform for the exchange of experience among participants and contributed to strengthening the institutional capacity of law enforcement agencies to implement the principles of accessibility in their everyday activities.

The event was organized by the National Academy of Internal Affairs in cooperation with the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine and the National Police of Ukraine, with the support of the Council of Europe project “Strengthening the social dimension in Ukraine”, which aims to ensure that general public and people from vulnerable groups, including war-affected population in Ukraine, benefit from targeted social protection and support.