On March 28, 2024, the opening of a training course on preventing ill-treatment for employees of the Department for the Implementation of the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) of the Secretariat of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights took place. The course is being introduced on the joint initiative of two Council of Europe projects - "Supporting Implementation of the European Human Rights Standards in Ukraine" and "HELP (Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals) for Ukraine, including during wartime."

The course is being delivered through the online platform of the Council of Europe's HELP (Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals) program and is based on the HELP training course materials, which cover a wide range of issues related to the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights.

It consists of thematic modules which cover topics of human rights, standards for preventing ill-treatment, relevant standards on the right to liberty and security of persons, and the right to respect for private life.

The training course on preventing ill-treatment is a pilot one and is based on a combination of online learning and face-to-face activities using various teaching methods (lectures, group work, discussion of practical issues on the forum, individual practical assignments, and a final test)and provide active involvement of tutors who guide the participants throughout the entire learning process.

The tutors are national consultants of the Council of Europe, Sergiy Zayets - a lawyer with significant experience in applying to the European Court of Human Rights (representing over 150 applicants before the ECtHR), the UN Human Rights Committee, the UN Committee against Torture (CAT), the Committee on Racial Discrimination (CERD), and a trainer for several human rights education programs, and Natalya Hurkovska, a lawyer with 28 years of experience and significant experience in applying to the ECtHR, a human rights defender, and a certified HELP program trainer.

At the event's opening, Olga Kostenko, the international manager of the HELP Project for Ukraine, introduced the HELP program methodology and courses to the participants.