The Council of Europe Office in Ukraine officially started its activities on 6 October 2006.

Its status is based on the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Ukraine and the Council of Europe on the establishment in Ukraine Council of Europe Office and its legal status.

The Council of Europe Office in Ukraine (after this referred to as the Office) facilitates the implementation of the Council of Europe's mission in the country on human rights protection, democracy support and the rule of law, and coordinates and implements cooperation projects and programs.

One of the key tasks of the Office is to strengthen the role of the Council of Europe in supporting Ukraine’s efforts to ensure the full and effective implementation of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine.

The Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine 2018-2021 is a strategic programming instrument which aims, through co-operation, to accompany the country in its efforts to bring legislation, institutions and practice further into line with European standards in the areas of human rights, the rule of law and democracy and, through this, to support the country in meeting its obligations as a Council of Europe member State.

In meeting its objectives, this Action Plan will also contribute to the goals of the Ukraine-European Union’s Association Agreement. The overall budget of the present Action Plan is €29.5 million.

The Office is currently coordinating the implementation in Ukraine of 17 different thematic projects of the Council of Europe, including 4 projects implemented with the financial support of the European Union.

Actions are developed and implemented in areas of the Council of Europe expertise and added value.

Projects are assigned and accomplish such essential tasks as:

• increasing transparency and effectiveness of the public administration at central and local levels;
• increasing transparency of the political process and trust in electoral practices;
• improving detention conditions of and preventing ill-treatment of persons detained in police, prisons or other closed establishments;
• strengthening the capacities to investigate ill-treatment, torture and other serious human rights violations by the State Bureau of Investigations (SBI);
• strengthening the Ombudsperson’s capacity to protect human rights;
• enhancing media pluralism and ensuring the safety of journalists;
• strengthening Freedom of Media, Access to Information and Reinforcing Public Broadcasting System in Ukraine;
• enhancing the protection of the human rights of Internally Displaced Persons;
• enhancing the protection of social rights across society;
• promoting gender equality and combating sexism;
• preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence;
• improving local and regional democracy, and promoting the decentralisation reform;
• strengthening the protection of national minorities, including Roma, and minority languages in Ukraine;
• promoting equal opportunities for vulnerable groups, with an emphasis on women, children and young people in these groups;
• strengthening legislative and institutional frameworks to counter money laundering and terrorism financing in Ukraine.

In recent years, more than 14 projects and programs have been implemented that have helped Ukraine to adopt a number of important acts of legislation and implement significant institutional reforms.

Progress in bringing Ukrainian legislation and institutions in line with European standards has been significant since 2014, as evidenced by the reforms of the judiciary, sectorial decentralisation and amalgamation of communities, public broadcasting reform and the establishment of a legal and institutional framework to fight corruption.

The present Action Plan builds on achievements of the previous Action Plan 2015-2017. The outcomes of the latter include the improvement of legislation in key areas. These, among other things, concern:

• the functioning of the judiciary and criminal justice systems, prosecution service;
• approximation of the criminal justice system of the Ukrainian state to European standards;
• improving the training of lawyers for the European Convention on Human Rights and the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights;
• creation of Public Broadcasting System, promotion of media pluralism and protection of free speech;
• protection of the rights of Internally Displaced Persons;
• increasing quality of and access to free legal aid;
• development of education for democratic citizenship and human rights education;
• democratic governance and management of socio-cultural diversity;
• improving the effectiveness of the fight against corruption, money laundering, and cybercrime;
• strengthening the capacity of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to supervise the implementation of the European Court of Human Rights judgments, and the preparation of the ratification package of laws for the Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention);
• developing interagency cooperation to respond to cases of violence against women and children, as well as enhancing the capacity of law enforcement agencies to combat abuse;
• decentralisation reform and development of local self-government;
• promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment;
• promoting active involvement of civil society in reform.

Thus, the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine plays a leading, coordinating role in implementing measures to implement the Action Plan, programs, and projects aimed at supporting Ukraine in fulfilling its statutory and specific obligations as a member state of the Council of Europe.

Nowadays, the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine is the largest CoE office in the field with 53 professionals.

The Office, in close collaboration with representatives of the Ukrainian authorities and civil society, promotes the necessary reforms in fundamental areas within the purview of the Council of Europe – human rights, the rule of law, and democracy.