Natalya Scherbata from Vinnytsia, Ukraine, the President of the Ukrainian Association of Women Lawyers, has been an active user of IATP services since 2002, She recently filed a case on behalf of a female resident of Vinnytsia to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), her third such petition.
Scherbata actively used IATP services and facilities to improve her professional skills and knowledge. After using the web to find international trainings, workshops, conferences, and study tours on human rights issues, she applied online and was selected to participate in many of them. In 2007, she conducted training for IATP users on lodging complaints to the ECHR, demonstrating that human rights violations could be stopped.
In November, Scherbata regularly checked the European Court’s website to monitor the progress of the case, as judgments are first published online. The case concerns an alleged property rights violation but remains confidential (www.echr.coe.int). Ten citizens of Vinnytsya have received positive decisions from the Court in recent years. As yet, however, there has been no decision in Scherbata’s current action.
Filing a motion with the European Court requires finding the Application form online, printing it out, filling it in using one’s native language and sending it by normal post or fax to the headquarters of the European Court in Starsbourg. The basic technical skills required for such an action have been taught by IATP in Ukraine for nearly a decade.
Scherbata commented, “It is a fact that through Internet access at IATP centers, Ukrainians are becoming aware of their rights and applying for protection to the European Court. This proves the development of civil society in Ukraine.” In the past year, IATP in Ukraine trained more than 190 NGO representatives like Natalya Scherbata to use technology in ways that advance civil society activities.
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Posted by: health advocate | May 12, 2009 at 04:59 PM