Many of us remember the heated discussions in all target groups about a decision of the Trilateral Contact Group to establish a so-called advisory board. Without repeating the arguments about the disadvantages of the format proposed for this council, we should pay attention to one more nuance, which still remains beyond public discussion, says Oleg Martynenko, expert of Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union.

This nuance is just a little thing, almost trivial, which is the lack of proper communication between the authorities and civil society in the negotiation process. It is a trifle, that makes Ukrainian officials perform actions that trigger mass negative reaction of Ukrainians. A trifle that makes the actions of the government subject to fair criticism for lack of transparency and accountability to the Ukrainian people.

It is clear to most experts that the negotiation process can be effective when it is held behind closed doors and with minimal publicity. However, the messages voiced by the contracting parties during the negotiations are almost always not the product of a “closed process”.

Expert conclusions, analysis of public opinion, consolidated solutions of national initiatives, needs of vulnerable groups form the bridgehead of negotiations and dialogues. In other words, the bridgehead for international negotiations is the result of long consultations with the public. That is why, for the preparation of the negotiations at the Normandy or Minsk level it is essential to provide a thing that is simple in terms of wording but complicated in terms of mechanism, and this is national consultations.

It may be appropriate to remind that one of the first public discussions of the problem of Ukraine’s priorities in the negotiations through the prism of the society’s needs took place during the expert working group “Enhancing the Role of Civil Society in the Negotiating Processes in Donbas: Reducing Risks and Improving Channels of Public Communication”. Organized within the framework of the 2nd International Forum “Reintegration in Donbas – improvement of humanitarian situation and strengthening of contacts between people in the conflict region” (2019), it established the needs of the state in providing practically oriented information to the participants of the negotiations, wider involvement of mediators and representatives of vulnerable groups, increase of NGO participation in the negotiations.

Further development was the drafting of proposals for the government of Ukraine from organizations participating in the international platform CivilM+.  Unfortunately, most of these proposals remain under consideration. Among key proposals is the establishment of an independent group of civic consultations for the Minsk negotiations on Donbas.

However, to put the process of consulting the authorities with the public on the rails of a permanent mechanism, it is necessary to pay attention to international recommendations as well. That is why the purpose of this publication is to inform about the simple and clear guide to national consultations for the states in transition (from war to peace, from authoritarianism to democracy). The guide was developed by the UN in 2009, and is available HERE.

As a member of the international platform CivilM+, Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Unions is ready to build a dialogue with the authorities to enhance the impact of all stakeholders on the outcome of the Minsk process.

Oleg Matynenko, expert of the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union