Ukraine: Update to UKR35588.E of 4 October 2000 on whether hazing of new recruits in the Ukrainian armed forces has caused serious injury or mental distress, and if so, whether measures had been taken by the victims or the armed forces to remedy such occurrences (October 2000-September 2004)

Physical and Psychological Outcomes of Hazing

Hazing is described as the torture and ill treatment of young conscripts at the hands of senior soldiers, including humiliation, beatings and murder (AI 15 Oct. 2001; Country Reports 2003 25 Feb. 2004, Sec. 1a, 1c; Country Reports 2002 31 Mar. 2003, Sec. 1a, 1c). In November 2003, a Ukrainian serviceman was convicted of hazing 37 junior conscripts, one of whom committed suicide as a result:

The body of one of the men mistreated by the platoon leader was found hanging from a tree on the base in August 2002. A court ruled it a suicide, resulting from five days of physical and psychological abuse. Hazing often involves demands for young conscripts to do demeaning tasks such as begging on the streets for cigarette money. The defiant or weak-willed are shamed before their peers, beaten and in some cases, tortured, raped and killed (AP 11 Nov. 2003).

Human rights reports indicate that violent hazing of young recruits, also referred to as dedovshchina, is widely practised in the Ukrainian army (HRW 2003; Country Reports 2003 25 Feb. 2004, Sec. 1a, 1c; Country Reports 2002 31 Mar. 2003, Sec. 1a, 1c; Country Reports 2001 4 Mar. 2002, Sec. 1a, 1c; National Security & Defence 2002; UNHCHR 25 Sept. 2002; ibid. 21 Nov. 2001; AI 2002; ibid. 2001), that approximately 10 to 20 soldiers' deaths are attributed to hazing each year in the Ukraine (AP 11 Nov. 2003), and that 15 per cent of all cases brought to military courts deal with alleged hazing (IHF 2002).

In its analysis of the Ukrainian armed forces, the Razumkov Centre for Economic and Political Studies in Kiev notes that in 2000, 20.7 per cent of all military servant convictions in the Western Ukraine region were related to dedovshchina, and that this number rose to 23 per cent in 2001 (National Security & Defence 2002, 13). Further, it is noted that

[t]here are repeated cases of violence against subordinates on the part of their commanders. In 2001 and the first quarter of 2002, courts martial of the Western region convicted 24 officers and NCOs [non-commissioned officers] for abuse of power with respect to their subordinates. Their criminal actions did harm to 29 military servants, 12 of them suffered bodily injuries (ibid.).

Despite these reports, official data on the number of soldiers that are subjected to hazing or killed during violent hazing events is not systematically collected, reported or published (Defence & Security 3 Sept. 2003; Country Reports 2003 25 Feb. 2004, Sec. 1a, 1c; Country Reports 2002 31 Mar. 2003, Sec. 1a, 1c; National Security & Defence 2002), and military officials have reported no deaths due to physical violence during the same period that human rights groups such as the Ukrainian Association of Soldiers' Mothers in Kiev have reported widespread violent hazing (Country Reports 2003 25 Feb. 2004, Sec. 1c). In a 3 September 2003 Defence & Security article, Major-General Nikolai Feshchuk, military prosecutor in the Southern Ukrainian region, explains that

[t]he quantity of crimes connected with hazing of young recruits has increased by a third in 2003....As a rule, commanders conceal crimes committed in military units: 93% of criminal cases were started by military prosecutors' offices, and only 7% by commanders. In addition, many incidents are linked with beating of soldiers by their commanders....Senior commanders do not start criminal proceedings when their subordinates refuse to obey orders.

According to Country Reports 2003, official reporting and accounting of hazing-related deaths are further complicated by the tendency to label such events as suicide; for example,

[o]n January 20 [2003], conscript Oleh Tkachuk allegedly committed suicide by jumping out of a second-floor window. Relatives believe he was beaten to death and thrown out of the window. Tkachuk's arms, nose, skull, and a finger had been broken; his hands had needle prick marks; his body had no cuts from the broken glass. Other soldiers reported that Tkachuk had been subject to violent hazing and that senior soldiers had raped him. However, the Association of Soldiers' Mothers reported that a military investigation into the incident concluded that Tkachuk's death was a suicide, and it would be unnecessary to open a criminal case in connection with his death (25 Feb. 2004, Sec. 1a).

With regard to the issue of mental distress experienced by the victims of hazing, Amnesty International (AI 2001; ibid. 15 Oct. 2001), the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (12 Nov. 2001), and the International Helsinki Federation (2002) indicate that each year a number of recruits are driven to suicide or desertion to escape their violent treatment by other soldiers and officers. In its 15 October 2001 report entitled "Ukraine Before the United Nations Human Rights Committee" Amnesty International cites the case of a young recruit whose mental health problems were confirmed by medical examination after he deserted his unit in Zhytomyr because he was "subjected to various forms of ill-treatment by other recruits."

Measures Taken to Remedy the Situation of Victims

Notably, in 2001 and 2002, the United Nations Committee Against Torture recommended that those who commit hazing in the Ukraine be prosecuted and punished, and that a more effective system be adopted in the Ukrainian armed forces to end hazing, through training and education (UNHCHR 25 Sept. 2002; ibid. 21 Nov. 2001). However, no information could be found among the sources consulted about practices, policies or measures currently in place to prevent or remedy hazing in the Ukrainian armed forces. Rather, Country Reports 2003 indicates that complaints of physical harassment are often not investigated, and punishment administered to senior officers for tolerating or participating in hazing has been insufficient to prevent continued practice (25 Feb. 2004, Sec. 1c).

According to Amnesty International, some recruits who deserted the Ukrainian army to escape hazing were subsequently sentenced to prison terms of five to seven years for desertion under Articles 240 and 241 of the Ukrainian Criminal Code (15 Oct. 2001). Amnesty International cites the specific case of a recruit who deserted his unit in Simferopol and subsequently appealed to a Kharkiv military prosecutor, claiming he had been a victim of hazing:

Although the military prosecutor's office reportedly acknowledged that the recruit had voluntarily turned to them and there existed a medical report supporting the recruit's allegations of having been subjected to violent physical abuse, the military prosecutor's office in Simferopol reportedly refused to consider the evidence and put pressure on the recruit to withdraw the allegations. In desperation, the recruit reportedly deserted again shortly afterwards (15 Oct. 2001).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Amnesty International (AI). 2002. Amnesty International Report 2002. [Accessed 21 Sept. 2004]
_____. 2001. Amnesty International Report 2001. [Accessed 21 Sept. 2004]
_____. 15 October 2001. (EUR 50/001/2001.) "Ukraine Before the United Nations Human Rights Committee." [Accessed 21 Sept. 2004]

The Associated Press (AP). 11 November 2003. "Ukrainian Serviceman Sentenced to Prison for Hazing Soldiers, Including One Who Killed Himself." (Dialog)

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2003. 25 February 2004. United States Department of State. Washington, DC. [Accessed 21 Sept. 2004]

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2002. 31 March 2003. United States Department of State. Washington, DC. [Accessed 21 Sept. 2004]

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2001. 4 March 2002. United States Department of State. Washington, DC. [Accessed 21 Sept. 2004]

Defence & Security. 3 September 2003. "Major-General Nikolai Feshchuk, Military Prosecutor of the Southern Region (Ukraine), on the State of Military Discipline." (Dialog)

Human Rights Watch (HRW). 2003. Human Rights Watch World Report 2003. [Accessed 22 Sept. 2004]

International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF). 2002. OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting: Warsaw, 9-19 September 2002. [Accessed 22 Sept. 2004]
_____. 2002. OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting: Warsaw, 9-19 September 2002. [Accessed 22 Sept. 2004]

National Security & Defence [Kyiv]. 2002. No. 5. Razumkov Centre Analytical Report. "Transition to Professional Armed Forces in Ukraine: The Problems and Prospects." [Accessed 22 Sept. 2004]

United Nations. 12 November 2001. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR). (CCPR/CO/73/UKR). Concluding Observations of the Human Rights Committee: Ukraine. [Accessed 22 Sept. 2004]

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR). 25 September 2002. Conclusions and Recommendations: Ukraine. [Accessed 22 Sept. 2004]
_____. 21 November 2001. Conclusions and Recommendations of the Committee Against Torture: Ukraine. [Accessed 22 Sept. 2004]

Additional Sources Consulted

The following idid not respond to requests for information within time constraints:

Defence Attache, Embassy of Ukraine to Canada

Director of Military Programmes, Razumkov Centre for Economic and Political Studies

Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights

Websites, including: Amnesty International, European Country of Origin Information Network, Freedom House, Human Rights Internet, Human Rights Watch, Human Rights Without Frontiers, Integrated Regional Information Network, International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights, Kharkiv Group for Human Rights Protection, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, REFWORLD, ReliefWeb, Ukraine News, Ukrainian Center for Economic and Political Studies, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, World News Connection.