Ukraine Recovery Conference. Expert recommendations to the National Recovery Plan

Expert recommendations to the National Recovery Plan of Ukraine prepared for Ukraine Recovery Conference 2022 in Lugano

General recommendations of civil society experts provided in working groups at the National Council for Recovery of Ukraine:

Ensure justice through comprehensive judicial reform, which will include the cleansing of the SCJ and HQCJ and other measures to ensure the integrity of the judiciary, the service orientation of the courts, and digitalization of the judiciary.
Improve the system of prosecutors and criminal justice bodies, in particular by eliminating threats to the independence and political neutrality of the prosecution, improving the efficiency of the prosecutor in criminal proceedings, proper coordination of law enforcement agencies and improving the efficiency of the criminal justice system.
Modernize security and defense in line with NATO standards.
In information policy, protect the interests of public broadcasting, strengthen the role of the media regulator and sanctions mechanisms, ensure the transparency of the media market and strengthen the fight against misinformation.
Strengthen Ukraine’s visibility in the world through the development of Ukrainian culture, which is free from the influence of narratives of Russian culture and other post-Soviet autocracies and harmonize it with European legal norms regulating intellectual property, including the mechanism of collective management.
Intensify the policy of improving the business climate in general and reforming the tax system taking into account the current economic realities, strengthen the role of the anti-Monopoly Committee and antitrust policy in regulating economic processes, return to the medium-term budgeting system as one of the prerequisites for medium- and long-term recovery projects, create an effective system of balanced protection of the interests and rights of providers and consumers of financial services.
To promote the organization and cooperation of higher state authorities in the field of formation of Ukraine’s development policy and its legal regulation through the improvement of the Constitution and synchronization of the legislative process with the Government’s policy, to ensure effective implementation of legislation by public authorities.
Complete the reform of decentralization of power with appropriate amendments to the Constitution, reform of the administrative-territorial system, local state administrations and the organization of local self-government bodies.
Continue anti-corruption reform, develop and maintain anti-corruption infrastructure, complete the election of heads of key anti-corruption bodies (SAP, ARMA, NABU, HACC), to eliminate corruption schemes in the spheres of activity of executive bodies and local self-government.
Reform the humanitarian sphere with an emphasis on the protection of the rights and state support of veterans, the reform of the health care system, the reform of education and social policy.

In 2021, NGO experts prepared sectoral policy briefs for Ukraine Reform Conference. Also for URC 2021, analysts have prepared the analytical brief “Key considerations for decentralization and relating reforms in Eastern Ukraine’s Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts“.

The “Toronto Principles” is a vision document which summarizes the aspirations of 80+ reform-minded civil society organizations (CSOs), the private sector and the public for the future of Ukraine. The Toronto Principles acknowledge the mutual accountability, expertise and ability of these organizations to represent the views of Ukrainian citizens. They also reaffirm the importance of adhering to internationally accepted good governance and democratic principles; and present a list of key reform priorities for the next five years in Ukraine. The Toronto Principles is not a static document. It is expected to stimulate ongoing CSO dialogue and collaboration.