Dmytro Lubinets, the Human Rights Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, believes that the government draft law No. 10449 on mobilization contains a number of contradictory norms.
A letter with comments on the draft law, which took up nine pages, was sent to the specialized Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence. At the same time, Dmytro Lubinets met with the Minister of Defense Rustem Umyerov and said that he was ready to respond to the remarks.
Here is what, according to the ombudsman, is wrong with the new draft law on mobilization:
- There is a question in the wording "remove" and "exclude" from military registration. This concerns the procedure for traveling abroad for men aged 18 to 60 who are on military registration or excluded from it.
- The document provides that the military command may establish a temporary restriction on the right of a citizen of Ukraine to travel abroad. Article 17 of the Constitution stipulates that the Armed Forces and other military formations cannot be used by anyone to limit the rights and freedoms of citizens.
- The draft law proposes to make the registration of the conscriptʼs electronic account mandatory. This does not comply with the provisions of the Constitution, namely the Law "On the Protection of Personal Data".
- Granting the right to representatives of the TCC and SP to check military accounting documents contradicts the Constitution. Police and border guards can check documents.
- The draft law proposes to remove the right to exemption from military service during the mobilization of post-graduate students studying on a contract. This contradicts the requirements of Article 24 of the Constitution on equal rights of citizens, since the draft law does not exempt all other categories of education seekers from deferment.
- The new draft law provides that conscription can take place regardless of the place where the conscript is on military registration. The analysis of the appeal to the Commissionerʼs Office showed that with this approach "the right of citizens to be exempted from the draft is often violated", because people do not have documents that give them the right to be exempted from the draft.
What is provided by draft law 10449
In the updated draft law, government officials reached an agreement on lowering the conscription age. Currently, the maximum age for mobilization is 27 years, in the revised document it was reduced to 25 years. Also, government officials propose to introduce an electronic office of conscripts, which will receive electronic summonses. The revised draft law stipulates that people with disabilities of all groups will be exempted from military service. This means that there will be no mobilization of people with disabilities after the adoption of the relevant draft law.