A workshop on investigating hate crimes was co-organized by the Main Investigation Directorate of the National Police and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) for specialized police investigators. The workshop focused on clarifying the concept of hate crimes, their differences from other types of criminal offences, and the impact of their effective investigation on the image of law enforcement.
The Main Directorates of the National Police in Kyiv, Dnipro, Lviv, Odesa and Kharkiv regions participated in the trainings on "Hate Crimes: Prevention and Response", conducted by the civil society group Human Rights LGBT Center Nash Mir with the support of ODIHR.
Police investigators monitoring the investigation of hate crimes participated in a workshop on hate crime investigation, conducted by an Oslo police specialist. The workshop was organized by the civil society group Social Action Center No Borders project.
In its fifth report on Ukraine, the Council of Europe's European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) commended Ukraine's progress in investigating hate crimes and introducing specialized police officers. ECRI also noted the need to step up efforts to end racist violence against LGBT and Roma people. ECRI recommended that an independent investigative body be set up to address allegations of racially-motivated misconduct by the police, and that protected characteristics should be added to all relevant hate crime provisions in the criminal code, particularly sexual orientation and gender identity.
ODIHR observes that Ukraine has not reported on cases of hate crimes separately from cases of hate speech and/or discrimination.