Inna Yaremenko Appointed Ombudsman of Ukraine's Luxembourg Representative

On Wednesday 2 October 2024, LUkraine asbl announced that its Vice President, Inna Yaremenko, had been appointed the Representative of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) in Luxembourg.

Chronicle.lu reached out to Inna to learn more about her new role and what it entails.

Chronicle.lu: Please tell us a bit about the process - did you apply for the position or did someone / LUkraine asbl put you forward as a candidate? What were some of the main criteria?

Inna Yaremenko: To date, as a result of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, around 6.5 million Ukrainians have received temporary status abroad. In response to the challenges faced by them and to support Ukraine's integration into the EU, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, has launched an initiative to appoint his Representatives in various countries worldwide.

I have almost ten years of experience in human rights projects, and I applied for this position myself, but the fact that I was the Vice President of LUkraine strengthened my candidacy. In this role over the past two years, I have gained extensive experience in humanitarian projects, advocacy and building relationships with diplomatic and EU institutions. Therefore, although I represent a completely independent institution, I plan to closely cooperate with LUkraine as the main stakeholder in supporting Ukrainians in Luxembourg.

Chronicle.lu: What inspired you to apply for / accept this position? What do you hope can be achieved through this role?

Inna Yaremenko: For me, it is a great honour and at the same time a great responsibility. I agreed to this new mission with the hope that with my experience it will be possible to strengthen the important work of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights and ensure the observance and protection of the rights and freedoms of Ukrainian citizens.

My main missions are: protection of Ukrainians' rights in Luxembourg; cooperation with state and local authorities, businesses, institutions, organisations of all forms of ownership and European institutions on issues related to the protection of the rights of Ukrainian citizens; supporting Ukrainians in finding housing and work; coverage on the activities of the Ombudsman of Ukraine abroad.

Chronicle.lu: We understand this is a voluntary role - on top of your position as Vice President of LUkraine asbl. What are some of your main tasks / priorities?

Inna Yaremenko: Yes, this is another volunteer position for me. I have listed all my tasks above, but I would like to pay special attention in my work to such an important issue as covering the activities of the Commissioner for the implementation of the Peace Formula, which was proposed by the President of Ukraine. Dmytro Lubinets is responsible in it for point number 4 - return of all deportees and captured Ukrainians, including children. As you know, Russia violates humain rights on a large scale. To date (according to the Children of War information portal), 19,546 children have been deported to the Russian Federation and/or forcibly removed to the temporarily occupied territories, 1,967* children are considered missing. Therefore, a lot of work needs to be done in this direction.

Chronicle.lu: Will you also work together with Representatives in other countries towards shared / similar goals?

Inna Yaremenko: Yes, of course. At the moment, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights has representatives in Great Britain, Poland, Belgium, Spain, Slovakia and Moldova (plus Luxembourg). We all communicate and share information.

For more information, including contact details for the Ombudsman's Representative (e.g. for appeals), visit https://lukraine.org/ombudsman-of-ukraine/.

*Updated figures.