Civil society organizations, journalists call on the Verkhovna Rada to open access to committee meetings

Illustration by the IMI

Multiple civil society organizations and media professionals are calling on the Verkhovna Rada to make parliamentary committee meetings open to journalists and the public and to adopt draft bill No. 11321 by the end of the year, according to a joint address signed by the Institute of Mass Information, among others.

The address argues that currently there are no security risks that could be in the way of increasing transparency of the Verkhovna Rada committee meetings.

“After all, most committee meetings take place online these days. And the vast majority of committees already provide online livestreams of their meetings. Moreover, during the full-scale invasion, there have been cases of journalists taking part in public committee meetings. In none of the cases the meetings being public led to security risks,” the address says.

The Institute of Mass Information publishes the full address:

We, civil society organizations and journalists, welcome the Verkhovna Rada’s approval of the obligation to adopt a bill on the openness and online livestreaming of committee meetings within the framework of the Jean Monnet Dialogues.

As of today, draft bill No. 11321, which provides for the open work of Verkhovna Rada committees, is ready for a second reading, which means that the Verkhovna Rada may adopt draft bill No. 11321 and open the meetings of parliamentary committees by the end of 2024.

The meetings of most Verkhovna Rada committees have remained closed to the public since 2020 (due to the COVID-19 pandemic), and with the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the information about the meetings has only become more secret.

In our opinion, there are no current security risks that could be in the way of increasing  the transparency of the Verkhovna Rada committee meetings.

After all, most committee meetings take place online these days. And the vast majority of committees already provide online livestreams of their meetings. Moreover, during the full-scale invasion, there have been cases of journalists taking part in public committee meetings. In none of the cases the meetings being public led to security risks.

Taking into account the above, we call on the deputies to legislatively ensure:

• the livestreaming of meetings of Verkhovna Rada committees;
• the access to Verkhovna Rada committee meetings for journalists and civil society representatives;
• advance (24 hours in advance) public announcements on the committees' websites about the time of the meetings and the issues that the committee plans to consider.

To this end, the Verkhovna Rada must include draft bill No. 11321, which is ready for the second reading, in the agenda by the end of 2024 and adopt it in its entirety.

Signed by:

1. Anti-Corruption Action Centre
2. CHESNO Movement
   
3. Integrity UA
   
4. NO Automaidan
5. Economic Strategy Centre
6. Anti-Corruption Research & Education Centre (ACREC)
7. DEJURE  Foundation
   
8. Civil society initiative Holka
9. Public Control Platform
10. Anti-Corruption Centre MEZHA
11. Kharkiv Anti-Corruption Centre
12. NGO Detector Media
13. Digital Security Lab Ukraine
14. Bihus.info
15. Civil Network OPORA
    
16. Institute of Legislative Ideas
    
17. Institute of Mass Information
    

On November 25, 2024, several civil society organizations and media outlets developed recommendations on improving journalists' access to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

Earlier, the Institute of Mass Information analyzed if the restrictions on access to the Verkhovna Rada are justified in the third year of the invasion.