On November 6, the National Agency for Corruption Prevention (NACP) released two draft laws on its website, one – on the “Integrity of Lobbying and Advocacy in Ukraine” and one – containing amendments to the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses to regulate violations of the new legislation on lobbying and advocacy. Since then, civil society organizations (CSOs) have been discussing the two draft laws intensively.

First, CSOs note that the two draft laws were prepared without due involvement of civil society. At the demand of several CSOs, the NACP launched two rounds of public consultations on November 10th and 23rd. However, according to CSOs, these consultations appeared to be conducted as a formality, and the NACP did not display a genuine interest in considering input and discussing CSO concerns with the draft laws.

The two draft laws, which the NACP has now submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, cover not only lobbying but also advocacy activities and will thus have an impact on citizens’ access to exercise their constitutional rights and freedoms and be a driver of reforms. CSOs are concerned that if draft laws are adopted, this may hamper the work of civil society institutions and make it difficult for them to apply their expertise and make their voice heard in legislative reform.

To bring attention to this problem, over 150 Ukrainian CSOs, including Civil Network OPORA, the CHESNO Movement, the Center for Political and Legal Reforms, and others, issued a public statement calling on the Cabinet of Ministers to return the draft laws to the NACP for further improvement. They also call on the Ukrainian authorities to ensure that the NACP holds further meaningful, open, and inclusive consultations on the draft laws before the end of 2023 and that the draft laws are brought in line with international standards and duly address the recommendations of the Council of Europe and the participants of the consultations. The statement notes that particular attention should be brought to removing the reference to CSOs’ activities and advocacy from the scope of the lobbying laws.

Moreover, the CSOs, in their statement, call on the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to immediately adopt in the second reading and as final the draft Law of Ukraine “On Public Consultations,” which will include provisions on mandatory public consultations on draft laws submitted by MPs.

The statement is still collecting signatures; the authors invite other civil society organizations to support the statement.

Read the full version of the CSO statement at the link.