Strengthening data protection: FIIAPP boosts Ukrainian Ombudsman Office initiatives

In a recent video message, Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, expressed his gratitude to the EU4DigitalUA project and the FIIAPP team for their continued support in data protection over the years.

“The cooperation between our Office with the Polish and Spanish data protection authorities definitely contributes to the implementation of positive experiences in Ukraine. The topic of personal data protection is particularly important for Ukraine. One of the key tasks for Ukraine is harmonisation of Ukrainian legislation to the European standards in the field of personal data protection. In December 2023, the relevant committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine decided to recommend that the Parliament adopt the draft law of Ukraine on personal data protection as a basis. Considering the socio-economic factors and the full support from society, government bodies and businesses, it is anticipated that the draft law will be adopted by the Parliament at the most favourable time,” Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights stated. 

According to him, currently, over 5 million Ukrainians are employed in state agencies and organisations, with approximately 1 million requiring further qualification in personal data protection. 

“As a result, one of our current focus areas is conducting informational campaigns and educational events. We believe that the Ukrainian Ombudsman Office should serve as an educational platform in the field of personal data protection. We are currently putting maximum efforts towards this goal. At the same time, the Office’s staff must possess the necessary qualifications to work with European standards in personal data protection,” he added. 

As Mr Lubinets noted, representatives from the Office regularly participate in training and professional development programs: “For example, in 2023 our delegation took part in an international conference on personal data protection held in Warsaw. Two stages of training were held for employees of our department at the Spanish Data Protection Agency, and meetings were held with the heads of the Polish Data Protection Authority and the director of the Spanish Data Protection Agency as part of the EU4DigitalUA project.”