A UWindsor law professor is in western Ukraine as part of a mission to help monitor Sunday’s parliamentary elections amid concerns expressed by the Canadian government regarding the former Soviet bloc country’s commitment to international standards of human rights, democracy and rule of law.
“We’re here to help Ukrainians ensure they’re meeting internationally recognized standards for open, free and fair elections,” said Chris Waters, who specializes in international law and the politics of the Caucasus and Balkans. “In many ways, Ukraine is at a critical juncture in terms of its integration into Europe. It’s a path that will be determined very soon, and these elections are very important in this regard.”
On October 19, the federal government launched the Mission Canada-Ukraine Elections 2012 short-term observer mission. Canada is sending 500 observers to Ukraine – 420 as part of the mission, the remaining 80 as participants of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly observation missions.
In his send-off address to the observers, Prime Minister Stephen Harper referred to Ukraine's current and past political struggles, telling them the mission is important because of Canada's close ties with the country through more than a century of immigration, and because of the importance of ensuring Ukraine continues on a democratic path.
He said there is “serious cause for concern about Ukraine’s democratic development and respect for the rule of law,” and specifically referred to the trial of Yulia Tymoshenko, the former prime minister who lost a presidential run-off in 2010 to the current pro-Russian president, Viktor Yanukovych. She remains in prison, the prime minister said, as "do many others who have fallen afoul of the Ukrainian government."
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird and Julian Fantino, Minister of International Cooperation, called for free and fair Ukrainian elections in an October 2 statement after the release of an interim report by the mission which outlined a range of concerns with the electoral campaign, including allegations of restrictions on media freedom, procedural irregularities, incidents of vote-buying and undue pressure on candidates and campaign staff.
Dr. Waters, currently on sabbatical in France, flew earlier this week to Kiev where he received three days of briefings on Ukrainian electoral laws, safety, the political landscape, and election day procedures. After that, he was deployed to Lviv, a city in western Ukraine that’s considered one of the country’s main cultural centres.
“In many ways, Ukraine has followed the typical post-Soviet pattern,” said Waters, who has observed seven previous elections in the former Soviet Union. “It’s still very much in transition from being a communist bloc nation to a fully democratic state and there have been some bumps along the way.”
Waters said participating as an election observer keeps him connected with the current realities of the former Soviet Union.
“As an international lawyer this gives me an opportunity to stay grounded in the field, as well as provide me with a great deal of insight I can share with my students back in the classroom,” he said.