On March 22, USAID "RADA: Next Generation" Program organized a public discussion to talk about the activities of Ukraine's Parliament during wartime. More than 80 representatives of the Parliament, civil society, diplomatic missions, and experts attended this event.
In his opening remarks, Marc Ellingstad, Director of Democracy and Governance Office at USAID Mission to Ukraine, said: "No other parliament has faced the unique challenge of doing the work you have been doing and overcoming the challenges you overcome during this full-scale war. The results of this research, we think, can help share the experience with other parliaments around the world, but what is more crucial, it can help develop concrete recommendations in steps on how to ensure the constancy and continuity of the work of vital democratic institutions in such challenging circumstances. Your work is a model for freedom-loving people from all over the world."
Mykhailo Tepliyuk, Deputy Secreatary General of the VRU Secretariat, emphasized: "It is crucial to study the state and functioning of the Ukrainian Parliament under martial law. The experience we are gaining and seeing is invaluable for understanding how the Parliament should act during wartime. The study results will be useful for developing legislative regulation of the Verkhovna Rada's activities in such non-standard conditions."
The USAID "RADA: Next Generation" Program experts have prepared the second study, analyzing the work of the 10th session of the VRU IX convocation (September 5, 2023 - February 5, 2024). Having analyzed open data and conducted anonymous interviews with VRU representatives, they presented the main trends in the work of the Parliament in wartime, including the preservation of the constitutional status of the Parliament, the legislative process, and parliamentary communications.
Some conclusions of the study:
The VRU also continues to improve its communication capabilities. For example, from September 2023 to January 2024, its Facebook page reached 3.8 million users, and the VRU Instagram page had 69,300 interactions, which is 67.3% more than in the previous period. The Parliament, in cooperation with the USAID "RADA: Next Generation" Program experts, is also finalizing a comprehensive and inclusive Communications Strategy that will meet current challenges and tasks and be based on the values of democracy, human rights, openness, transparency, and accountability.
The presentation of the study was followed by a discussion of the current activities of the Parliament with the participation of MPs of Ukraine, including Serhii Kalchenko, Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, Mykyta Poturaiev, Yaroslav Yurchyshyn and Pavlo Frolov.
Serhii Kalchenko said that, despite some critical remarks, the Verkhovna Rada continues to exercise its constitutional powers and adequately responds to the wartime challenges. Mykyta Poturaiev added that the current restrictions (such as a lack of access to the VRU building for journalists or canceling the broadcast of the conciliation board meetings) are necessary due to security needs and help optimize the work of the Parliament.
Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze believed that the Parliament should involve the opposition more in decision-making, as the current representation is insufficient, including in parliamentary diplomacy. Yaroslav Yurchyshyn emphasized that the Parliament must better plan its legislative work and establish transparent communications with Ukrainians so that they know what the VRU is doing and where the country is headed. He also noted that the newly created VRU Research Service should play crucial role in providing MPs with high-quality analytics.
The previous study, "Parliament in Wartime: Ukraine's Example. An Empirical Report," conducted by USAID "RADA: Next Generation" Program experts, is available at this link.