Irish Government Contributes 1,000,000 euros to support civil service reform in Ukraine

The agreement was signed by His Excellency Ambassador Donal HAMILL, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ireland to Ukraine, and Mr. Francis M. O’DONNELL, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Ukraine. Mr Tymofiy MOTRENKO, Chairman of Main Department of Civil Service of Ukraine, attended the ceremony representing the Ukrainian Government.

“This project will help promote civil service as a modern public institution, which is based on transparency, free access and modern information technologies as well as European standards and values to be able better serve Ukrainians,” Mr O’DONNELL said. He praised the Irish Government’s generous contribution and said that UNDP in Ukraine was a uniquely well-placed organization to offer some of the best international public administration development practices, while Ireland operated one of Europe’s best civil service models.

According to Mr MOTRENKO, "civil service reform has been one of the Ukrainian Government’s key priorities on the path to the country’s European integration". In his opinion, the project will help Ukrainian government implement recommendations of the EU and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and SIGMA, specifically, with regard to good governance and institutional reforms, starting up regular assessment reviews of Ukrainian public administration. It will also contribute to increased public awareness of the role of modern civil service, promoting the principles and values of a modern professional civil service.

In addition, the project will support the development of functional reviews of central executive agencies and explore needs and possibilities for introducing modern information technology/e-governance tools into the work of civil service in Ukraine as well as government institutions in general.

Ambassador HAMILL praised Ukraine’s willingness to pursue public administration reforms, allowing better dialogue between the state and its citizens. “Many Ukrainians live in Ireland and we very welcome their contribution to Ireland’s recent successes. This new project will strengthen our bilateral links to our mutual advantage,” Ambassador HAMILL said.

In 2006, the Government of Ireland offered assistance in the area of Civil Service Reform to Ukraine. The Ukrainian counterparts, namely the Main Department of Civil Service of Ukraine, welcomed the offer with much interest and expressed willingness to act as counterpart in project’s implementation.

UNDP, which takes the lead among UN Agencies in the area of democratic governance and institutional reforms, was identified as key international partner to facilitate the overall project implementation and delivery of expected outcomes and activities. UNDP brings in a considerable international experience in the area of public administration reform as well as provides a neutral platform for policy discussions and open dialogue on key directions within Ukraine’s reform process.

Photos of the ceremony are here

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UNDP is the UN's global development network, advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. We are on the ground in 166 countries, working with them on their own solutions to global and national development challenges. As they develop local capacity, they draw on the people of UNDP and our wide range of partners.

One of three pillars of UNDP Ukraine’s Country Programme Action Plan for 2006-10 is the “Good Governance Programme” with its three components: Administrative Reform and Civil Society Empowerment, Access to Justice and Human Rights and Gender Equality.

The project will follow the Standard Basic Assistance Agreement signed between UNDP and the Government of Ukraine and will be in line with the UN Development Assistance Framework and the UNDP Country Programme Action Plan for 2006-10.

For more information, please, contact Sergiy GRYTSENKO, UNDP Ukraine Communications Officer, tel: (+380 44) 253 93 63