The mechanism of anonymous reporting of offenses: Ukrainian military personnel need protection of their rights

Military personnel are the basis of the security and stability of our state, especially during military operations. They sacrifice their health, life and well-being to protect citizens and our national interests. Therefore, protecting the rights of people in uniform is not only a moral duty of society, but also an important condition for ensuring the effectiveness and combat effectiveness of the Armed Forces.

Recently, the leadership of the country increasingly emphasizes the importance of reviewing the approach to the management of human capital in the army, especially in the context of protecting the rights of servicemen. This is a critically important aspect, because the state of legal protection of the military directly affects the defense capability of the state. To date, the first steps have already been taken to create institutions that will specialize in protecting the rights of military personnel. For example, the Ministry of Defense created the Central Office for the Protection of Servicemen, which is supposed to respond to cases of offenses in the army.

However, despite positive efforts and attempts, service in the army is often accompanied by the violation of the rights of soldiers by the command or comrades in the service. That is, our defenders themselves are defenseless. At the same time, servicemen refrain from filing complaints due to repression, harassment and even fear for their own safety. This is due to the fact that commanders can abuse their official position, threaten subordinates or punish them in various ways.

Analyzing open sources of information and talking to military personnel, it can be noted that military personnel have no desire to sue their military unit. As a rule, this is usually not beneficial for the military himself, because the management finds ways to influence him, for example, deprives him of leave, bonus or salary, changes the scope of functional duties, sends him to more difficult and secure positions, etc.

A military serviceman can report a violation of rights in cases where he himself suffered from the arbitrariness of the commander, witnessed a violation, or wants to report corruption in his unit. Theoretically, there are already various mechanisms for this, but in practice they are ineffective because they lack anonymity. The main way for servicemen to report violations of their rights is to file a report in the name of their supervisor, however, as a rule, it remains unaddressed, but has negative consequences.

When commanders or other military personnel make illegal decisions, perform illegal actions or fail to fulfill their duties, violating the rights and legitimate interests of other military personnel, the latter may also appeal to the higher command or to the military law enforcement service. This service is authorized to conduct official inspections for the presence of violations, but the investigation of the incident again rests with the unit commander, which creates a conflict of interest and exposes the serviceman to some risk. The main problem with all these mechanisms of complaints is that the commander becomes aware of the complaint itself and its author, which automatically creates danger for the life of the serviceman.

There is also an opportunity to contact the “hotline” of the IOU or institutions independent of the military system, such as the Human Rights Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, pretrial investigation bodies, or the military administration. However, in practice, such appeals rarely help servicemen to protect their rights, they often do not know whether they have the right to appeal to these institutions and how to do it. In addition, the commander often finds out about the applicant, which can lead to even more negative consequences for the latter.

Theoretically, it is possible to anonymously report a crime by contacting the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI), but for most servicemen, this method is also ineffective. Information from the applicant must contain specific facts about the degree of the crime (medium, serious or especially serious), relate to a specific person and fall under the jurisdiction of the SBI. The problem is that military personnel may not know how to properly determine whether an offense falls under the jurisdiction of the SBI. Without compliance with these requirements, his appeals will not be considered.

Also, in theory, there are other legal ways to protect the rights of servicemen who report wrongdoing. According to the law “On ensuring the safety of persons participating in criminal proceedings”, a military person who has become a witness or a victim can be transferred or seconded to another military unit if his life and health are in real danger. In the event of pressure on a serviceman after submitting an application, the authorized person has the right to make a decision on the application of such security measures.

Unfortunately, practice shows that such measures are used extremely rarely. During the last ten years of the war, only in isolated cases were military personnel who reported wrongdoing transferred or seconded. It should be noted that there are no statistics on the use of such security measures, which makes it even more difficult to assess their effectiveness. It also remains unclear how exactly this procedure should function: how an authorized person chooses a new military unit to transfer a soldier, and whether the commander has the right to refuse such a transfer.

So, our defenders themselves need protection! The need to introduce a system of anonymous reporting of offenses for military personnel is quite obvious.

What opportunities will the system of anonymous notification of offenses provide

1. The system will allow servicemen to voice their grievances without fear of reprisals, their own safety and career, which is critical to creating an atmosphere of trust and openness in the army. The possibility of anonymous reporting of rights violations will contribute to increasing the confidence of the military in the system. Soldiers who know that their complaints will be handled without risk to themselves will be more inclined to report problems and violations. This will help to create a transparent and fair system of service, where every soldier will feel protected and confident that his rights will be respected and protected.
2. The implementation of anonymous notification of violations of the rights of military personnel should contribute to the fight against corruption and abuse of power. When the military can report wrongdoing without the risk of being exposed, it will create an additional mechanism to control the actions of the command, help to detect and prevent corrupt practices that can negatively affect the morale and effectiveness of the army.
3. Anonymous reports can become a catalyst for positive changes in the military system as a whole – they will reveal not only individual cases of violations, but also systemic problems in the army. This will contribute to the improvement of service conditions, raising the standards of compliance with military rights and creating more effective control mechanisms. By receiving anonymous complaints, military leadership will be forced to take corrective action and improve service conditions, which will contribute to a healthier and safer environment for all military personnel.
4. The possibility of anonymous reporting of rights violations will contribute to the psychological comfort of military personnel, as well as their family members, which is also an important factor. They will be able to report problems without fear of negative consequences, which will allow them to focus on fulfilling their duties without unnecessary stress. It is important to remember that the psychological comfort of the military is an important factor in their combat effectiveness.
5. Anonymous messages will reduce the level of conflicts and disciplinary violations in military units. This, in turn, will promote stability and coherence in military teams, which is very important for the effective performance of combat missions.
6. The possibility of anonymous reporting of rights violations will contribute to motivation in service delivery and the preservation of professional personnel. Military personnel who experience justice are less likely to discharge. This allows you to retain experienced and qualified specialists, which is important for maintaining a high level of professionalism in the army. Low staff turnover reduces the cost of training new soldiers and ensures stability in military units.

Thus, decent legal protection and equality before the law will create the basis for a fair and safe environment where people in uniform can perform their duties without fear of undue harassment (including physical) or discrimination. Protecting the rights of military personnel helps to increase their morale and motivation – military personnel who feel that their rights are protected are more motivated to perform their duties. Therefore, it is extremely important to create a new independent and anonymous mechanism for anonymous reporting of offenses in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It should ensure the protection of whistleblowers and facilitate more effective detection and investigation.

The serviceman must be sure that, after his notification, the verification will be organized in such a way that the command will not be able to establish his identity, and in case of security risks, he must be guaranteed the possibility of transfer to another unit. In addition, this mechanism should provide for the possibility to leave applications for receiving psychological, medical or legal assistance, since these services are now extremely necessary for our defenders.

A motivated army is a key factor in ensuring national security and stability. A high level of combat capability, retention of professional personnel, support of morale, reduction in the level of conflicts and disciplinary violations, as well as a positive image in society – all this is the result of high motivation of military personnel. Therefore, the state leadership should do everything possible to create a strong and effective Armed Forces, not forgetting that according to the Constitution of Ukraine, a person, his life and health, honor and dignity, inviolability and security are recognized as the highest social value in the state.