On 9 November 1976, the Ukrainian Public Group to Promote the Implementation of the Helsinki Accords, widely known as the Ukrainian Helsinki Group, was established. Its creation was announced by writer and human rights activist Mykola Rudenko.
The Group monitored the Soviet authorities’ compliance with the human rights provisions of the 1975 Helsinki Final Act and documented violations of fundamental rights and freedoms in Soviet Ukraine. It informed the international community about political persecution, restrictions on freedom of expression and conscience, and the suppression of Ukrainian national and cultural rights.
Despite arrests, imprisonment, intimidation and exile, members of the Group continued their human rights work. The Ukrainian Helsinki Group became one of the most important organized forms of non-violent resistance to the Soviet totalitarian regime and contributed to the development of Ukraine’s human rights movement and struggle for independence.
This anniversary honours the courage of those who defended human dignity, freedom and the right of the Ukrainian people to live without political repression.