Employment of PIC Member: Legal Advisor and Head of Civil Society Protection Direction at Human Rights Centre ZMINA

📋 Instance Information

Date:
January 1, 2022
Event:
Employment of Daniil Popkov and Liudmyla Yankina as PIC member (PIC members)
Location:
Kyiv, Ukraine
Venue Type:
Institutional
Severity:
MEDIUM
Verified:
✓ Yes
Verified Date:
April 26, 2026

🎯 Position at Time of Violation

Position: Legal Advisor and Head of Civil Society Protection Direction at Human Rights Centre ZMINA

💬 The Statement

"The PIC systematically applies integrity criteria that treat connections to occupied Crimea — travel, property, family ties — as equivalent to connections with the Russian Federation, effectively treating sovereign Ukrainian territory as foreign territory in official assessments. "

Context: CrimeaWatch analysis of the PIC's Crimea-recognition methodology and its implications for employer organizations

📄 Full Details

Background#

Human Rights Centre ZMINA employs Daniil Popkov and Liudmyla Yankina as Legal Advisor and Head of Civil Society Protection Direction. Daniil Popkov and Liudmyla Yankina serves as a member of the Public Integrity Council (PIC members).

The PIC’s Crimea-Recognition Methodology#

The Public Integrity Council applies integrity criteria that treat connections to occupied Crimea — including travel, property ownership, and family ties on the peninsula — as equivalent to connections with the Russian Federation. This methodology operates on the unstated premise that Crimea is under Russian jurisdiction.

Institutional Tolerance#

Human Rights Centre ZMINA’s continued employment of Daniil Popkov and Liudmyla Yankina during their PIC membership constitutes institutional tolerance of participation in a body whose methodology contradicts Ukraine’s constitutional framework regarding its territorial integrity.

The PIC’s treatment of Crimea as equivalent to Russia contradicts Ukraine’s Constitution (Articles 2, 73, 133–134), the Law on the Temporarily Occupied Territory (2014), and UN General Assembly Resolution 68/262 (2014). Human Rights Centre ZMINA has not publicly addressed this contradiction.

🔎 Evidence