On September 4th, 2026, Ivan Franko National University of Lviv was visited by Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets. The key objective of this visit was the conversation between the Ombudsman and the student community, before which Dmytro Lubinets met with the Rector, academician of the NAS of Ukraine, Professor Roman Gladyshevskii, as well as with the representatives of the University’s administration and the heads of student organisations, where they discussed the prospects of future cooperation in the fields of human rights, education, and science.
During the meeting, the parties discussed a possibility of engaging students and alumni of the University in internships in the Office of Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights and its regional representative offices.
The participants of the meeting paid particular attention to possibilities of utilising scientific and expert potential of Lviv University for studying ongoing issues in the field of human rights. Dmytro Lubinets also emphasised the plans for closer cooperation with the student community because the youth, in his opinion, has the courage to speak openly about societal issues and raise questions that Ukrainians are anxious about.
Thus, in the University, Dmytro Lubinets had a conversation with the students by turning his visit into an interesting and vivid conversation in the “question and answer” format.
The Rector Roman Gladyshevskii introduced the honorary guest to the students. “The academic community highly appreciates the work of Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, and that is why we are pleased to welcome Dmytro Lubinets in Ivan Franko National University of Lviv. Certainly, protecting the rights of servicemen and veterans of the Russo-Ukrainian war, searching for our prisoners of war and those missing in action are of paramount importance to Ukrainians today, and they are a part of the Ombudsman’s responsibility. So let us support the important initiatives and be ready to participate in joint human rights, educational, and scientific projects”, Roman Gladyshevskii emphasised and presented Dmytro Lubinets with a certificate of gratitude for the significant contribution in protecting human rights and freedoms, active advocacy work, and building civil society.
In the beginning of his meeting with the youth, Dmytro Lubinets told them about his own professional attitude and shared the advice on creating a successful career. “My family was not rich, so I didn’t receive any preferential treatment or additional leverages for moving along in life. At the same time, I understood that if I want to be successful, it primarily depends on me. I hope that our meeting will inspire you to move forward and will convince you that a person can conquer any summit if they set a high goal for themselves and work systematically in order to achieve it. The only barrier in life truly is the wish to not improve oneself. Don’t be afraid to dream and to strive. Even the boldest dreams come true!”, stressed Dmytro Lubinets.
Later on, he explained to the audience his activity as the Obmudsman. Dmytro Lubinets emphasised the priority tasks of Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights according to the wartime challenges. Among those directions – protection of the rights of Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilian hostages, as well as repatriating Ukrainian citizens, especially children, from the occupied territories. Dmytro Lubinets also stressed on the importance of international advocacy of Ukraine’s interests and development of regional representative offices of the Ombudsman’s Office for operational assistance to the citizens.
At the interactive session, the guest responded to countless questions from the students. The discussion spanned over a wide range of relevant human rights issues. In particular, legal aspects of human rights of those who are located at the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, prospects of implementing legislative changes aimed at protection of the rights of servicemen, and practices of hiring people with disabilities were discussed. Particular attention the audience paid to new challenges for human rights protection posed by rapid growth of artificial intelligence.
Among all the topics discussed, issues of counteracting child maltreatment, supporting persons who suffered from abuse, and other relevant questions in the field of protecting human rights and liberties amid modern societal challenges were raised.
“Try to take into account at least a part of my advice and don’t perceive me as an official, but rather as a colleague who has a bit more experience and sincerely wanted to share it with you today. Take small steps that will amplify you as specialists everyday. I was a student myself back in the day and I know that these are probably the best years of your lives. So please take as many positive things out of this period as possible”, Dmytro Lubinets said, summing up the meeting.
The authors of the most unexpected and interesting questions were awarded commemorative gifts from the Ombudsman. At the end of the meeting, he himself received gifts from the students – items with Lviv University logo.
