
A state-captured ‘regulator’ is worse than no regulator at all.
—Della Reynolds, What’s the Point of the Ombudsman?

Left to right: Western Australian Ombudsman Field, Ukrainian Ombudsman Lubinets and British Ombudsman Behrens
We make final decisions on complaints that have not been resolved by the NHS in England and UK government departments [. . .] We do this fairly and without taking sides.
In its effort to focus on good governance and capacity building, the IOI supports its members in a threefold way: training, research and regional subsidies for projects [. . .]
The role of ombudsman institutions play an increasingly important role in improving public administration while making the government's actions more open and its administration more accountable to the public.

Behrens coins the collective term "a blessing of Ombuds"
The International Ombudsman Institute encouraged ‘de-escalation’ in Ukraine in March 2022
We support all efforts to achieve a de-escalation of hostilities in Ukraine.
- To speak at a conference marking International Human Rights Day on 10 December 2022
- To visit the Commissioner’s office
- To tour Kyiv and Irpin, badly affected by Russian attacks

Former Ukrainian Ombudsman Lyudmyla Denisova. Source: babel.ua
Security issues—but shared minder with Foreign Secretary
Despite the recommendations of the governments of their countries not to visit the territory of Ukraine due to the risk of war escalation and other difficulties that could arise, Field and Behrens still decided to come.
As a UK National Ombudsman I was looked after extremely well by the Ukrainian security services and my personal bodyguard, Igor, showed me a picture of him with you [Cleverly] in a similar situation a few weeks ago.

Behrens and Lubinets at the Boris Johnson plaque in Kyiv. Source: Rob Behrens, Twitter
Forget de-escalation. Slava Ukraïni!

Behrens' travel blog bannerline

European Ombudsman website bannerline
Behrens’ pro-Ukraine stance synched perfectly with that of his Australian fellow traveller, Chris Field (President of the International Ombudsman Institute). In what appears to be a faux-off-the-cuff comment made to Lubinets (the Ukrainian Ombudsman), Chris Field is stated as saying:
No one will forget what Ukraine does for Ukrainians and the world. You will win this war.
Whether Field is well informed regarding the Ukraine-Russia disparity in weapons or possesses any military expertise is unknown.

Field holding a candle at the Human Rights in Dark Hours conference, tweeted by Behrens
We return home humbled, and determined to promote the Ukrainian cause faced with a brutal, illegal, invasion in as concrete way as the world Ombudsman community can.
Johnson’s flip-flop
Johnson’s position was that the collective West, which back in February had suggested Zelensky should surrender and flee, now felt that Putin was not really as powerful as they had previously imagined.
The first thing was the revelation of the atrocities, rapes, murders, massacres, looting, indiscriminate bombings and hundreds and thousands of other war crimes committed by Russian troops in the temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories [. . .]Boris Johnson appeared in Kyiv almost without warning [. . .] Johnson brought two simple messages to Kyiv. The first is that Putin is a war criminal; he should be pressured, not negotiated with [. . .] even if Ukraine is ready to sign some agreements on guarantees with Putin, they are not [. . .] Putin was not really as powerful as they had previously imagined.
Denisova and the inventory of atrocities
Ukraine fears that some of the civilians, which include 84,000 children, will be used as hostages.
Denisova appeals to the International Ombudsman Institute

International Ombudsman Institute statement on Denisova’s visit to Vienna
The Kremlin denied accusations its troops committed war crimes in Ukraine—and tried to suggest chilling pictures of dead bodies strewn across Kyiv streets were staged by Ukraine and the West.
Denisova’s double act
Ombudsmen react to alleged ‘atrocities’
We, Ombudsmen and Chairs of Petition Committees,Reaffirm our full solidarity with Ukrainians who are the victims of a war of aggression, which is leading to acts that may be qualified as war crimes or even crimes against humanity; and [welcome] the Council of the European Union’s decision to activate the temporary protection mechanism, which grants immediate protection to Ukrainian refugees.
Every day, 700–800 of our citizens call the Commissioner's hotline to report on russian war crimes. 1,500 citizens found the courage to call the psychological helpline and tell about the most terrible crimes—sexual, torture, torture. Mass sexual crimes are tactics of the russian war to destroy the people of Ukraine.

Overall, Denisova says she held 68 meetings with high-ranking officials from various countries. These included meetings with:
- the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights;
- the UN High Commissioner for Refugees;
- the Secretary-General of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE);
- and the Secretary-General of the Vatican, to “resolve issues of assistance to Ukraine, including the provision of weapons and continued sanctions pressure on Russia”.
Ukrainian media raise concerns about Denisova’s claims
We are concerned that the Ukrainian media does not become merely a platform for the dissemination of ‘horrific details’ about wartime sex crimes instead of serving as voices in support of the gathering of evidence in relevant criminal cases and fair punishment, and spreading information about where and how to reach out to survivors of violence.
Ukrainian law enforcement officials tried to investigate Denisova’s claims on their own. They raised all appeals to doctors, statements made to police, death reports, trying to find the cases that Denisova described. However, all this work turned out to be useless [futile].

Ombudsman Denisova removed from office
[. . .] repeated failure to perform her duties related to the establishment of humanitarian corridors [and to] counteracting the deportation of adults and children from the occupied territories.
[. . .] removed from her role as Ukraine’s Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights after she received a vote of no confidence in the Ukrainian parliament which passed by a margin of 234 to 9.
Overthrow of an Ombudsman
Before Denisova took over as human rights chief in March 2018, the post had remained vacant for a year. Her predecessor, Valeriya Lutkovska, had also been dismissed.
International ombudsmen protest at Denisova’s dismissal
Human rights networks join in deploring the dismissal
Denisova’s mea culpa
I talked about terrible things in order to somehow push them to make the decisions that Ukraine and the Ukrainian people need. [. . .] I tried to achieve the goal of convincing the world to provide weapons and pressure.
At her interrogation at the Prosecutor’s Office (according to Ukrainska Pravda), Denisova explained that she “told these horrific stories because she wants Ukraine to be victorious”. Denisova agreed to repeat her confession to LB.ua journalists, in which interview she explained how she had been briefed by her sources (note the plural, emphasis added):
I told the media what the psychologists had said verbatim when working for a UNICEF psychological support line.
Who were the allegedly plural psychologists, and how had they been appointed?

Oleksandra Kvitco’s role on the hotline. Source: Meduza.io
Kvitco line
Oleksandra Kvitko wasn’t able to provide any details, including who called her or what doctors she directed the victims to. There was nothing that would indicate these victims actually existed. She said that she told her mother the stories over tea.
UNICEF’s cold feet on hotline
[. . .] never been any forcible transfer of refugees to Russia, noting that those accusations ‘are all lies’. Moskalkova said that since the beginning of the military conflict, more than 500 000 civilians from the Donbass region and Ukraine have voluntarily moved to Russia.
The program’s [sic] already over. May 15 was their [sic] last day.
Disseminating propaganda
The Ombudsman, the deputies and the decision-making staff shall be immune from legal process in respect of activities and words, spoken or written, carried out in their official capacity for the Institution [. . .] Such functional immunity shall apply also after the Ombudsman, the deputies or the decision-making staff-member leave the Institution.
Ombudswars

Tantrum time. Source: Dmytro Lubinets, Twitter
As Vice-President of IOI Europe, I played an active role in arguing that the Russian Human Rights Commission [Ombudsman] was neither independent nor impartial and that it had become a mouthpiece for Kremlin views. After agonising debates at the IOI World Board we voted by 16 votes to nil in favour of its expulsion, with 4 abstentions. This has not stopped bilateral discussions between the Ukrainian and Russian Ombuds on issues such as the exchange of prisoners. But it means Russia cannot falsely claim it has a national Ombuds scheme that meets international standards.
[. . .] failed completely to take any action against the Russians whatsoever. They remain a member, holding their grade A status as an exemplary provider. This is not acceptable, given the way that the Russian Commissioner and her team have behaved.

Lubinets meets his Russian counterpart, January 2023. Source: Twitter
In March 2022, around the time when Denisova was disseminating propaganda, Mr Behrens was understandably keen to publicly share a picture of his son on Twitter. It was to mark the occasion of his son qualifying as a barrister (an English trial lawyer). Almost all parents are rightly proud of their children, whether their offspring are academically or otherwise gifted. All hope for a wonderful future ahead for them along the path of their choosing.

Behrens’ son called to the Bar. Source: Twitter
I saw for myself [. . .] They will never give in [. . .] never surrender. Ukraine is going to win.
Ombudsman Offices are careful not to occupy a political space. [. . .] We draw our views and our strength from our casebooks. It is the evidence we examine objectively which provides the authority for our interventions.