Journalism and Challenges During Wartime with Nobel Peace Prize Recipient Oleksandra Matviichuk

In this educational program recorded on April 18, journalist Patricia Vasconcellos, Board Member of the Association of Foreign Press Correspondents in the USA (AFPC-USA) and the White House Correspondent for the Brazilian television network SBT, engages in conversation with Oleksandra Matviichuk, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, human rights lawyer, and head of the Ukraine Center for Civil Liberties (CCL). Founded in 2007, CCL has been involved in monitoring political persecutions, documenting war crimes and crimes against humanity, and advocating for victims of the Russian invasion in Ukraine.  

Oleksandra Matviichuk

Topics covered in the educational program include:

  • Matviichuk's exceptional work in defending human rights in Ukraine. 

  • An overview of the efforts and impact of the Center for Civil Liberties. 

  • Key points foreign journalists should keep in mind when covering the war in Ukraine. 

  • The potential impact of the upcoming U.S. election on the situation in Ukraine and its citizens.

  • Challenges in achieving a universal standard of human rights for all.

Matviichuk is a human rights lawyer and civil society leader based in Kyiv. She heads the non-profit organization Center for Civil Liberties, which received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022. Matviichuk also coordinates the Euromaidan SOS initiative group. The Center for Civil Liberties focuses on protecting human rights and promoting democracy in Ukraine and the OSCE region.  

Gallery photos: Right Livelihood (far and center left); Center for Civil Liberties (center right); Dasha Tenditna (far right).

Matviichuk's expertise includes creating horizontal structures to mobilize people in human rights activities against attacks on rights and freedoms. She has extensive experience documenting violations during armed conflicts and has authored numerous alternative reports for various international bodies such as the UN, the Council of Europe, the European Union, the OSCE, and the International Criminal Court. In 2016, she was honored with the Democracy Defender Award for her outstanding contribution to promoting democracy and human rights by the OSCE missions.

Matviichuk is also the recipient of the 2017 Ukraine's Woman of Courage Award from U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie L. Yovanovitch, the Hillary Rodham Clinton Award, and the 2022 Right Livelihood Award. The Financial Times named Matviichuk one of the top 25 most influential women in the world.  

AFPC-USA