In each state, there is a body responsible for the security of the country as a whole. This article will focus on Ukraine. NSDC - what is it? When was this body created, and what are its main functions?
NSDC - what is it?
1996 is considered the year of formation of the defense and security agency in Ukraine. On August 30 this year, Leonid Kuchma issued a decree. Before that, there were two separate councils in the country: one was responsible for security, the other was involved in defense issues.
NSDC - what is it? What are the functions of this body, and what powers is it vested with today? Consider these issues in more detail.
The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine is an abbreviation of the National Security and Defense Council. This is a special body under the President, coordinating events in the above issues. It is worth noting that the decisions adopted by the Council are implemented exclusively by presidential decrees. The main goal of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine is coordination of actions, as well as control of executive authorities.
Body structure
The head of the National Security and Defense Council, according to the Ukrainian legislation, is the President. The second most important person in this body is the secretary, who is vested with the following powers:
- NSDC activity planning;
- submission to the President for consideration of draft decisions of the body;
- organization and conduct of meetings;
- monitoring the implementation of decisions made at meetings;
- coordination of the working bodies of the NSDC;
- coverage of the department’s position in contacts with other authorities, political parties, public organizations, as well as the press.
In the entire history of the department, 12 people replaced its secretary. By the way, in 2005 she was occupied by the current president of Ukraine - Petro Poroshenko. Today, the Secretary of the NSDC is Alexander Turchinov (since December last year).
The structure of the NSDC, in addition to the President and the Secretary, may include:
- Prime Minister of Ukraine;
- Minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs;
- head of the SBU;
- Attorney General
- Foreign Minister of the country;
- other government officials.
As of the beginning of 2015, the NSDC of Ukraine has 16 members.
Functions and Powers
The body is endowed with fairly broad powers. In particular, the NSDC conducts its research in terms of improving the state policy of national security and submits to the President its recommendations and proposals for implementation. At the same time, the body attracts specialists from various fields to this work (these may be state institutions, research institutes, universities, etc.). The NSDC may also initiate the development of relevant legislative documents.
In addition, the Council is authorized to monitor the activities of all authorities, including local ones. It is also worth noting that the powers of this body are significantly expanded in conditions of martial law or a state of emergency. In such situations, it is designed to protect the country's population from military and other threats.
The main forms of work of the NSDC
In order to more correctly answer the question "NSDC - what is it", one should find out the specifics and main forms of work of this body.
The main form through which the National Security and Defense Council realizes its activity is meetings. At each of them, all members of the Council personally vote for themselves. In no case is delegation of their authority to other persons allowed.
People’s deputies, heads of committees of the Verkhovna Rada, as well as its head (although they are not members of the Council) can take part in the meetings. According to the modern legislation of Ukraine, at least two-thirds of its votes are required to make a decision at the NSDC. After that, the decision (if there were enough votes) is authorized by the decree of the President (by the way, this is discussed in the Constitution of Ukraine, in article 107).
In order to comprehensively work out especially complex problems that require the involvement of specialists from various fields, the NSDC is authorized in some cases to create temporary (situational) bodies. This may be an advisory body or an interdepartmental commission. Separate provisions are prepared to outline the terms of reference of such bodies.
It will also be worth mentioning that the work of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine is funded exclusively from the state budget.
Coverage of the NSDC and public relations
The NSDC apparatus is represented by a whole list of various departments, divisions and sectors, each of which performs its important function. An important role in this series is played by the information and analytical service. Its activity is especially important in modern conditions, when the so-called ATO is carried out on the territory of two eastern regions of the country. The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine through this service maintains communication with the public, in particular with the press, and also informs the population about the most important news.
The information and analytical service (or center, as it is often called), in addition to a purely information function, also performs analytical and prognostic functions, studying the situation in the country or its individual regions. Based on this analysis, the service submits relevant proposals to the NSDC.
To date, the center’s speaker is Andrei Lysenko. The National Security and Defense Council in its person constantly reports to the public and informs on a situation in a zone of a military conflict. The information and analytical center daily prepares its reports, covering the activities and all the news of the NSDC. By the way, one of the latest decisions of the Council was the decision to appeal to the UN with a request to send a peacekeeping contingent to the conflict zone in the Donbass.
Andrey Lysenko - speaker of the National Security and Defense Council
Andrey Lysenko was born in 1968 in the city of Donetsk. He is a military journalist by profession , and a colonel by military rank . In 1996 he graduated from the Kiev Military Humanitarian Institute (specialty - Journalism). More than ten years of his life he gave service in the Ukrainian army. In particular, Andrei Lysenko was part of the peacekeeping contingent in Iraq in 2004.
Under the previous president of Ukraine - Viktor Yanukovych - it was Andrei Lysenko who headed the press service of the Presidential Administration. The National Security and Defense Council at the beginning of last year appointed him to the post of its speaker. He successfully carries out this work to this day.
Finally...
Now you have a general idea of such a body as the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine. Obviously, the main tasks of this department are to ensure the defense capability of the state, as well as to protect the country's population in the event of external military threats or other problems. The structure of the NSDC may include various representatives of the executive branch of government, including officials of the highest rank. It is also worth noting that under martial law, the powers of the National Security and Defense Council significantly expand, and it itself becomes almost the main body in the country in such a situation.