Linkedin Facebook-f Instagram Youtube

Olena Protsenko

Olena Protsenko is a Ukrainian attorney and an expert on mental health and human rights. 

For 4 years, she did strategic litigation of the rights of persons with mental disabilities in Ukraine. Olena has 17 successful cases in the European Court of Human Rights. 

In 2019, she received the Fulbright scholarship and obtained an LL.M. in international human rights law at Indiana University. Olena is currently a Post-Doctorate research associate in comparative mental health law at University of Virginia and a consultant on mental health and human rights for the World Health Organization in Ukraine. Olena joined the Board of Global Initiative in Psychiatry since 2021.

The Federation Global Initiative on Psychiatry cannot remain silent:

Who protects those who protect others?

In a statement issued on December 10, 2025, the Trump administration announced its opposition to the resolution “Safety and Security of Humanitarian Personnel and Protection of UN Personnel.“ The resolution, which emphasizes the need to comply with international humanitarian law, addresses the need to ensure the safety of humanitarian workers and UN personnel in conflict zones. It also calls for accountability for attacks on these workers.
 
While the United States claims to take the safety and security of humanitarian personnel seriously, it cannot support this resolution, which it considers purely symbolic. It sees it as a waste of resources and moreover refuses to contribute to the promotion of a radical gender ideology, such as that promoted by the United Nations. An ideology that, according to the Trump administration, undermines true equality between biological men and women.
 
President Trump, a man who used his wealth and status to avoid military service, is thus disparaging doctors, nurses, and other humanitarian workers who work in conflict zones like Gaza or Ukraine. Among which there are undoubtedly ‘real men and women’.
 
The Trump administration’s full eccentric reasoning can be read here:
Read the U.S. Explanation of Vote