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Month: November 2020

09.11.20

This year, a woman asked the Right to Protection for help for a friend of her husband – he still had a passport of a citizen of the USSR and did not receive a Ukrainian passport.

In March 2020, our staff contacted this man.

His name is Pavlo.  He was born in Georgia, from where he moved to Kharkiv in 1977. In 1990 he received a passport of a citizen of the USSR.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, in 1993 the authorized bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine added the inscription “citizen of Ukraine” to his identity document.  However, the man never received a passport of a citizen of Ukraine.

Mr. Pavlo lives in a hospice. He recently had his leg amputated and needed immediate help, which was virtually impossible to obtain without valid documents.

After a detailed study of the situation, the lawyer of the Right to Protection CF assisted the man in preparing documents for applying to the State Migration Service of Ukraine (hereinafter – SMSU) with a statement on establishing citizenship of Ukraine. A joint visit was made with the staff of the SMSU of the Industrial District of Kharkiv to the hospice to receive the application documents from Pavlo and the documents attached to it.  After the procedure, Mr. Pavlo received a certificate of registration of a person as a citizen of Ukraine.

With tears of undisguised joy in his eyes, Pavlo finally received the long-awaited passport of a citizen of Ukraine. From now on, he has the opportunity to enjoy social, economic, political and all other types of civil rights and freedoms that every citizen has.

It was result of the coordinated cooperation of the Right to Protection CF with the State Migration Service of Ukraine in Kharkiv region, and thanks to the incredible efforts and humanity of the management of SMSU of the Industrial District in Kharkiv – Ms. Kostromina Larysa and Ms. Rybalko Yuliya, who took all necessary steps to help Pavlo obtain a passport of a citizen of Ukraine.

We express our sincere gratitude to the employees of the State Migration Service of Ukraine in the Kharkiv region for effective cooperation in reducing statelessness!

06.11.20

Rimma was born in Horlivka in 1996. She knows neither her mom, nor dad. Immediately after the birth, Rimma’s mother left her without any documents to a grandmother. And since then it was the granny who became the girl’s dearest person.

Why can’t Rimma get a passport?

As of today, Horlivka is under occupation. Grandmother had a passport of a citizen of Ukraine and the address of residence registration. Rimma repeatedly applied to the Migration Service for a passport of a citizen of Ukraine, as she lived in Ukraine all the time from when she was born. In response, the girl heard only refusals, as her citizenship was being unconfirmed. To obtain citizenship, she must confirm in court the fact that her grandmother lived on the territory of the Ukrainian SSR until 1990, but all the documents that can confirm this remained in the uncontrolled territory of Ukraine.

Rimma is a stateless person, but it is impossible to obtain an official certificate which confirms this fact, as well as an identity document. In Ukraine, there is no clear procedure for processing documents from stateless people. Rimma first received her birth certificate at the age of 21. And now she needs to get a passport, without which she cannot exercise any civil rights. She has a family – two children and a husband with whom she even cannot  marry due to lack of a passport.

For now, living with rights is a big dream for Rimma. She can’t enroll her children in kindergarten, she can’t sign a declaration with a doctor to receive medical services for her family, she can’t work at the official job, she can’t get a bank card. In fact, without documents Rimma can’t do anything.

In support of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Global Campaign to Combat Statelessness #IBelong (#Яісную) The Right to Protection CF tells stories of 5 different people who have faced the problem of statelessness in Ukraine. In fact, there are thousands of such stories across the country. And they all bring together completely different people who, under certain circumstances, live without documents. We want to address this issue and help solve it!

06.11.20

How to reduce the chances of emergency situations in Eastern Ukraine?

The 3P Consortium knows how. Being established in 2019 specifically for this purpose by the group of Ukrainian and international non-governmental organizations: ACTED, IMPACT Initiatives, Right to Protection CF, Danish, Austrian and Ukrainian Red Cross, 3P works everyday to reduce environmental and man-made risks and to prevent emergencies. Project is funded by the European Union within the framework of Disaster Risk Reduction in Eastern Ukraine project

It is high time to talk about the achievements of the Consortium in the third quarter of 2020!

Click to download the .pdf Risk Reduction Consortium newsletter in English

05.11.20

On October 30, 2020 in Chernihiv, Ukraine, Right to Protection CF held a workshop «Common action of public authorities, legal aid centers and the public sector in support of asylum seekers in Ukraine»

Event was attended by the representatives of the State Migration Service of Ukraine and the Department of the State Migration Service in Chernihiv Oblast, the State Border Guard Service, the Chernihiv City Center for Free Secondary Legal Aid, the Regional Center for Free Secondary Legal Aid in the Chernihiv Region, the Chernihiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office, and the Chernihiv Temporary Holding Facility as well as the Ripky District Court of Chernihiv Region.

During the Discussion such issues were spoken out:

  • Peculiarities of interaction of public authorities with the secondary free legal aid centers and human rights organizations in cases for asylum seekers, which are located in temporary holding facilities for foreigners during the quarantine operation;
  • difficulties for governmental institutions in the process of processing the cases of asylum seekers;
  • The ways to solve the existing problems.

The seminar was held in a mixed format – most participants were physically present on the event, some joined through the use of videoconferencing tools, which became a new and interesting practice for participants. They were actively involved in the discussion.

According to Oleksandra Lukyanenko, a lawyer at Right to Protection CF, such meetings are a very important tool for establishing joint action with public authorities, free legal aid centers and human rights organizations in our common sphere of providing aid to the asylum seekers in Ukraine.

Project Manager, Lawyer at R2P Oleksandra Zhurko noted that such workshops are useful as they provide an opportunity to meet directly with all parties, as everyone are able to get answers to their questions in the shortest time possible.

05.11.20

On October 29, within the framework of the project for the integration of refugees Right to Protection CF organized an online training with experts from various businesses.

The purpose of the event was to acquaint the beneficiaries with business representatives, to give practical advice. It was held in the format of group coaching in 4 business areas at once: restaurant business, project management, translations and real estate.

Mashraf Khaidarov, owner of Mazza_cafe_halal, spoke about his successful experience of integration into society and doing business in Ukraine. Mashraf is a refugee from Tajikistan and has the status of a person with protection. He managed to win a grant from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) program, thanks to which he was able to open a small business – cheburechnaya (Kavkaz self-service type of small cafe – edit. note).

«In the business plan, I wrote everything down to the smallest details: location, product, miscalculations to every cent. And most importantly – for whom I will do it, who is my client. This business grant helped me to start, was a perfect basis, and then I began to collect money and plan a larger-scale business», 

–  Mashraf mentioned during his speech.

In his opinion, Ukraine is a favorable country for doing business. During the quarantine period, Mazza_cafe_halal were able to increase their profits and open 2 new points.

Igor Bilyk, Project Manager Coordinator at SoftServe IT company gave practical recommendations on how one can improve their life and systematize the workflow by using project management tools.

«The project manager needs to consider a large number of parameters in order to arrive at the desired goal. As in life, in project management it is necessary to be responsible, proactive, energetic, analyzing»,

– Igor shared.

Exclusively for the event participants, SoftServe provided 2 training certificates for the course in HTML / CSS / JavaScript Fundamentals. The first certificate was handed during the meeting, and the second will be given based on the results of the creative task.

Igor Zagrebnoy, CEO at i-translation.pro and Money Coach spoke about how one can make good money as a freelance translator.

«Nobody wants a cheap translation, everyone wants a high-quality and fast one,» 

– says Igor

Speaker advises to look for clients all the time, everywhere, even when one just starts their own business. The expert also emphasized that it is important to have your own specialization and motivated the participants of the event:

«Taking absolutely all the orders you get is just not profitable. … The law of the Universe is: the client whom you can serve a quality product once will then always buy from you!»

– Igor said. 

Elena Zvonareva, CEO at the Kub Real Estate Agency and a Business Coach also shared her experience.

«You can master the profession of a realtor without special education. In this sphere, recommendations are important, not certificates. The client always goes to the personality of the realtor, or to the atmosphere of the agency, and not to pieces of paper»

– Elena shared.

R2P thanks the speakers and companies who supported the event, thereby showing a high level of openness and corporate social responsibility!

You can also view the full version of the online meeting recording

04.11.20

Olena was born in Abkhaz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in 1977. Her childhood was far from happy because of an armed conflict that took place in her native land in 1989. As a teenager, Olena was forced to flee from war to Ukraine.

In 2010, the woman received a certificate from the Georgian consulate stating that she was not a citizen of this country. In 2011, Olena received a permanent residence permit in Ukraine as a stateless person. Today, this certificate is valid and Olena legally resides in Ukraine.

Olena lived in Horlivka for several years, and in 2014 she had to to move again. The conflict forced her to move to a new city in Ukrainian-controlled territory.

Olena dreams to become a citizen of Ukraine and has all the legal rights for it, as she has been living in Ukraine continuously for the last five years.

Today, it is not possible for Olena to obtain such a certificate, as all the case materials remain in uncontrolled Horlivka. To obtain a new certificate, Ms. Olena must first come to Georgia and pay the consular fee. Her identity must be confirmed by at least two Georgian citizens. In addition, the woman lost her birth certificate, and its duplicate simply does not exist. The circle is closed…

Does Olena feel happy?

Undoubtedly, the lack of a passport does not allow you to live fully and realize all your desires. But Elena has six wonderful children, which are her greatest happiness today. All of them were born on the territory of Ukraine and have birth certificates. Last year, with the help of a lawyer of the Right to Protection CF the eldest daughter already received a passport of a citizen of Ukraine

But unfortunately, Olena herself continues to live in the status of a stateless person…

In support of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Global Campaign to Combat Statelessness #IBelong (#Яісную) Right to Protection CF tells stories of 5 different people who have faced the problem of statelessness in Ukraine. In fact, there are thousands of such stories across the country. And they all bring together completely different people who, under certain circumstances, live without documents. We want to address this issue and help solve it!

02.11.20

Natalia is a happy mother of five wonderful children: Adeline, Arsen, Ivan, Carolina and Diana. The family belongs to the Roma minority. Until 2014, they all lived in the city of Yasynuvata in the Donetsk region, but after the start of the conflict, the family immediately moved to Mariupol.

What sets this family apart from others?

Neither the woman nor her children ever had passports and birth certificates. That is, no documents that would say: yes, these people actually exist. Natalia’s parents did not make documents for her. She, in turn, was unable to issue birth certificates for her five children, who were born in what is now beyond the control of the Ukrainian government. Natalia really wanted a decent life for the children. That they exist in the world not only physically but also legally.

The woman turned to the Right to Protection CF for help, with the words:


“I want my children to go to school; I don’t want the road of life to lead them to prison.”

Natalia understood that an undocumented person is a an out of society human being, that is deprived of the opportunity to work, study and be useful to others.

Lawyers of the Right to Protection have started a struggle for a dignified life for women and their children. Six lawsuits were initiated. Eventually, all five children received birth certificates. Natalia herself is currently undergoing the procedure of acquiring citizenship.

However, the problems did not end there. After receiving birth certificates, children continue to face discrimination and denial of public services. They are denied access to the education system, they are not enrolled in technical schools and colleges, medical institutions do not sign declarations with them, they cannot officially get a job. And all this because the migration service does not issue a passport to their mother.

Natalia’s children are required to obtain identification numbers at the tax office and confirm their registration of residence, which cannot be done without a passport. The migration service of Mariupol is also not hurrying up to issue passports to Natalia’s children, various reasons appear all the time: lack of legislation, desire, time, etc. Meanwhile, winter is coming, which will be a horror for  the whole family. It is not certain if they will survive it. Lack of documents is an obstacle to make a rental agreement, as well as to the ability to work and pay for these apartments.

Natalia and her children are waiting and believe that their problem will be finally solved successfully!

In support of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Global Campaign to Combat Statelessness #IBelong (#Яісную) The Right to Protection CF tells stories of 5 different people who have faced the problem of statelessness in Ukraine. In fact, there are thousands of such stories across the country. And they all bring together completely different people who, under certain circumstances, live without documents. We want to address this issue and help solve it!

Read more stories:

2/5: To become a citizen to live a happy life

3/5: To have a citizenship is to have the rights

4/5: To be citizen to receive medical treatment

5/5: Roma people (video)

02.11.20

Dialogue projects, despite the effectiveness of this tool, are always a challenge for those who conduct and organize them, because of the difficulty to keep all the sides with opposing views included in the process. 

However, such activities allow not only to obtain additional information, but to look at the problem or situation differently. The participant of one of our dialogue projects shared with us his thoughts and impressions from the dialogues. So we decided to also share it with you.

«Last year I got acquainted with the dialogues. Those are not just talks about “how is the weather today”, but the main goal is to understand people, each other. And this is a very interesting process that leads to deep self-reflections (re-awareness).  But it’s not that simple. I don’t advise anyone to dive deep while trying to talk to people, because everyone has their own depth and you can dive way too deep. That’s not the most pleasant. But still, it works. The process gives the opportunity to understand and accept yourself and others.

[…]

We once discussed this with our family and realized that it is very difficult to explain what dialogue is and what is its impact. When you try to clearly explain you then got asked: “What is the result? And what’s the point? And which method?” And the answer is not so simple, because different people have their own ideas and it is difficult to explain that this is the thing that changes you as a person and not the situation around. In order for the situation to change, it is necessary for everyone involved to change it. And you’re not alone.

[…]

Dialogue is a tool. Being inspired by the process, I couldn’t understand why one would not easily come to the dialogue? Why wouldn’t one look for points of contact? How to focus on things which divide rather than unite. And the answer to all such questions lies on the surface. There should always be two sides in the dialogue, if one side vanishes, it then becomes a monologue. And it is perfectly normal not to continue discussion if such a decision is made. 

[…] 

After all, either the two sides of the dialogue are trying hard and looking for a common solution, or everyone dictates their terms and the stronger one wins (although usually in such case this results not in a win-lose, but into a lose-lose).

[…]

The result is achieved during the process. I came to the conclusion that this is exactly how it works. But there is a catch: the goal cannot become an end in itself. For example, people do not climb up the mountain just to visit the mountain. People do it to walk the long path, see the horizon and move on after all.

[…]

The way to achieve a goal is more expensive, because the end point will always change if development, not stagnation is a desired path. It is necessary to plan and look at life not by tasks and goals, but by the way. And be prepared for the fact that in the process goals may change. Always check them to see if they fit your purpose and mission. And most importantly, the goals must not become an end but a continuation of Your path.»