VIDEO: Activities of 3P Consortium in 2020

31.12.20

In 2020 Together with the partners from 3P Consortium Right to Protection CF worked on several projects aimed on protection mainstreaming in eastern Ukraine. One of the most successful initiatives were webinars, seminars and trainings for local authorities in Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

In the video below Artem Krenbok, the Project Manager of the Right to Protection CF and Kateryna Budiyanska, the Government Relations Officer at Right to Protection tell how disaster risk reduction (DRR) framework helps to minimize existing and potential hazards.

3 questions. 3 answers on the activities of 3P Consortium in 2020

The 3P Consortium was formed in 2019 by a group of international and Ukrainian NGOs – ACTED, IMPACT Initiatives, Right to Protection CF, the Danish Red Cross, the Austrian Red Cross, and the Ukrainian Red Cross Society. With the full support of U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and under the ACTED leadership, the 3P Consortium works to support the reduction of disaster risk vulnerability in eastern Ukraine. 3P partners are united by their desire to Prevent, Prepare and Protect civilian populations and critical service systems in eastern Ukraine against the risks of natural, ecological and industrial disasters.

31.12.20

Due to the life circumstances Oleksandr became homeless. He lost his family, hope for the future and his overall health condition worsened much. The only thing he had is an old Soviet passport, which is completely useless today as there is no such country on the political map of the world.

For a long time Oleksandr has been living in a warehouse. In addition, the man had vision problems.

Oleksandr contacted us for help in order to update his documents and obtain a passport of a citizen of Ukraine, which he never had. With the help of a lawyer from the Severodonetsk office of the Right to Protection CF, the necessary documents were collected. The department of the State Migration Service of Ukraine registered Oleksandr as a citizen of Ukraine even without the need of a court procedure.

After receiving his passport, Oleksandr was able to settle in a dormitory and receive much needed medical care. These holidays a man will finally meet in the warm.

Олександр нарешті отримав паспорт громадянина України Olexandr finally received the passport of a citizen of Ukraine

29.12.20

50 thousand hryvnias of personal funds in cash – that’s the exact amount of money that can be transported across the contact line. And although the Law does not restrict citizens in transporting money through the territory of Ukraine, problems still arise from time to time.

So where do the restrictions come from?

On July 14, 2020, the Ministry of Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine issued Order № 52 “On Approval of the List and Volumes (Value / Weight / Quantity) of Restricted or Prohibited from Transportation Across the Line of Demarcation and to / from Humanitarian and Logistics Centers goods that can be attributed to personal belongings” (hereinafter – the Order). Its rules limit the amount of money that is allowed to be transported to and from the Government and Non-Government Controlled Areas of Ukraine (hereinafter – GCA and NGCA).

The amount of cash transported from the NGCA should not exceed UAH 50,000. No explanations need to be provided to border guards about the origin of these money. If the amount exceeds UAH 50,000, it is necessary to coordinate their transfer with the representatives of the coordination center.

It is also possible to transport cash in the direction of NGCA in the amount not exceeding 50,000 UAH without the documents which confirm the origin of money.

If you transport cash in foreign currency, for example, in US dollars or euros, this amount should not exceed the established limits at the rate of the National Bank of Ukraine on the day of transportation.

So, if you need to transport cash in the direction of NGCA of Ukraine in excess of the established limits, prepare the necessary documents confirming the origin of the money beforehand. As well, if you need to transport money from the NGCA in the amount of more than 50 thousand UAH, contact the coordination center to obtain the appropriate permission.

Monitors of Right to Protection CF provide assistance

If you have additional questions or if you need free legal assistance in transporting cash across the contact line through EECPs, please contact the Right to Protection CF Hotline:

Lifecell: +380935075090

Vodafone: +380995075090

Kyivstar: +380685075090

In non-working hours, holidays and weekends you can receive the most up-to-date information and answers to all questions with «Legal Advisor for IDPs» chatbots: free of charge, instantly, anywhere and from any device with an Internet connection.

Telegram:
http://bit.ly/2JettHe

Viber:
http://bit.ly/3mFwNJ7

Facebook:
http://bit.ly/3hlYQMN

29.12.20

In December 2020, the dream of our beneficiary Mr. Mykhailo finally came true – he received a passport of a citizen of Ukraine.

For 2.5 years, lawyers of the Right to Protection worked actively to help Mykhailo obtain a passport. The process was quite a complicated one: court hearings, legal inquiries, cooperation with the State Migration Service of Ukraine and the Registry Office. But the end result was totally worth it!

Mykhailo was born in the Belarus SSR, where he received a passport at the age of 16. In 1988, the man permanently moved to the Ukrainian SSR to the city of Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, where he lived and worked all his life.

Although our beneficiary was employed, the fact of permanent residence on the territory of Ukraine as of August 24, 1991 was difficult to prove in court. The SMSU representative insisted on questioning at least one witness who could confirm the man’s residence in Ukraine. Fortunately, such a witness was found and agreed to come to court. In result, the court established legal fact of Mykhailo’s residence on the territory of Ukraine as of August 24, 1991.

But then another problem emerged – COVID-19 quarantine. Due to the restrictions imposed, Mykhailo could not obtain proof of citizenship for 9 months: in early 2020, the man applied to the Bakhmut City Department of the State Migration Service for a certificate of registration as a citizen of Ukraine and received it only in September.

With the certificate, the man was finally able to apply to the SMSU for a passport, but faced difficulties due to the lack of appropriate conditions for people with disabilities. On December 2 monitor of the Right to Protection CF accompanied Mykhailo and helped him to receive a passport.

Михайло отримав паспорт Mykhailo received a passport of a citizen of Ukraine

It is probably unnecessary to remind that a passport is the most important document in the life of any person. But for Mr. Mykhailo that’s a vital document. Without a passport, he could not receive medical help and a pension, despite the fact of having 20 years of work experience. Finally, Mr. Mykhailo will feel what it is like to be a citizen and have equal opportunities and rights as all the other people!

29.12.20

The Right to Protection CF draws attention to the fact that the provisions of this bill apply not only to prisoners of war, but also to foreign civilians who are on the territory of Ukraine, and therefore considers it necessary to make such a statement.

On November 5, 2020, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine submitted to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine a draft law “On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine Concerning the Regulation of Issues Related to Prisoners of War and Internees in a Special Period” № 4327.

Convention for the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (IV Geneva Convention), adopted on 12 August 1949 in Geneva and subsequently ratified by Ukraine in 2006, shall apply to all cases of declared war or any other armed conflict which may arise between two or more States, even if one of them does not recognize the state of war, as well as to cases of partial or complete occupation.

The Convention establishes provisions for the protection of persons who, at any time and under any circumstances, find themselves, in the conflict or in occupation, under the authority of a party to the conflict or of the occupying Power of which they are not nationals.

Article 44 of the Convention stipulates that in applying the control measures provided for in this Convention, the detaining State shall not treat refugees as enemies, solely on the basis of their legal affiliation with the opposing State as they are not under the protection of any government .

At the same time, according to the Right to Protection CF, the draft law contains a number of provisions that may negatively affect the rights of asylum seekers, refugees and persons in need of additional protection.

The draft proposes additions to the grounds for banning the departure of foreigners or stateless persons from Ukraine, provided for in part two of Article 22 of the Law of Ukraine “On Legal Status of Foreigners and Stateless Persons” with the paragraph “until internment decision will be revoked”.

The project significantly expands the powers of the Security Service of Ukraine. In particular, it entrusts this body during a special period of measures to identify persons who pose a threat to the national security of Ukraine and the citizens of a state which threatens to attack or carry out aggression against Ukraine (…).

The draft gives the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine the right to decide on the internment of citizens of a state that threatens to attack or carry out aggression against Ukraine, who, according to the Security Service of Ukraine, are a threat to the national security of Ukraine or connected to such attack or aggression.

In this regard, the Right to Protection CF considers it necessary to state that in the event of the adoption of this bill there is a high probability that the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms may be violated, namely:

The right to liberty and security of person provided for in Article 5 of the European Convention;
The right to privacy provided for in Article 8 of the European Convention;
The right to freedom of movement provided for in Article 4 of Protocol No. 4 to the European Convention.

In addition, the adoption of Bill № 4327 may result in a breach of the guarantees set out in Articles 35, 43 and 44 of the IV Geneva Convention. The draft law does not contain any safeguards against the internment of civilian citizens of the Russian Federation who are refugees or persons in need of additional protection or seekers of protection, which is directly contrary to the provisions of Article 44 IV of the Geneva Convention.

The Right to Protection CF believes that the project should be brought in line with Ukraine’s international obligations under the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, in particular, refugees, persons in need of additional protection and protection seekers should be excluded out of the regulation of this bill.

28.12.20

On December 15, 2020, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted in the second reading and as a whole the draft Law of Ukraine “On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2021”. This law is particularly interesting because it deals with the financing of important national programs which directly affect the rights of internally displaced persons and victims of armed conflict.

It will be appropriate to compare the expenditure parts of both the Law of Ukraine “On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2020” (Annex 3) and the Law of Ukraine “On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2021” (Annex 3). In connection with the COVID-19 global pandemic in April and for the rest of 2020, the Law of Ukraine “On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2020” was substantially amended, which resulted in redistribution of funds between different governmental programs.

It is necessary to take into comparison the changes in the expenditure part of the state budget for 2020. The texts of the draft law on the state budget for 2021 for the first reading and after the proposals processing for the second reading are also a subject for comparison.

So what’s new in the law on the state budget for 2021, how is it comparable with a similar law for 2020 in the context of internally displaced persons and armed conflict?

The key changes are:

Increased funding for the state program for the payment of monetary compensation to victims, whose houses (apartments) were destroyed as a result of an emergency caused by the armed aggression of the Russian Federation to 114 million UAH.
Subventions from the state budget to local budgets for the implementation of measures to support the conflict-affected territories in eastern Ukraine were increased to 125 million UAH.
A new state program has been introduced to ensure proper and safe conditions for entry and exit to the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine – 267 million UAH.
New program for the reintegration of youth from the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, the temporarily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol – 30 million UAH (although such a program appeared only between the first and second readings).
Lack of funding for the “Affordable Housing” state program (it was reduced with the April State Budget amendments and will not be renewed in 2021).
Lack of funding for subventions from the state budget to local budgets for the implementation of the project “Housing for Internally Displaced Persons”.

For more information, see the comparison table (in Ukrainian).

Another change that can significantly affect the rights and interests of a large number of people is the lack of funding for measures to implement court decisions guaranteed by the state.

According to the draft Law of Ukraine “On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2021”, which was submitted for the first reading, 200 million UAH was provided for the implementation of this program. However, based on the results of the consideration of the draft law in the second reading and in general, the allocation of funds for the implementation of court decisions was abolished altogether.

The problem of non-enforcement of court decisions in Ukraine is not an isolated one. More than half of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights against Ukraine concern non-enforcement of court decisions for which the authorities in Ukraine are responsible. Implementing these decisions requires a lot of resources. Funding has been clearly insufficient in recent years. For example, in 2016 – 144,757 UAH, in 2017 – 500 million UAH, in 2018 – 500 million UAH, in 2019 – 600 million UAH, in 2020 – 600 million UAH.

This trend, as well as the lack of significant steps to address the enforcement of judgments has not gone unnoticed by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, which adopted an Interim Resolution on this issue on 1 October 2020.

At the same time, it should be noted that this year (for 10 months) more than 250 million UAH were accrued for IDP pensions, of which more than 35 million UAH were paid. Last year, the corresponding figures were almost three times higher.

It takes many months of lawyer’s work to help enforce such court decisions. It is almost impossible for people to protect their rights in court alone. Displaced persons and victims of the conflict are plaintiffs in many disputes with material claims. In fact, next year these people will have no possibility to enforce court decisions in their favor, or even simply to cover the court fee.

Considering the already adopted Law of Ukraine “On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2021” we can conclude that there are some positive changes in the financing of compensation for destroyed housing, as well as ensuring proper conditions of entry/exit to or from the temporarily occupied territories.

Nevertheless, it seems that the issue of housing provision for internally displaced persons, as well as the enforcement of court decisions in which the state is the defendant is not a priority for the government in the coming year.

28.12.20

Recently, an internally displaced person (IDP) who lives with two underage daughters in a dormitory in the Novomoskovsk district of the Dnipropetrovsk region applied to the Dnipro office of the Right to Protection CF. Their previous residence, although renovated at the beginning of the mass relocation of IDPs from the conflict zone, already required significant investment. Moreover, relations with other residents of the dormitory were strained (as it is usually in the places of compact settlement).

The family was non-conflicting but other people who lived with them under one roof seemed to enjoy quarrels. The woman was worried that this situation had a negative effect on her daughter, because the child’s psyche could not abstract from the negative. One day she decided to change her life. The woman contacted the Dnipro office of the Right to Protection CF to find out about the possibilities of resettlement and the necessary actions. Colleagues provided her with all the necessary information about available community housing, government housing programs, and temporary housing facilities in the area.

The family made the choice taking into account that it is better for them to live near the city of Dnipro, where the eldest daughter studies. So the family moved to a dormitory in the Chumaky village in the Dnipropetrovsk region, which is 40 minutes from the regional center. This facility has the status of temporary housing and was renovated as part of a UFSI project with the assistance of KfW Bank.

Now the woman is satisfied with the changes in her life: the dormitory is renovated, has all the necessary furniture and appliances. Her eldest daughter studies in Dnipro and lives in a student dormitory, but on all weekends and holidays she hurries to a new home to the family.

The Dnipro team of the Right to Protection hopes that the changes will bring only the positive to the lives of a family!

24.12.20

Maria comes from Donetsk. She lived there all her life, but all this time she was a stateless person, legally nonexistent all this time.

The woman contacted the Kurakhiv office of the Right to Protection CF which is located in the Donetsk region. Immediately after that, she began actively collecting evidence to prove her residence in Ukraine as of 1991.

Although the court upheld the claim, the position of the State Migration Service of Ukraine has not changed and they are refusing to comply with the court’s decision.

We suggest you read this story from the own words of the lawyer of the Right to Protection Ruslan Bereteli, which he posted on his Facebook page:

[English translation below]:

«…»

Sometimes it seems that very little can surprise me in my work. But no, when I listen to people’s stories I can’t understand how they overcome such obstacles in their lives, especially those that are artificially built by the state.

One winter morning in 2020, Maria came to the office. “Simply María” – I thought. She sat on a chair and I listened to her story for almost an hour. Ms. Maria told how she grew up in Donetsk, how she went to school, worked, found a husband, one after another gave birth to two beautiful children and all this time she WASN’T, SHE DIDN’T EXIST.
Yes, you heard it right: SHE. DIDN’T. EXIST.

She was, but she did not exist in the legal field of the state, Maria had no rights. She gave birth to children who received no birth certificates. She couldn’t buy a plane or train ticket. She felt like a nobody.

I can’t remember such a motivated client in my work practice at our Kurakhiv field office yet. Every instruction on gathering evidence to prove residence in Ukraine as of 1991 was followed almost instantly. Relatives in Donetsk overturned both the school where Maria studied and the hospital where she was registered since her childhood, as well as the statement from the company where Maria’s mother worked. They found the student’s personal file, medical card, other certificates and much more…

Despite the numerous evidence which prove that Maria lived in Ukraine as of 1991, representative of the State Migration Service of Ukraine was against the establishment of this fact.

The lawyer of the Right to Protection CF insisted on the position of our beneficiary in court. Despite the contrary position of the SMSU representative, the court granted the application. Cheers, victory, salute…

Though … “didn’t happen as should happen” – says Ukrainian wisdom.

As of now, the Migration Service department refuses to comply with the court’s decision, their employees do not provide the application form, demands the provision of some far-fetched evidence, offers to wait for the head, etc.

And Maria is still fighting to receive citizenship. She is looking right into the eyes of the state, which does not want to notice her.

«…»

[Original FB post in Ukrainian]:

#правоназахист

Інколи мені здається,що вже мало що може здивувати мене у моїй роботі. Але ж ні, дивлюсь на людей і не…

Posted by Беретели Руслан on Tuesday, December 22, 2020

23.12.20

Earlier we reported that a week ago, on December 15, while crossing the contact line, queue crowd at the Stanytsia Luhanska Entry-Exit Checkpoint (EECP) pushed 70-year-old Ms. A. which resulted in an injury of a closed internal fracture of two ankle bones. After providing first aid, the ambulance took Ms. A. to the hospital, where the operation was performed.

Швидка приїхала на виклик Emergency took the woman to the hospital

Yesterday, on December 22, the same woman contacted the monitors of the Right to Protection CF at the Stanytsia Luhanska EECP after hospital rehabilitation. During this time, Ms. A. received an ID-passport, with which she planned to return to the non-government controlled areas of Ukraine, but she was denied entry because she did not have a pass issued for a new passport.

The staff of the R2P helped the woman with a new application. As Ms. A. did not have the means to buy food after her treatment, observers from the Right to Protection CF gave her a grocery set.

Пані А. у лікарні woman in hospital receives the grocery set

While waiting, the woman complained of feeling unwell and needed medical help again. After the permit was finally issued, representatives of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine helped to transport Ms. A. through the EECP in a wheelchair and she was finally able to return home.

We appeal to people crossing the Entry-Exit Checkpoints in Donetsk and Luhansk regions and urge them to be attentive, careful, keep their distance, and respect others! The health and lives of the people around you depend on your actions.

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