Almost 7 years without a home. The story of Kateryna

31.05.21

Mrs. Kateryna (name changed), is almost 85 years old. In September 2014, a shell hit her home in the village of Taramchuk (Donetsk region). The house was completely destroyed.

A few dozen villagers helped the woman find temporary shelter, but living near the site of the ongoing fighting was unbearable.

Even then, there was no shop or hospital in Taramchuk, and there was no water, so sometimes Mrs. Kateryna had to collect rainwater for her own needs.

2 Майже 7 років без житла. Історія Катерини

After some time, she moved to another settlement, away from the shelling.

Back then the state did not have a legal procedure for paying compensations for destroyed housing, all that women had was an act of destruction.

In mid-2020, Mrs. Kateryna came to the Charitable Fund “Right to Protection” (R2P), and with the help of our lawyers, she filed a lawsuit. A few months later in September, the Cabinet of Ministers adopted Resolution №767 “The issue of monetary compensation to victims, whose houses (apartments) were destroyed as a result of a military emergency caused by the armed aggression of the Russian Federation.”

Therefore, together with Mrs. Kateryna, our team almost immediately submitted all the necessary documents for consideration by the commission. Already this year, Ms. Kateryna received compensation.

If your home has also been destroyed

as a result of hostilities

in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine

contact the CF Right to Protection (R2P) for legal assistance

Our hotline numbers below:

+38 (099) 507 50 90

+38 (068) 507 50 90

+38 (093) 507 50 90

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21.05.21

Today we present the report ‘Crossing the contact line’ for April 2021, prepared by the NGO ‘Right to Protection’. The report is based on data collected during the monitoring of the situation on EECPs. More statistical data is available on the Eastern Ukraine Checkpoint Monitoring Online Dashboard: https://www.unhcr.org/ua/en/eecp-monitoring-2021

HIGHLIGHTS:

This month, crossing the contact line remained possible only through two EECPs: Novotroitske in Donetska Oblast and Stanytsia Luhanska in Luhanska Oblast, at a level considerably below the pre-COVID period. According to Joint Forces Operation data and R2P monitoring, the number of people crossing the contact line was without significant difference in April compared to March: over 53,000 and 52,823 respectively.
People crossing from NGCA at Novotroitske EECP in Donetska Oblast can buy a new cell phone if they don’t have one or if theirs does not allow installing “Vdoma” app. In April, a new procedure for this was put in place. Following a purchase order online, a store employee waits with the new phone at the entrance to the EECP. The client is accompanied to the entrance by servicemen and R2P to finalize the purchase. On average, this procedure is used by about 5 people per crossing day.
On 22 March, amendments were made to Resolution #1236 on quarantine COVID-19 measures that will facilitate the crossing procedure for NGCA residents. Therefore, when the vaccination starts NGCA residents willing to receive COVID-19 vaccines in GCA will be exempted from the mandatory two-week self-isolation (only under the conditions of presenting an invitation to vaccination with a unique identifier). However, the impact of the regulation remains limited given the current lack of access to vaccination.
During April, 4,554 vulnerable elderly persons were provided with transport support at Stanytsia Luhanska EECP by the NGO “Proliska” e-vehicle. Also, NGO “Proliska” with the financial support of UNHCR, installed two bus stops with solar panels and the possibility to charge devices.
R2P monitors facilitated 214 requests for crossing through the fast-track procedure and assisted about 1300 persons with installing “Vdoma” app.

The report is available in English and in Ukrainian.

The purpose of the survey is to explore the reasons and concerns of those traveling from the NGCA to the GCA, as well as conditions and risks associated with crossing the line of contact through EECPs. The information collected in the survey helps identify protection needs, gaps, and trends, and provides an evidentiary basis for advocacy efforts.

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17.05.21

TO:

Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Human Rights, Deoccupation and Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories in Donetsk, Luhansk Regions and Autonomous Republic of Crimea, National Minorities and Interethnic Relations

Lubinets Dmytro Valeriiovych

Dear Dmytro Valeriiovych!

With this letter we express our respect to you and address you regarding the Committee’s consideration of the Draft Law on Amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On Ensuring the Rights and Freedoms of Internally Displaced Persons” (Reg. №4487).

The purpose of the draft Law is to improve the legislative regulation of the implementation of the rights and freedoms of internally displaced persons (hereinafter – IDPs) in Ukraine, in particular, the right to social protection, housing, education, etc. In addition, for the first time at the legislative level, the Draft enshrines the powers of the central executive body, which ensures the formation, coordination and implementation of state policy concerning the IDPs.

It should be noted that the Law of Ukraine “On Ensuring the Rights and Freedoms of Internally Displaced Persons” was adopted in 2014 and became one of the first steps of the state’s response to mass internal displacement in connection with the Russian aggression against Ukraine. However, the situation is that the law was designed to regulate what has significantly changed in seven years. Most IDPs plan to live in communities at their new places of residence.

There is a need to change approaches to legislative regulation of the situation of long-term internal displacement in Ukraine in the future.

The Draft Law №4487 provides for a number of positive changes that will facilitate the ability of IDPs to exercise their rights and freedoms, as well as to receive services.

Among such changes are the following:

1. Improving the procedure for obtaining a certificate of IDPs in the absence of a registered place of residence in the settlement from which the internal relocation is carried out, namely:

changes to the grounds and procedures for issuing a certificate of registration of an internally displaced person (IDP) in case the person does not have a place of residence in the territory from which he/she has moved. Currently, to obtain a certificate, a person must provide documentary evidence of the fact of his/her residence at the time of the events that caused the internal displacement (February 20, 2014 – Crimea and Sevastopol, April 13, 2014 – Donetsk and Luhansk regions). However, such requirements are almost impossible to meet for children and young people. In particular, in 2020 this problem became significant for entrants from the temporarily occupied territories (TOT), who had to provide documentary evidence of IDPs living in the temporarily occupied territories at the time of the circumstances, i.e. when they were minors. In practice, this legal requirement has created a situation in which these individuals cannot obtain a certificate of registration of IDPs and, as a result, cannot claim social support from the state. The draft provides that the applicant may submit any evidence of the person’s residence in the occupied territories during the period of the circumstances that led to the relocation.
reduction of the term for making a decision on registration of an internally displaced person who does not have a registered place of residence from 15 to 7 working days, which will increase the level of protection of the rights of IDPs.
exemption from the obligation to repeat the procedure of confirming the fact of residence on the territory of the settlement from which the internal relocation is carried out if the person who received the IDP certificate changed the place of residence;
the obligation to reimburse the actual costs incurred by the state and local budgets as a result of the realization of the rights of a person in the case of submission of knowingly false information to obtain the IDP certificate.

In particular, it is proposed to establish at the level of the Law that the presence or absence of a certificate of registration of an internally displaced person cannot be a ground for restricting the exercise of rights and freedoms provided by the Constitution, laws or international treaties of Ukraine. Exceptions are cases where the IDP registration certificate provides additional guarantees or benefits related to the consequences of internal displacement.

2. For the purpose of exercising his / her rights and freedoms, an internally displaced person shall be deemed to be a permanent resident of the territory of the settlement in which he / she is registered as an internally displaced person.

A significant number of IDPs have lived in host communities for more than 6 years and plan to remain in these communities in the future. This is confirmed by numerous reports from international and local NGOs & CSOs.

Thus, in the Joint Assessment of the Needs of Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Internally Displaced Persons in Ukraine conducted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in 2019, respondents noted the priority of local integration based on housing, work and community participation. Such individuals consider themselves part of the host communities and need access to its opportunities (public services, government benefits, employment, participation in local affairs, instruments of local democracy) on an equal footing with local residents.

However, these conditions are unequal, first of all due to the additional requirements for IDPs (in particular, regular identification and verification procedures to confirm their residence in the host communities). Second, IDPs remain invisible to local authorities, as they are mostly not formally residents, as they do not have a registered place of residence in the community. Therefore, their residence in the community is not considered permanent. As a result, some of the opportunities provided at the local level remain inaccessible to IDPs in full and only half of the tools of the local democracy are available to this category of citizens.

3. At the level of the Law it is proposed to settle the issue of ensuring the realization of the right of internally displaced persons to a free temporary residence.

The Draft proposes to supplement the Law with a new Article 9-2, which provides for the right of internally displaced persons to housing and the obligation of the state to provide them with housing through the development of housing programs at national and local levels, including social or temporary housing, low-interest loans and more. It is proposed to consolidate the main approaches to providing IDPs with housing from the temporary residence fund at the level of the Law, as such issues are currently regulated by bylaws. In addition, the right of IDPs to compensation for damaged or destroyed housing is provided, and this issue is currently regulated at the level of the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers.

4. The draft Law defines the powers of the central executive body that ensures the formation, coordination and implementation of state policy on internally displaced persons.

In particular, the main powers of such a body include the promotion of the full realization of the rights and freedoms of internally displaced persons, as well as the search for and implementation of the long-term solutions for them, in particular, integration in a new place of residence; assistance in the order established by the legislation to social security of internally displaced persons (IDPs); coordination of measures to strengthen the resilience of the host territorial communities; collection and analysis of information on the need to provide housing and address other issues of social protection of internally displaced persons from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and persons who have gone abroad.

We, the representatives of organizations concerned with the protection of the rights of victims of the conflict fully support the adoption of the draft Law on Amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On Ensuring the Rights and Freedoms of Internally Displaced Persons” (Reg. №4487) and appeal to the Committee to consider the draft as soon as possible and recommend it for adoption by the Verkhovna Rada in the first reading.

DATE: May 14, 2021

ZMINA Human Rights Center

NGO “Public Holding “Group of Influence”

Charitable Fund “Right to Protection” (R2P)

Charity Foundation Stabilization Support Services

Donbas SOS

Crimean Human Rights Group (CHRG)

Vostok SOS

Crimea SOS

More:

23.04.21

We are glad to present 2020 Annual Report ‘Crossing the contact line’. The report is based on data collected by NGO ‘Right to Protection’ during the monitoring of the situation on EECPs. More statistical data is available on the Eastern Ukraine Checkpoint Monitoring Online Dashboard: https://www.unhcr.org/ua/en/eecp-monitoring-2020.

HIGHLIGHTS:

✅ On March 12, The Ukrainian Government adopted a number of measures aimed at COVID-19 prevention. Starting 22 March, EECP operation was suspended in the GCA, while the same happened at the NGCA a day before. Rapid developments put many people who were coming to EECPs into a difficult position; some even did not have enough means for temporary accommodation. In particular, forty people travelling to the NGCA got stuck at Stanytsia Luhanska EECP.

✅ Introduction of quarantine measures caused a drastic decrease in the number of crossings. Thousands of people were deprived of the possibility to receive social payments, pensions, birth and death certificates, to visit relatives or property. Some were cut off from their permanent place of residence.

✅ In July, 83 persons were compelled to remain in the buffer zone at Novotroitske EECP for several days, having no possibility to return to the GCA or proceed to the NGCA.

✅ Daily in August-September, up to ten persons had to stay overnight in the shed in the buffer zone at Stanytsia Luhanska EECP as they were not allowed to return to the NGCA due to inability to confirm residence registration.

✅ Similar to 2019, visiting relatives was the most widespread reason to cross in both directions. Receiving pensions or social payments and withdrawing cash were more common among people travelling from the NGCA.

Звіт «Перетин лінії розмежування через КПВВ», лютий 2021 року Report ‘Crossing the contact line’, February 2021

✅ Before the introduction of quarantine restrictions, long lines were the main concern of the respondents at all EECPs. But in the fourth quarter of 2020, the majority became distressed with issues with permissions to cross, as it was possible only through two EECPs by a complicated procedure (52 percent compared to 8 in the first quarter).

✅ Also, in 2020, at least 3,000 people were provided with help from R2P monitors with installing and running the app «Vdoma». Moreover, R2P monitors have assisted about 800 people in getting permissions for crossing from the Coordination Group.

The report is available in English and in Ukrainian.

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16.04.21

Today R2P presents the report ‘Crossing the contact line’ for March 2021, prepared by the NGO ‘Right to Protection’. The report is based on data collected during the monitoring of the situation on EECPs. More statistical data is available on the Eastern Ukraine Checkpoint Monitoring Online Dashboard: https://www.unhcr.org/ua/en/eecp-monitoring-2021

HIGHLIGHTS:

This month, crossing the contact line remained possible only through two EECPs: Novotroitske in Donetska Oblast and Stanytsia Luhanska in Luhanska Oblast, at a level considerably below the pre-COVID period. The number of people crossing the contact line increased in March compared to February by 37%: 52,823 and 33,000 respectively.
On 18 March, Stanytsia Luhanska EECP was finally provided with free rapid antigen tests, and a state laboratory point was deployed. The large flow of people exceeded the available capacities, which resulted in long queues. Therefore, many people preferred to take a paid PCR test from either of five different trailers of private laboratories.
There were no places in the observation facility in Luhansk Oblast still. In March, in Donetska Oblast, 40 people were sent to the observation facility, all of them either had an inappropriate phone model or no phone at all. Also, 771 persons who crossed to GCA at Novotroiske EECP (81 percent) took the rapid antigen test, and 754 persons at Stanytsia Luhanska (one percent).
In line with R2P advocacy, on 22 March, amendments were made to Resolution #1236 on quarantine COVID-19 measures that greatly facilitated the crossing procedure for foreigners. Therefore, foreigners who have permanent residence in Ukraine do not need to have insurance when crossing the contact line to GCA.
During March, 3,657 vulnerable elderly persons were provided with transport support at Stanytsia Luhanska EECP by the NGO “Proliska” e-vehicle.

Report ‘Crossing the contact line’, March 2021 Звіт «Перетин лінії розмежування через КПВВ», березень 2021 року

The report is available in

English and in Ukrainian.

The report is based on the results of a survey conducted by R2P at the five EECPs to enter the NGCA and administered on a regular basis since June 2017. The survey is a part of the monitoring of violations of rights of conflict-affected populations within the framework of the project ‘Advocacy, Protection, and Legal Assistance to IDPs’ implemented by R2P, with the support of UNHCR. The purpose of the survey is to explore the reasons and concerns of those traveling from the NGCA to the GCA, as well as conditions and risks associated with crossing the line of contact through EECPs. The information collected in the survey helps identify protection needs, gaps, and trends, and provides an evidentiary basis for advocacy efforts.

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16.04.21

In 2017, at the initiative of a number of human rights organizations, a resolution № 268 “On approval of the Procedure for granting the status of a child affected by hostilities and armed conflicts” was developed and then – adopted.

According to this document, such a status can be obtained by a child or a person who has not reached the age of majority (18 y. o.) at the time of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) /Joint Forces Operation (JFO) in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and who as a result of hostilities and armed conflicts:

received injuries, contusions, injuries;
suffered physical and sexual violence;
was abducted or illegally taken out of Ukraine;
involved in the actions of paramilitary or armed groups;
illegally detained, including in captivity;
suffered psychological violence.

As of the end of 2020, more than 52,000 children, including the 93 children who have received this status due to injuries and contusions, and one child that has been physically abused.

The numbers are impressive. But, unfortunately, this is just the tip of the iceberg. The fact is that most parents of children who could receive this status simply do not know about this opportunity or do not see the need for it as it does not provide the opportunity to receive benefits – neither the provision of qualified psychosocial assistance, nor the provision of free medicines.

In addition, as our experience shows, there are many cases of local authorities refusing to grant this status and even revoking it. We have few examples of this as our team has been working with such cases.

At the end of 2020, the monitoring team of the Mariupol office of the CF “Right to Protection” (R2P) revealed a systematic violation of the rights of minors in the Nikolsky district of the Donetsk region. The violation was the illegal and unjustified revocation of the status of a child affected by hostilities and armed conflict.

R2P Lawyer Ruslan Bereteli commented on this case:

“When I received this case for analysis and testing, I immediately realized that the situation requires prompt intervention, and the work promises to be difficult, but at the same time interesting as it was the first time I have encountered such a violation. And the systemic nature of the problem required active, I would even say aggressive interventions. The violation did not allow children to enjoy the benefit of the free meals, so it was necessary to respond as soon as possible.”

Руслан Беретелі про становище та права ромської спільноти в Україні

Colleagues immediately began to initiate meetings with everyone who could help and influence the situation. In this case, the director of the Nikolsky Center for Social Services for Families, Children and Youth was the only one who disagreed with the current state of affairs. However, we also had an ally in the Department of Social Protection of the Donetsk Region – its director is always a reliable partner in restoring justice for cases of violated human rights, she properly considers such appeals within her competence.

After all the meetings we agreed on the algorithms of cooperation and response. In addition, we asked the head of the Donetsk Regional State Administration to intervene in the situation, sending him a letter with a description and the legal analysis of the problem.

A representative of the Commissioner for the Observance of the Rights of the Child and the Family of the Secretariat of the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine was also involved in solving the problem.

The result of the cooperation was a letter to the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the opening of proceedings on this issue (the case was in the process of regional representation in Donetsk and Luhansk regions).

The advocacy team of the Charitable Fund ”Right to Protection” was actively involved. Our colleagues worked with the Department for the Protection of Children’s Rights and Ensuring Equality Standards of the State Social Service of Ukraine.

They issued a sufficient number of appeals to the service, appealed and involved deputies of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in the process. All this was the reason for submitting an official request from the People’s Deputy of Ukraine to respond and investigate the activities of the above mentioned children protection service.

Finally, the order of the head of the Mariupol Regional State Administration revoked the orders which illegally revoked the status of children, affected by hostilities and armed conflicts.

R2P congratulates everyone involved in this victory!

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09.04.21

Before the start of hostilities in the east of Ukraine, Volodymyr and his family lived in the village of Serebryanka in the Donetsk region.

On July 16, 2014, the village was shelled by the artillery. The projectile hit the roof of the house and, as a result, the man’s house was completely destroyed. The summer kitchen was also damaged.

house destroyed in the shelling to the compensation Від знищеного під час артобстрілу будинку до отримання компенсації. Історія бенефіціара БФ «Право на захист»

Volodymyr’s family found themselves homeless and left without any personal belongings. The only good thing in this situation is that no one was home at the time, so all the family members survived.

Because of the ongoing hostilities and the inability to live in the ruined house, Volodymyr was in despair. Their family was forced to move and rent a house. The man told his story to Iryna Abramova, a monitoring specialist at the Charitable Fund “Right to Protection” (R2P).

Before meeting our colleagues, the man did not know that in 2020 changes were made to the procedure for providing and determining the amount of financial assistance from emergencies and the amount of compensation for victims of destroyed housing.

Thanks to the cooperation and interaction with the local united territorial communities, the specialists of the R2P were able to immediately apply to the leadership of the Siverska amalgamated territorial community (hromada) to help the man receive appropriate compensation.

The Siverska hromada responded quickly. To protect the interests of the community a commission was set up and went to Serebryanka to prepare an analysis of all the destructions. In the end result, a positive decision was made – to provide monetary compensation to our beneficiary.

Finally, Volodymyr and his family will be able to rebuild their home while the team of the CF “Right to Protection” (R2P) within the framework of cooperation with local communities will continue to provide free legal aid to those in need.

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02.04.21

For the 8-th year in a row the territories of Ukraine are occupied. Since then most internally displaced persons (IDPs) have been living in the new amalgamated territorial communities. These people have finally won the right to vote in local elections, but the state still treats them as the “temporary phenomenon” and continues to apply special rules and orders to them where the general ones must have long been applied.

This includes the restrictions on the choice of a bank to receive social and pension benefits (as of today, IDPs can receive above mentioned benefits only to the “Oschadbank” cards – ed.note), numerous checks on those who receive these benefits, and so on. It is time to acknowledge that the “temporality” of this situation has dragged on, so changes in legislation are needed to enable IDPs to integrate into the local communities.

Such changes should be provided by the recently registered Bill №4487 «On Amendments to the Law of Ukraine «On Ensuring the Rights and Freedoms of Internally Displaced Persons». After the Verkhovna Rada approval the Bill will deal with many issues, such as housing and IDP certificates, as well as and many other equally important issues.

But, in my opinion, one of the most important elements is the norm according to which the presence or absence of a certificate of registration of an internally displaced person cannot be a ground for restricting the exercise of the rights and freedoms provided by the Constitution, laws or international treaties of Ukraine with the exception of the cases when the IDP certificate guarantees additional benefits or guarantees, for example, receiving targeted assistance, free meals for children in educational institutions, annual rehabilitation, etc.

These changes should be the first step in resolving the problems of the internally displaced. Then, in order to comply with the adopted law, amendments to a number of bylaws must be also adopted. After all, it is necessary to finally give IDPs the right to choose the bank where they wish to receive benefits (“Oschadbank” is not the only state bank), it is necessary to cancel the resolution №365 and the so-called “home inspections”, which are not carried out now due to quarantine, but we know that after the end of the quarantine these restrictions may get back.

IDP Oschadbank card issue карта ощадбанка для ВПО — Oschadbank – the only bank which IDPs can use to receive their hard-earned pensions or social benefits

The state always talks about unifying approaches, but in fact does little to implement it, especially when it comes to the internally displaced persons. It is time to erase those artificial lines between “ours” and “theirs”, because we are all the People of Ukraine, the country to which the war came. It should unite us, not divide.

AUTHOR:

Anastasia Odintsova,

Advocacy Lawyer

Charitable Fund “Right to Protection” (R2P)

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01.04.21

Today we present the report “IDPs housing needs, intentions and opportunities. Dnipropetrovska, Zaporizka, and Kharkivska oblasts.”, prepared by the CF “Right to Protection”. Main goals of the report were to collect and systematize the housing needs of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) using the survey method, as well as to gather the monitoring data on residential buildings that can be reconstructed and further used as temporary or social housing for IDPs. Relevant recommendations and conclusions were also prepared.

Since the conflict outbreak, the State has launched six programmes to respond to the housing issue, which aim to provide both short-term and long-term solutions. Regarding the previously done analysis of existing programmes, we can presume that they cannot fully respond to the acute issue and that other solutions should be sought out and implemented.

To date, no comprehensive housing analyses have been conducted within Dnipropetrovska, Zaporizka, and Kharkivska oblasts where almost a fifth of all IDPs is registered (the biggest numbers after the conflict-affected Donetska and Luhanska oblasts, and Kyivska oblast and Kyiv). To address this, the Charitable Fund “Right to Protection” (R2P) monitored settlements in these oblasts with regard to available housing, and surveyed IDPs on their needs and awareness.

R2P representatives have conducted 444 monitoring visits to 282 settlements in Dnipropetrovska, Zaporizka, and Kharkivska oblasts. As a result, 898 objects were identified in 170 settlements of 68 raions of the three oblasts. The majority of objects are located in Dnipropetrovska Oblast.

Report IDPs Housing Needs, Intentions and Opportunities. Dnipropetrovska, Zaporizka and Kharkivska Oblasts

Read more about our survey in the report:

English

Ukrainian.

This publication has been produced with the assistance of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of “Right to Protection” and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of UNHCR.

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