To be born in Ukraine and become stateless. The story of Svitlana

12.08.21

Svitlana was born in Ukraine in the 1960s and lived here almost all her life. For several years in the 80s, she lived in Russian SFSR, but since 1990 the woman has permanently settled in Ukraine. Svitlana had a passport of a former USSR. Since then it has been lost.

After the collapse of the USSR, Svitlana repeatedly tried to obtain a Ukrainian passport, but she failed to do so on her own, due to the impossibility to confirm her citizenship.

The woman decided to apply to the office of the Charitable Fund “Right to Protection” (R2P) in Slovyansk at the end of 2019. Nataliia Ishchenko, the lawyer of the Fund filed a lawsuit to establish the fact of Svitlana’s permanent residence in Ukraine as of August 24, 1991. The woman also had witnesses who could confirm in court that she had lived in Ukraine since 1990. However, in November 2020, the court refused to establish the relevant fact, despite the availability of all necessary evidence.

Since there had been no Stateless Determination Procedure in Ukraine at the time, Svitlana remained a person with undetermined citizenship, as both the Russian Federation and Ukraine did not recognize her as a citizen.

On April 16, 2021, the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on some issues of recognition as a stateless person came into force. Finally, Svitlana had the opportunity to apply to the territorial department of the State Migration Service and apply for recognition as a stateless person.

At the end of July, Svitlana received a certificate of application for recognition as a stateless person with the help of a lawyer of the R2P, being accompanied by the organization’s monitoring specialist. From now on, Svitlana has the right to live legally in Ukraine. In the future, in case of a positive decision, Svitlana will be able to obtain Ukrainian citizenship.

To be born in Ukraine and become stateless. The story of Svitlana Народитись в Україні та залишитися без громадянства. Історія Світлани

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11.08.21

Recently, a man turned to our colleagues for help. His name is Kostyantyn, he was born in 1968 in Uzbekistan. There he graduated from school, received a passport of a citizen of the USSR and married for the first time. Later he became a father of a son, and in 1989 the family moved to Ukraine, to the Odesa oblast.

Here in the early 2000s, Kostyantyn lost his passport. Unfortunately, he did not apply to the relevant authorities in time to restore the document. In the future, this in turn led to serious consequences. In 2012, the man applied to the Loziv District Department of the State Migration Service of Ukraine in Kharkiv Oblast, where it became clear that it was impossible to determine his citizenship due to the loss of documents.

Since then, Kostyantyn and his family have lived permanently in Ukraine, in the Loziv district of the Kharkiv oblast. He and his wife are raising seven children, including a child with disabilities.

In 2020, after long attempts to solve the problem with the lost documents and citizenship, employees of the Loziv Center for Social Services for Families, Children and Youth (CSSFCY) recommended man to apply to the Kharkiv office of the Charitable Fund “Right to Protection” (R2P).

After a thorough interview, the lawyer of the R2P began a long and painstaking work. A request was sent to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan regarding the possible belonging of Kostyantyn to the citizenship of Uzbekistan. Thanks to the quick response of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Uzbekistan, it was possible to confirm that the man is not a citizen of this country.

A number of documents from the Odesa oblast were also collected in order to confirm the fact of Kostyantyn’s permanent residence in Ukraine as of August 24, 1991, which made it possible to establish this fact in court.

In October 2020, the above-mentioned court decision came into force, and Kostyantyn now had the legal grounds for acquiring Ukrainian citizenship. All that remained was to wait for changes to the current legislation, which would allow him to obtain the status and a document of a stateless person.

And finally, this day has come. Kostyantyn’s application for recognition as a stateless person was one of the first to be registered by the Loziv District Department of the State Migration Service of Ukraine in Kharkiv Oblast and then sent to the Main Department of the State Migration Service of Ukraine in Kharkiv Oblast for further processing and consideration. For the period while Kostyantyn’s application is being processed, he was provided with the relevant certificate – the first document which confirmed his identity and a certain status in Ukraine.

Kostyantyn and his wife are well aware that this is only the first step on the difficult path to Ukrainian citizenship. They are smiling because they hope that soon Kostyantyn will receive a passport of a citizen of Ukraine and will be able to get a job and benefit both his large family and the country of which he dreams of becoming a citizen.

We thank the employees of Loziv CSSFCY, Loziv City District Court of Kharkiv region, and employees of Loziv District Department of the SMS of Ukraine in Kharkiv region Rakhima Krasnorutska and Evhenia Pomnikova for high professionalism, incredible sensitivity, and constant willingness to cooperate and help people!

Перший крок до громадянства України. Історія Костянтина

Special thanks to our colleagues for this hard work, which allowed Kostyantyn to get one step closer to Ukrainian citizenship.

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09.08.21

The “Milove” Checkpoint is one of the most popular border crossing points among the citizens of Ukraine from the Non-Government Controlled Areas (NGCA).

When crossing the border, people face several issues which significantly complicate the exercise of the right to free movement, including the lack of adequate conditions and long queues. Therefore, the Charitable Fund “Right to Protection” (R2P) has recently started monitoring the situation at this checkpoint, recording human rights violations and providing legal advice to the beneficiaries.

For many residents of NGCA, the only road to the Government Controlled Area of Ukraine was the road through Russia and the “Milove” Checkpoint. When the work of Entry-Exit Checkpoints (EECP) in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts is being blocked by the illegal armed groups in the NGCA, people are forced to spend a lot of money, a lot of time, effort, and health and cover the distance that is three times as long as if they crossed through EECPs.

The history of this checkpoint is complicated by itself. “Milove” is an interstate checkpoint, which from the beginning of operation had a capacity of 500 pedestrians and 200 cars per day. Given the infrastructural features of the nearby settlements, Milove is located between the Russian city of Chertkovo and the Ukrainian city of Milove, literally on the road, and also on Russian territory. In 2018, Russian border guards began to install an iron fence in the middle of Druzhby Narodiv Street, where the checkpoint is located. After that, it was decided to move it and arrange it under a temporary scheme.

Modules for border guards and customs officers are installed directly on the roadway. This means that there are no conditions for people crossing the border: no place to hide from the weather, no benches to sit and rest. That’s what this Checkpoint has always been like.

For the first time, the CF “Right to Protection” (R2P) raised the issue of the conditions of crossing the “Milove” back in 2016, when the “Stanytsia Luhanska” EECP had not yet been set up as it is today. People choose the long way through “Milove” and spend up to 16 hours crossing the checkpoint. The number of people crossing daily was up to 2500 in 2016. Today, the figures have not decreased significantly – about 2000 persons. Yet, the conditions remained the same as in 2016.

Since then, the R2P has been periodically monitoring the situation at the “Milove” Checkpoint. For the most part, our beneficiaries were the people who were fined under Article 204 and then Article 204-1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses. In 2021, about 50 cases led by the Severodonetsk R2P office lawyers were heard in court in favor of the beneficiaries who received fines upon crossing.

For all 5 years, our colleagues prepared reports, carried out advocacy campaigns, and done monitoring visits. This process has indeed been very protracted, but this year the situation has finally begun to change in the direction of improving the crossing conditions for Ukrainian citizens. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is currently negotiating the installment of the waiting modules for people who cross the border through the “Milove” Checkpoint.

БФ «Право на захист» надає допомогу під час перетину КП «Мілове» Charitable Fund "Right to Protection" (R2P) begins to provide free legal aid at the "Milove" Checkpoint

Until the new Checkpoint is built, thanks to UNHCR people from the temporarily occupied territories will be able to cross the border comfortably, and the Charitable Fund “Right to Protection” (R2P), as a partner organization, will start working daily at “Milove” Checkpoint. All the people who need protection and/or require free legal aid can now contact the R2P monitoring specialists directly at the Checkpoint.

06.08.21

It is always a pleasure to tell these stories: they give hope that tomorrow will be better than yesterday, and the great feeling that our work does really matter.

Recently Svitlana, one of our beneficiaries, an IDP from Avdiivka, received housing, as well as the forgotten feeling of security and comfort. A woman, like most internally displaced persons, has a sad and difficult history.

Since 2014, she has moved from city to city, hoping for the best. She lived in the cities of Dnipro and Kryvyi Rih and had to pay most of the money she earned literally for a roof.

In 2015 Svitlana moved to the modular town of Nikopol and settled in a dormitory. However, this was temporary, because in February 2021 the term of operation of this dormitory expired. At first, it seemed as if there was nothing left to hope for anymore.

However, just then in the winter, our colleague Olena Pazenko, the monitor of the R2P regional office, visited the modular town. She came to talk about the housing programs for IDPs and possible resettlement options in the Dnipropetrovsk region, in particular, she told Ms. Svitlana about social housing in Kamyanske.

It was then when our beneficiary learned about this opportunity. Without any hesitation, she decided to go to Kamyanske. Olena Sukha, the monitor of the CF «Right to Protection» (R2P) met Svitlana and provided her with support and assistance in processing the documents, and a few weeks later Svitlana was already holding the keys to a beautiful one-room apartment.

«It was just incredible, literally an explosion of emotions. I am so happy for Svitlana. When she received the keys I felt like if it was me getting the keys to the long-awaited apartment»,
– tells our colleague Olena Sukha without hiding her happiness for Svitlana.

Alyona Skala, the head of the housing distribution department of the Kamyanske city council of the Dnipropetrovsk region noted that even today, seven years after the start of hostilities in Donbas, the housing issue still remains relevant for the internally displaced persons. Citizens, including the privileged category of IDPs, constantly apply to the city authorities.

«The city authorities always support citizens who need protection and try to help solve their problems»,
– says Alyona Skala.

Історії переселення. Спільними зусиллями - житло для ВПО

The CF «Right to Protection» (R2P) wishes Svitlana always to feel safe and cozy at her new home and congratulates our colleagues on such a successful work result.

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02.08.21

Vasyl Artemovych is a disabled person of the 1st group, he sees almost nothing. In his hometown of Luhansk, he felt everything by touch and knew the exact number of steps to his favorite park, pharmacy, and hospital. But 7 years ago, on August 5, 2014, he fled from Luhansk. He left his home without any hope of a quick return, left and learned to live in a new place, got used to local streets, to a new apartment.

Initially, Mr. Vasyl lived in Pavlohrad for a year. In November 2015, he moved to a modular town in Nikopol and then settled in a dormitory. But in February 2021 this dormitory was decommissioned. And again, it was the uncertainty and anticipation of the need to move to a new place, because in 5 years the apartment in the dormitory has already become something very similar to home.

After learning from Olena Pazenko, a monitor at the Dnipro office of the CF “Right to Protection” (R2P), about the possibility of relocating to Kamyanske, where the Ukrainian Social Investment Fund and local authorities were renovating a house into comfortable apartments for internally displaced persons, Vasyl Artemovych hoped that this might become a new home for him.

Thanks to Yevhen Romaniy, the director of the Municipal Enterprise “City Housing and Technical Inspection” of the Nikopol City Council, who provided the transport, Vasyl Artemovych, and 3 other IDPs were transported to Kamyanske to see the apartment: for him, it was unbelievable that a new house might be available somewhere.

The process of moving to Kamyanske was quite long, preceded by the months of waiting, but fortunately, everything is over. Ahead is a long life in a new apartment.

The story of resettlement. He finally found his new home in Kamyanske

Olena Sukha, a monitor of the R2P, who accompanied Mr. Vasyl to Kamyanske, says:

«The Kamyanske community is an example of caring and humane treatment of people. On the first day, as soon as Vasyl Artemovych received the keys to the one-room apartment, he was visited by the social workers of the Kamyanske Territorial Center for Social Services. From their first steps in the new community people felt like at home here.»

Mr. Vasyl believes in God. In his words of gratitude, he always repeats that the monitors of the Dnieper office CF “Right to Protection” (R2P) are his guardian angels, who helped him in the difficult times: redirected to the UNHCR humanitarian aid, sent warm clothes by mail in the winter, and when he was left homeless, he was assisted in moving to Kamyanske, where he found his new home and people with whom he felt confident and comfortable.

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27.07.21

The story began in May 2021. At first, this case seemed so complicated that it could be simply impossible to provide the necessary assistance.

However, we made an effort and were able to succeed and help this little family to cope with all the difficulties!

One day Natalia, a 27 years old pregnant woman applied to the Charitable Fund “Right to Protection (R2P) for help. She was in difficult life circumstances since she had no identity documents.

Natalia is an orphan with a disability. Her parents died when she was a little baby. Aunt took her and her sister under guardianship. All of them lived together in one of the settlements near the town of Volnovakha, Donetsk oblast, Ukraine.

According to the woman, the aunt often insulted her. One day, Natalia’s patience ran out: she collected all of her documents and left the house. For several days she spent nights at bus stops where her documents were stolen. The girl was sheltered by a local resident of Volnovakha, who lived alone with his mother.

The pregnant woman was not registered at the women’s clinic. Natalia understood that the term was already very long and she would give birth soon, but due to the lack of documents, she would not be able to register her baby and get the necessary social assistance.

Being worried about the fate of her unborn child, the woman began to look for all possible ways to restore the documents. One day, Natalia turned for help to the R2P.

Зробити все можливе і неможливе заради власної дитинки. Історія Наталії Trying to do everything possible and impossible for a child. Natalia's story

In May, Natalia gave birth to a daughter. Our colleagues helped her recover the stolen documents. On her birthday, she received a new passport, and a few days later – a duplicate of the taxpayer’s card (TIN).

Without wasting time, a daughter’s birth certificate was issued at the Volnovakha District Department of the State Civil Registry Office.

The Administrative Service Centre of the Volnovakha District State Administration provided state assistance for the birth of a child, aid to a single mother, families with children, and received a newborn starter kit.

Accounts were also opened at the bank to receive state monetary aid. From the Center for Social Services, the mother and baby received diapers and a baby blanket, hygiene products, bed linen, clothes for mother and child, food.

Social workers helped the mother and child to sign a contract with the family doctor. Now the child is under the supervision of a pediatrician.

During a visit to the family, it was also discovered that an elderly woman living in the house with Natalia had a serious illness and needed treatment. Employees of the CF “Right to Protection” (R2P) urgently transported the woman to the hospital where she was immediately admitted to the surgical department. Currently, the woman is feeling better and receives qualified medical care.

We are so glad that we were able to help this family. We wish Natalia and her daughter to never get into such a difficult life situation again!

R2P expresses its sincere gratitude for the cooperation in solving the problems of this family to the staff of the Volnovakha District Department of the State Migration Service of Ukraine, the Volnovakha Administrative Services Centre, the Volnovakha State Civil Registry Office, and the Center for Social Services.

#InvestInHumanity #UkraineHumanitarianFund

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To get a birth certificate for a son. Story of Indira

He just had to pick up his passport, yet the war came. The story of Ostap

A long and complicated story of Svitlana, who was left by her mother in Ukraine

19.07.21

Lyubov Ivanivna is a pensioner, an internally displaced person, and a fragile woman who had to personally go through all the horrors of 2014.

Back in the days the woman lived in Donetsk, Ukraine. Her home is located near the Donetsk airport. In 2014, after collecting the most necessary things, the woman left for Dnipro, where she lived in a rented apartment until December 2018.

Історія переселення: Любов Іванівна знайшла нову домівку в Жовтих Водах

Then Lyubov Ivanivna moved to a dormitory in Vilnohirsk because the prices for utilities there were more reasonable. But in February 2021, the residents of the dormitory received a report of eviction due to fire safety problems.

Upon learning about the possible eviction of internally displaced persons (IDPs) from the dormitory, the monitors of the R2P provided information on possible options for resettlement within the Dnipropetrovsk region. But people who had already lost their home once and settled in a new place did not want to leave Vilnohirsk. Out of the 16 residents of the dormitory, only Lyubov Ivanivna decided to move to the city of Zhovti Vody. And the new town welcomed her.

Olena Pazenko, monitor of the Charitable Fund “Right to Protection” accompanied Lyubov Ivanivna in the new city:

“When one comes to another city, it’s always a kind of a stress. And we always try to accompany our beneficiaries to help them visit all the institutions as quickly and productively as possible, as well as to gather all the necessary documents. And thanks to the head of the youth and sports department of Zhovtovodska City Council Olena Lauda and the chief specialist of the department Lyudmila Shkurenko, we managed to do everything in one day: inspect the dormitory, get a residence permit in the hospital and get an IDP certificate.
Some say that it’s not easy to be empathetic when you listen to and address the problems of dozens of people every day, but the employees of Zhovtovodska City Council ruined this myth with their own great example!”
– our colleague said.

Today, Lyubov Ivanivna lives in the dormitory of the Pedagogical College, where the 4th floor was renovated and furnished for the comfortable living of displaced persons.

Маленькі громади з великим серцем. Історія Девладівської ОТГ

“In the end of 2020, during a joint meeting, representatives of the Slovyansk UNHCR office stressed the need to focus efforts on resettlement assistance and housing for IDPs. In our work, we face the fact that many people who receive information about the available housing options need our aid and support. Housing issues are still unresolved for the most vulnerable social groups: those with disabilities, the elderly, single mothers with children.
During the relocation within the region, we have to meet people at the transport stations in the new cities and accompany them to the amalgamated territorial community departments, Departments of the Social Protection and to the Administrative Service Centres. It is too difficult for people to do all these steps alone, and not everyone can afford to stay and rent a house. This is the situation when our monitors come and help.
Communities are always interested in joint cooperation to make the lives of people better. And a great example of such cooperation is this particular case with Zhovtovodska Hromada,»
– said Myroslava Sushchenko, head of the Dnipro-Zaporizhzhya office of the Chatitable Fund “Right to Protection” (R2P).

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15.07.21

Ostap was born in the Luhansk region of Ukraine in 1986. As a child, he moved with his family to the city of Debaltseve in the Donetsk region. There he grew up, studied, and met his future wife. Due to family circumstances, he was able to apply for a passport of a citizen of Ukraine only in 2014. At the moment the document was ready and the only thing needed was to receive it, the war began.

The man and his family fled in hurry and left almost everything they had in the Donetsk region – property, money, some of the documents. He and his wife later moved to the Ternopil region. In 2017, their son was born. Due to the lack of documents, Ostap was not able to officially become a husband and prove paternity. Lack of documents made it almost impossible for him to earn money for the family.

All this time Ostap tried to get a passport of a citizen of Ukraine. After numerous refusals, in 2020 he applied to the CF “Right to Protection” (R2P). Since then, there have been endless calls, trips to the State Migration Service (SMS), appeals, applications, and, unfortunately, complaints.

In February 2021, the Migration Service finally agreed to identify our beneficiary. However, citizenship remained unrecognized. In May 2021, after two days of negotiations with the State Migration Service, documents to apply for the Stateless Determination Procedure (SDP).

Despite three official and dozens of unofficial refusals to issue a passport of a citizen of Ukraine, when applying for an SDP, Migration Service representatives insisted that these actions do not make sense, because the person is a citizen of Ukraine.

We will learn about the SMS decision later. In the meantime, regardless of the results of the examination, Ostap will now finally be able to obtain an identity document and open the door to a new life.

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14.07.21

Svitlana was born in Russia in 1991 during the collapse of the Soviet Union. The events of that time had a long impact on her life. When she was 2 years old, her mother transported her to Ukraine and left her alone. Another woman took care of Svitlana and in fact became her grandmother. Unfortunately, she failed to officially certify guardianship. This was one of the reasons for the beginning of troubles in which Svitlana got into at the age of 16.

Svitlana was denied a Ukrainian passport. For almost 15 years, the girl fought for her right to be a part of this world, for the right to have an education, to be able to work, become a wife, a mother. During this time, she repeatedly applied to the Migration Service to obtain Ukrainian citizenship. Instead, she only received oral and written refusals, requests to wait, come later, numerous excuses or responses that they are not competent in this issue.

During all these years, Svitlana got unofficially married and gave birth to 2 wonderful children. Due to her lack of documents, she and her husband were forced to prove paternity in court.

In 2020, Svitlana turned to the CF “Right to Protection” (R2P) for help. The woman and our lawyer were waiting for several months of appeals, complaints, and constant negotiations. Yet, in the spring of 2021, Svitlana was able to apply for stateless status after the introduction of the Stateless Determination Procedure (SDP) in Ukraine.

Still, this is only the beginning – explanations, challenges, and inquiries are ahead. However, this is a big step towards a bright future for a kind woman and her family. A future where the country that became a home for Svitlana will finally notice her, as well as other stateless people.

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