Right to Protection is an NGO dedicatedto protecting the rights of asylum seekers, refugees, stateless andundocumented persons, as well as internally displaced and conflict affected persons.
Category: News
24.11.20
On November 20, at 5:30 p.m., a webinar-discussion on the humanitarian situation in the occupied territories of Eastern Ukraine took place.
Event topics and speakers:
Humanitarian situation in occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. (Tetiana Yakubovych. Ukrainian journalist, editor of Radio Donbas.Realities of the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Ukrainian Service)
Situation with crossing the Ukrainian border from occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. (Elina Shyshkina. Advocacy Coordinator of the Right to Protection CF)
Religious situation in the non-government controlled areas in Eastern Ukraine. (Maksym Vasin. Executive Director of Institute for Religious Freedom (Ukraine) )
Situation with the detainees and places of illegal detention in occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. (Oleksandra Matviychuk. Chairman of the Board of the Center for Civil Liberties)
«People must be able to freely and safely cross the demarcation line through the entry-exit check points, as well as without breaking any laws of Ukraine, »
Our beneficiary story is the clear example of the awful human rights violations that took place at the Exit-Entry Check Points (EECP) in Luhansk and Donetsk Regions after the introduction of COVID-19 quarantine restrictions on March 27, which resulted in closing all borders and checkpoints in Ukraine. In fact, people who were in need to cross the line of demarcation in Donbas were trapped without money, food and had nowhere to sleep at night. And unfortunately, Valentyna was the one of them.
Right to Protection CF lawyers helped the woman to obtain compensation for non-pecuniary damage, as well as to prove the illegality of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine actions due to which our beneficiary was unable to cross the demarcation line. The appeal was upheld on 16 November 2020, Court decision is final.
– our beneficiary said when she finally received her dream birthday present – a passport of a citizen of Ukraine.
Liuba is 37 years old. She was born and raised in a large family of Roma ethnicity. The family lived in hardships and often moved from place to place, later settling in a permanent residence in the Novovodolazk district of Kharkiv region. When Lyuba grew up, she was married in accordance with Roma tradition. The woman became stateless because her parents did not deal with the documents issue. Liuba gave birth to five children, but the two older ones were taken away from the woman due to lack of documents.
The woman’s plans for life changed dramatically when her parents’ house suddenly burned down. Unable to withstand such a blow, Liuba’s father died of a heart attack. She was forced to return to the Kharkiv region to be able to support her mother. All this time Liuba tried to get a passport and repeatedly applied to the local “passport office”, but to no success.
Our colleagues learned about Liuba’s story from the partner organization Depol Ukraine CF. Their representatives appealed to the Kharkiv office of the Right to Protection CF to help the woman obtain a passport.
R2P lawyer made number of inquiries to the state institutions to gather all the necessary documents to confirm Liuba’s citizenship. Under the current law, a woman’s nationality depended on the place of residence of her and / or her parents. In order to prove the fact that the family lived in their native village in 1991, a request was made to the village council.
After that, the citizenship of Liuba’s parents was confirmed and it was agreed with the leadership of the State Migration Service of Ukraine in the Kharkiv region to prove the personality of Liuba with the help of only one witness. And it was the woman’s sister Raya, who came from the Kirovohrad region with a 3 month-old child to help her sister with citizenship. However, discrepancies were found in the sisters’ birth certificates, which the lawyer had to correct. Thanks to the help of employees of the Kholodnohirs’kyy district of the State Register of the Acts of a Civil Status in Kharkiv the documents were processed as soon as possible.
In the end, the State Migration Service of Ukraine in Kharkiv region issued a final positive decision on the identification of Liuba, as well as issued the passport of a citizen of Ukraine for the first time in her life. In fact, on the eve of her 38th birthday, Liuba’s most cherished dream – to receive the passport finally came true.
Now it’s time for the Liuba’s children and her youngest sister (in whose case the Kharkiv Court of Appeal issued a positive decision) to receive the documents. But that’s a whole ‘nother story.
20.11.20
In September and October 2020 fires in the Luhansk region resulted in catastrophic consequences. The most difficult situation is along the contact line on the territory of Stanytsia-Luhanska, Novoaidar and the Severodonetsk districts, where more than 30 settlements fell into the affected area.
To eliminate the consequences of fires, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine allocated more than 185 million UAH from the reserve fund of the state budget to the Luhansk Regional State Administration (CMU order № 1269-r of October 13, 2020 “On the allocation of funds from the reserve fund of the state budget”).
Material assistance is provided in the case of:
death of a family member – UAH 200000;
serious injuries – UAH 50000;
moderate injuries – UAH 30000;
minor injuries – UAH 20000.
In order to create appropriate living conditions:
300000 UAH per family will be allocated to the owners of completely destroyed residential buildings;
50000 hryvnias per family will be allocated to the owners of residential buildings that are subject to major repairs.
To receive monetary compensation, victims must submit a package of documents (copies of passport, identification code, document of ownership of housing, commission act about the degree of damage from the fire, current account in a bank) to the relevant administrative units or to Civil-military administrations of settlements at the location of housing and applicant’s residence.
The situation is complicated by the fact that many people have lost their identity documents or the documents confirming the ownership of housing.
On the first days of the tragedy, lawyers of the Right to Protection CF and the NRC-NMFA traveled to the affected settlements and now provide legal assistance on recovering lost documents and on the procedure for obtaining payments from the state budget for households affected by the fire.
Our colleagues have already consulted 418 victims, accompanied the person to the First State Notary Office to obtain a duplicate certificate of inheritance, filed 5 lawsuits for recognition of property rights (some people have not inherited the house or property at the moment it burned down, so the notary refused to issue a certificate).
Right to Protection CF provides free legal assistance to the victims of wildfires in Luhansk region.
On November 18 Right to Protection CF with the support of the U-LEAD with Europe Program organized an event in the format of an online consultation “How can amalgamated territorial communities (hromadas) receive financial assistance (subvention) from the state to provide housing for internally displaced persons?”
The event was attended by representatives of 50 united territorial communities of Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhia regions. During the consultation, the existing opportunities for international technical assistance for socio-economic development of united territorial communities in Ukraine in above mentioned regions were also discussed.
As been noted by Myroslava Sushchenko, the Head of the offices of the Right to Protection CF in Dnipro and Zaporizhia, decided to organize this consultation event for the members of amalgamated hromadas, who have repeatedly approached our specialists for information on existing financial opportunities to provide housing for IDPs, which exist primarily through the receipt of a subvention from the state to local budgets.
SPEAKERS AND TOPICS
Maksym Alekseenko-Lemovsky, Chief Specialist of the Department for Formation and Implementation of Housing Policy of the Ministry for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine told about the procedure and conditions for providing a subvention from the state budget to local budgets.
Myroslava Sushchenko spoke on how to develop and approve the Local Targeted Program for Housing for IDPs and on the procedure for establishing a temporary housing fund, providing it for the use of IDPs, purchasing apartments on the secondary market and providing migrants with housing on financial leasing terms.
Vartan Muradyan, a field adviser at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Slovyansk told about their work.
Markiyan Zhelyak, Public Engagement Specialist of the Emergency Loan Program for Ukraine’s Reconstruction Program, spoke in detail about the achievements and results of implemented projects in Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhia oblasts, as well as future potential UNDP projects.
Anna Aladzhalyan, Chief Community Development Consultant of the Eastern Regional Office of the Ukrainian Social Investment Fund introduced the participants to the projects and activities of the USIF.
“Every amalgamated hromada has the opportunity to receive financial assistance from the state to purchase housing for IDPs. The main thing here is to set the right priorities, calculate your own strengths and write projects in proportion to the community’s capabilities in order to receive the appropriate subvention. For example, this year 10 apartments in Kramatorsk, 8 in Pokrovsk, and 1 house in Primorsk, Zaporizhia Oblast, were purchased at the expense of the subvention. It may be just one house, but it is still a step towards solving the housing problem of at least one socially vulnerable family of migrants. I urge communities to participate in the competition for a state subvention for socio-economic development of the territories, ”
This guide provides an extensive overview of existing state and local housing programs in the housing sector. It will be useful for local governments, as it will allow them to analyze existing practices in the context of housing policy in all regions of Ukraine.
A collection of model documents that includes various options and examples of legal regulation for the provision of IDPs’ housing rights. The collection was designed to facilitate the development of an appropriate documentation framework for communities that intend to implement programs to help address the housing problems of migrants.
19.11.20
For almost five months now, the teams of the Right to Protection CF have been involved in the implementation of the project «Prevention of the spread and response to COVID-19 in areas in eastern Ukraine affected by the conflict». Together with partners from the 3P Consortium and with financial support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), we are working to raise awareness of the coronavirus situation and monitor public protection.
Physicians and patients have repeatedly pointed to significant delays in obtaining test results (PCR). The wait could be up to seven days, and sometimes longer. This situation not only undermines the measures to effectively control the spread of infection, because the establishment of contacts begins only after confirmation of the diagnosis, but also deprives the hospitalized of proper treatment. In addition, such delays may also contribute to the spread of the virus among patients and medical staff, given that it is not always possible to isolate patients with suspicion from each other and not all of them end up in specialized medical facilities for coronavirus treatment. Therefore, because of the rapid spread of coronavirus infection in the region, in October we decided to investigate the situation with PCR testing.
From the statistical data it can be seen that the problem mostly concerns the Donetsk region, where the balance of untested samples on October 23 reached the mark of 6490 units. As of November 4, this figure was reduced to 2,425. The average daily capacity of all laboratories involved in October was about 1,393, including state and municipal – 937, while the average revenue – 1,295. 362 of them were in the regional laboratory center, and the last number of the all remaining was only 47.
In terms of the detection rate, both oblasts are very far from the 5% set by the World Health Organization (WHO): 30% for Donetsk oblast and 22% for Luhansk oblast. This can usually indicate not only the prevalence of the virus in the general population, but also selective testing, which may not cover many people with mild symptoms and asymptomatic disease.
One of the indicators that allows us to estimate the coverage of testing is the number of tests per 100,000 population. It is difficult to establish the exact population of the government-controlled territory of Ukraine (GCTU) in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, but the approximate number can be calculated by subtracting the number of people living in the uncontrolled territory (data from so-called authorities) from the total population of the oblasts. So, we come to 71 per 100,000 in Luhansk region and 75 – in Donetsk. A comparison with the indicators of neighboring countries (see table below) and the national indicator indicates that even taking into account the population, the number of tests performed is too small.
What can be done?
One of the first suggestions / recommendations that comes to mind is to open the new laboratories. According to the Donetsk Regional State Administration’s health department, the region needs at least four more such facilities. It is estimated that the cost of re-equipping the laboratory alone can reach several million hryvnias (1, 2, 3). In addition, it is necessary to train staff. Under favorable circumstances, the time required to open a laboratory can be approximately 2-3 months.
Among the more immediate proposals put forward by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine (MOH) were:
Use priority systems, which did not change the situation significantly, because among the 2,425 untested samples in Donetsk laboratories, 1,862 were of the first degree of priority.
Redirect to less busy labs. Used repeatedly. Although, given the rapid spread of coronavirus, chronic under-testing at the national level and the fact that the residue problem still remains, this option is clearly not a reliable solution.
Test less. The Ministry of Health tried to reduce the workload of laboratories by limiting testing to three groups of people: suspected disease, confirmed diagnosis, and contact persons with symptoms. Thus, the short-term result was proposed to be achieved through a long-term containment strategy.
Involve private laboratories. Almost 100 million hryvnias were allocated for this. On the most productive day in October, 1950 samples were processed in the Donetsk region, 54% of them by private laboratories. At today’s commercial rates, the allocated funds could be enough for three months of such cooperation, but this amount is allocated for the whole country. In addition, testing in private laboratories costs more than in public and communal ones. So, in the long run, it is unclear to what extent the private sector will be able to meet the needs, whether there will be enough money for it and whether it is the optimal investment.
Use the new rapid antigen tests recommended by the WHO. Their accuracy is expected to be comparable to PCR testing. The Ministry of Health assures that 800,000 will be purchased and delivered in the near future. However, so far such tests are available only in private laboratories at a price of 800 UAH.
Meanwhile, Right to Protection decided to focus on the needs of existing institutions and find out how to increase their capacity. Looking at the reporting of laboratories, the most obvious is the continuation of full-scale work on weekends and holidays, when the number of processed samples is significantly reduced or drops to zero. Although the implementation of this decision may be complicated by the lack of the required number of qualified personnel. So our monitors contacted the labs directly to find out how to increase capacity (see average and maximum power for 7 days on November 4).
As it turned out, many employees at the Luhansk Laboratory Center are currently simply ill. Mariupol City Hospital № 4 may well perform up to 600 tests per day, depending on the needs of the city, given that last week almost 260 tests were performed per day, it turns out that there was no special need. At the same time, in the newest Kramatorsk laboratory there is often a shortage of electricity.
In general, the reserves to increase capacity include:
Process automation. This is expected to give the largest increase in the number of analyzes performed. In the Toretsk branch of the regional laboratory center (RLC), for example, an automatic sample preparation station (ASPS) was installed, which will soon allow up to 270 tests per day. ASPS in the Mariupol branch of RLC has failed, in case of its restoration productivity can be doubled. Installing its own ASPS in the Kramatorsk branch of the RLC could increase the number of tests per day to 400.
Introduction of an automated reporting system. It is currently being implemented only in the laboratory of the Donetsk Regional Center for AIDS Prevention and Control. The Mariupol and Kramatorsk branches of the RLC and the laboratory of the Mariupol City Hospital № 4 (LMCH) emphasized that currently manual data entry into a computer takes a long time.
Staffing and organization of the work process. All laboratories, except LMCH, need more specialists, usually biologists, bacteriologists and immunologists. In the Mariupol branch of the RLC there is an opportunity to arrange an additional job, which requires an increase in staff by 3 people. The Toretsk branch of the RLC pointed out the overcrowding of its two specialists, and the expansion of the staff would make it possible to organize work in two shifts. At the State Securities Commission, specialists are not only forced to work overtime, but also do not yet receive additional payments for the risks of working with COVID-19, so it is difficult to motivate them to work in two shifts.
The voiced needs of laboratories can be found in the table below.
This study was made possible by the significant support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Responsibility for the content rests on the Right to Protection and does not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.
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18.11.20
To the:
Chairman of the Budget Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine
Yuriy Aristov
Minister for Communities and Territories Development
Chernyshov Olexiy
Prime Minister of Ukraine
Denis Shmyhal
OPEN APPEAL
We, the non-governmental organizations concerned with the protection and observance of the rights of internally displaced persons and persons, affected by the armed conflict, appeal to you on the matter of significant reduction of funding for housing programs for internally displaced persons in 2021.
It is well known that tackling the housing problems of internally displaced persons has been one of the most pressing issues since the beginning of the armed conflict in 2014 and till nowadays. Lack of housing directly affects the full integration of migrants into host communities and the arrangement of their lives. In addition, this is often the main reason for their return to the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, thus endangering their safety and lives. In view of this, ensuring adequate funding for housing programs for IDPs will not only contribute to the realization of their constitutional right for housing, but will also create conditions for them to have a decent life.
At the same time, the draft Law of Ukraine “On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2021” (registered № 4000), which was adopted in the first reading on November 5, lacks funding for the two most important IDP housing programs, namely the Affordable Housing Program and the preferential lending to Joint Forces Operation participants and IDPs.
The Affordable Housing is a Program for migrants that provides state support in the form of payment of 50% of the cost of construction (purchase) of housing and / or preferential loan with the possibility of obtaining additional lending in the bank to pay part of the cost of construction (purchase), which exceeds the amount of state support.
The program of preferential lending to JFO participants and IDPs provides for a preferential state loan to purchase flat in an apartment building or a one-apartment house with an interest rate of 3% per annum, and for people in military service – from the beginning to the end of the special period; reservists and conscripts – from the moment of conscription during mobilization until the end of the special period, for the time of military service – with 0 interest rate. Both programs are implemented by the State Fund for Youth Housing.
In 2018 and 2019, the laws of Ukraine on the state budget for the respective years provided for the financing of the program “Affordable Housing” in the amount of UAH 100 million, and in 2019 the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine № 980 of 27.11.2019 was approved. the use of funds provided in the state budget for the provision of preferential long-term state credit to internally displaced persons, JFO participants for the purchase of housing, which allowed to finance the loan program at 3% per annum. Funding for the Affordable Housing Program was also provided for in 2020, but due to amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2020” adopted in April this year, funding for this program was completely reduced, and public expenditures on the program of preferential lending to IDPs and participants of the ATO / OOS in 2020 were not provided at all.
Judging by the draft Law of Ukraine “On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2021”, funding for both housing programs for IDPs in 2021 is not provided.
However, internally displaced persons are interested in participating in these programs. According to the information posted on the official website of the State Fund for Youth Housing, 16,000 people are waiting in line to participate in the Affordable Housing Program.
That is why we, the NGO sector organizations are concerned with the protection of the rights of victims of the conflict, appeal to the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Budget, Prime Minister and Minister of Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine to finance housing programs for internally displaced persons in 2021. When preparing the draft Law of Ukraine “On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2021” for the second reading, we ask to take into account the need to finance the above housing programs – programs of preferential housing loans for JFO participants and IDPs at 3% per annum and Affordable Housing Program.
Right to Protection CF
ZMINA Human Rights Center
Crimean Human Rights Group (CHRG)
Vostok SOS CF
NGO “Civil holding “GROUP OF INFLUENCE”
KrymSOS NGO
DonbassSOS NGO
Stabilization Support Services in UkraineCF
18.11.20
Right to Protection CF brings your attention to our report «CROSSING THE CONTACT LINE: October 2020 Snapshot», prepared on the basis of data collected during the monitoring of the situation at the demarcation line. More data on the following topic.
General trends and dynamics
During the whole month, it was possible to cross the demarcation line only through two control checkpoints (hereinafter – CC). This led to a significant reduction in the number of crossings compared to the period before the introduction of quarantine restrictions. The number of crossings decreased by ≈77% in October compared to September, due to the closure of the Stanytsia Luhanska checkpoint: ≈20,000 and 86,000 crossings, respectively;
From September 30 to October 4, the crossing was temporarily suspended at the Stanytsia Luhanska checkpoint in the Luhansk region due to large-scale forest fires. As a result of the fire at the CC on September 30 and October 1, the first aid post and the waiting areas at the checkpoint were partially damaged. All beneficiaries waiting to cross the demarcation line were evacuated in a timely manner;
On October 13, the Special Forces Operation Command (further – SFO) announced that they would temporarily close the Stanytsia Luhanska checkpoint between October 16 and 31 due to the increasingly rapid spread of COVID-19 in the Luhansk region. Since the closure of the following checkpoint until the end of October, only about 200 people have received permission from the SFO to cross the demarcation line towards the government controlled territories of Ukraine (further – CTU);
The day after the Stanytsia Luhanska checkpoint closed, people gathered to cross the demarcation line towards the uncontrolled territory of Ukraine (further – UCTU): in many cases, people claimed that they had not been informed about the closure of the checkpoint. Some people stayed overnight at the checkpoint, waiting to be able to cross the demarcation line towards the UCTU because they were not provided with housing. In addition, there were many elderly people over the age of 80;
On October 28, the SFO Command announced that the closure of the Stanytsia Luhanska checkpoint would last until November 15;
From October 5 to 15, 3,574 vulnerable elderly people received assistance in transportation to the Stanytsia Luhanska checkpoint from the NGO Proliska.
The report contains information collected by the Right to Protection as part of a survey, conducted regularly since June 2017. CCs are located in Donetsk (Mayorske, Maryinka, Hnutove and Novotroitske) and Luhansk (Stanytsia Luhanska) regions. The survey is part of the monitoring of violations of the rights of the population affected by the conflict and is conducted within the project «Advocacy, Protection and Legal Assistance to Internally Displaced Persons of Ukraine» implemented by the Right to Protection CF with the support of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The purpose of this survey is to find out the reasons, conditions and risks that accompany the crossing of the line of contact through the control checkpoints. The information gathered during the survey will help identify needs, gaps and trends, as well as provide an evidence base for advocacy activities.
18.11.20
On November 10, 2020, the Committee hearings on the problem of flooding of mines and pollution of drinking water in Donetsk and Luhansk regions were held.
The discussion was conducted in the format of a video conference, at the level of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Environmental Policy and Nature Management. Deputies of the Parliament, representatives of the Ministry of Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories, the Ministry of Defense, the State Ecological Inspectorate, the Ministry of Energy, the State Agency for Water Resources, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, the State Service of Geology and Subsoil, Donetsk and Luhansk Regional Administrations NSDC, scientific, international and public organizations all joined the event.
«The problem of mines flooding in Donbass did not appear yesterday. Throughout the years of conflict, Ukraine has suffered from the irresponsible actions of the occupying authorities in the uncontrolled territory, as a result of which the ecosystem in eastern Ukraine is now at risk of ecological catastrophe. Experts and civic activists are constantly trying to draw the authorities’ attention to this problem. Over the last year, we have seen some progress in this direction. Thanks to the joint efforts of the People’s Deputy of Ukraine Lesya Vasylenko and the public, the problematic issues were raised and voiced at the level of the profile committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. We hope this will be the first step in addressing this important issue and by working together we will avoid an environmental catastrophe,»
– commented the Legal Analyst of the Right to Protection CF Anastasiia Bondarenko, who also took part in the Committee hearings.
As we mentioned before, on October 29, 2020, a round table «Risks and protection: legislation and practice» was held, where the White Paper was presented – an analytical document developed by experts from the 3P Consortium, which offers practical recommendations for public authorities for refinements and additions to the Unified State Civil Protection System of Ukraine. The hearings of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Environmental Policy and Nature Management became a logical continuation and beginning of the practical implementation of the action plan to respond to the environmental problem in the region. The next step will be to bring the issue to a parliamentary hearing.
* UPD: as of 18/11/2020, the full two-hour version of the conference is missing on YouTube, an excerpt with Ms. Anastasiia’s report is available
