#IBelong: 5 stories. 5 faces of statelessness. 3/5 – To have a citizenship is to have the rights

06.11.20

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

Why can’t Rimma get a passport?

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

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

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

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

05.11.20

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

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

During the Discussion such issues were spoken out:

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

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

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

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

05.11.20

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

04.11.20

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

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

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

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

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

Does Olena feel happy?

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

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

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

02.11.20

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

What sets this family apart from others?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Read more stories:

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

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

4/5: To be citizen to receive medical treatment

5/5: Roma people (video )

29.10.20

On September 2, 2020, the Verkhovna Rada adopted the draft Law on Administrative Procedure № 3475 dated 14.05.2020 in the first reading. The Right to Protection CF considers it appropriate to provide the Committee with its analysis of the draft law and recommendations on the preparation of the draft for the second reading.

General caveats

Right to Protection CF considers that some of the project proposals are appropriate and can improve the realization of the rights and legitimate interests of individuals and legal entities in relations with the state. Such proposals should include the consolidation of the presumption of legality of actions and requirements of the person in Art. 15 of the draft, the obligation of the administrative body to collect evidence independently and not to transfer this obligation to the applicant in Art. 16 of the draft, detailing the requirements for the administrative act in Art. 67 of the draft, fixing the possibility to declare an administrative act invalid in Art. 85, etc.

In general, the creation of a unified procedure for consideration of appeals and decision-making on them can guarantee the possibility of personal protection of their rights and their timely implementation. However, the Right to Protection CF agrees with the position of the Main Scientific and Expert Department and believes that if the draft is adopted as a law, there may be negative consequences for a large number of existing procedures and administrative services that cannot be implemented within the general administrative procedure.

Risks to the procedure for processing an application for recognition as a refugee or as a person in need of complementary protection

1. The current legal framework, including a number of international treaties, enshrines the special vulnerability of this category of foreigners and stateless persons as asylum seekers, in particular, due to forced relocation, difficulty to obtain the documents proving their identity, low level of education, lack of sufficient funds to ensure a decent standard of living, experience of physical and psychological suffering, lack of language knowledge of the country, where they apply for protection.

Therefore, in order to ensure the rights of these persons and to prevent discrimination, the legislation establishes certain guarantees that are used by asylum seekers during administrative proceedings. Among the most important guarantees of access to international protection, enshrined in current legislation, are:

the procedure for submitting an application by a person who is illiterate or has physical disabilities;
the right to submit an application and documents substantiating the need for protection, in the native language and the obligation of the State Migration Service of Ukraine (SMSU) and other state bodies to provide an interpreter;
the procedure for submitting an application by a person who has illegally crossed the state border of Ukraine;
the procedure for action of the SMSU and other state bodies in the case of applying for protection of a child separated from his family;
the right to submit an application by a person who does not have identity documents or such documents are false, and the procedure for further consideration of such an application;
an exhaustive list of grounds for deciding to refuse to accept an application for recognition as a refugee or a person in need of complementary protection, etc.

However, the draft Law does not take into account the special vulnerability of asylum seekers. Thus, Article 7 of the draft stipulates that foreigners and stateless persons use guarantees during administrative proceedings, but these guarantees are not enshrined and listed separately, which indicates their declarative nature.

2. The draft significantly expands the range of opportunities for a person to protect their rights during administrative proceedings, in particular, the right to submit petitions, an exhaustive list of which is directly enshrined in the draft, access to case materials, the right to submit explanations and comments, the right to be heard by the administrative body before decision in the case is taken, the right to initiate and participate in hearings in the case, etc., but due to the special vulnerability of asylum seekers for most of them the realization of these rights is not possible without representation.

At the same time, it should be noted that the draft does not provide the amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On Free Legal Aid”, and under current regulation access to legal aid for asylum seekers is complicated: 1) the range of asylum seekers entitled to such assistance is significantly narrowed; 2) a clear procedure and procedure for attracting or appointing a lawyer from the free legal aid center are not defined; 3) the obligation of the bodies of the State Migration Service of Ukraine (SMSU) to inform the relevant center for the provision of free legal aid about the need for such assistance to asylum seekers is not provided; 4) the term for consideration of an application for the provision of free legal aid is twice as long as the term for appealing against decisions of the SMSU, etc.

Therefore, in case of adoption of the draft Law as is without any required amendments, applicants for protection will be deprived of the opportunity to exercise their rights during the administrative proceedings.

3. One of the guarantees of access to international protection, as mentioned above, is to enshrine in law an exhaustive list of grounds for a decision to refuse to accept an application for recognition as a refugee or a person in need of complementary protection. In contrast, according to the draft, the possibilities of the administrative body to refuse to consider the application are significantly expanded. For example, Article 42 provides for a list of applications that are not subject to review, and Article 40 provides for the application to be left without motion or withdrawn from review. This may limit access of asylum seekers to international protection, thus violating Ukraine’s international obligations.

4. The particular vulnerability of asylum seekers requires a special approach to the proof and evaluation of the application for protection. This approach is explained in p. 196, 197 Guidelines on Procedures and Criteria for Determining Refugee Status under the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol. Instead, the requirements for evidence and proof set out in the draft do not take into account these recommendations, which may lead to a violation of the rights of asylum seekers.

Risks to the procedure for processing of an application for recognition as a stateless person

The Law of Ukraine “On the Legal Status of Foreigners and Stateless Persons” stipulates that the procedure for consideration of applications for recognition as a stateless person shall be established by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (within three months from the date Law enters into the force). The draft contradicts this provision of the Law, as it tries to regulate in particular the procedure for consideration of applications for recognition as a stateless person, without specifying this procedure in the list of exceptions from the scope of the draft. Instead, a significant number of project provisions are inconsistent with the procedure for recognition as a stateless person, some directly contradicting it.

1. Part three of Article 19 of the draft Law requires the applicant to translate documents provided in a foreign language, contrary to Article 6-1 of this Law, which obliges the state body to translate documents provided by the applicant when applying for recognition as stateless person.

2. Although Article 36 of the draft provides a form of application, which includes oral (including submitted in a personal application, which is added to the case file via transcribing it by an official), does not take into account the possibility of application by an illiterate person or person with disabilities. Instead, the second paragraph of the first part of Article 6-1 of this Law indicates the procedure for filing an application by such a person. In addition, as our practice shows, among undocumented persons with uncertain citizenship who meet the criteria for determining as stateless, there are often illiterate people who have not received an education.

3. This Law stipulates that if a stateless person has no documents that are required by Law, after his / her written consent was received, relatives, neighbors or other persons (at least three) will be interviewed to confirm the fact of statelessness (paragraph three of the first part of Article 6-1 of the draft Law). The draft provides the status of “case review facilitators” to the aforementioned people, but it cannot be taken into account that the interview is conducted only with the written consent of the applicant. In addition, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine will establish the procedure of interviewing persons during the consideration of an application for recognition as a stateless person.

4. Article 33 of the draft provides the possibility of initiating proceedings by an administrative body, which has the potential to yield a positive impact on the process of identifying undocumented stateless persons. However, consideration of the application for recognition as stateless is not provided by the above-mentioned law in any other way than through the application of the person.

5. The procedure for suspension and resumption of administrative proceedings provided in Article 60 of the draft is also not consistent with the procedure for recognition as a stateless person, defined by Law. The draft introduces the possibility to suspend the consideration of the application at the request of the applicant, instead it is not able to take into account the procedure for termination and resumption of the application for recognition as stateless person (in particular at the time of consideration of the application for protection in Ukraine, as in the second article 6-1 of the said Law).

6. The administrative appeal introduced in the draft (Articles 74-81) will not be available to the applicant for recognition as stateless person, as the draft Law provides only the possibility of judicial appeal. The extension of the application certificate for recognition as a stateless person is provided only for the time of the court appeal.

Summary and recommendations

Thus, the special vulnerability of asylum seekers and persons applying for recognition as stateless is not taken into account in the process of administrative proceedings in the draft Law. There are no separate guarantees for these categories. In the process of exercising the rights during the administrative proceedings proposed in the draft, both asylum seekers and stateless persons will obviously face significant difficulties. In fact, rights will remain declarative for them.

Based on the above, we recommend to add paragraphs 6 and 7 of the following content to the part 2 of Article 1 of the draft law:

6) submission and consideration of an application for recognition as a refugee or a person in need of complementary protection, decision-making on this application and its appeal, adoption and appeal of a decision on loss and deprivation of refugee status and additional protection and cancellation of a decision on recognition as a refugee or a person needs additional protection;

7) consideration of the application for recognition as a stateless person in accordance with the Law of Ukraine “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine Concerning Recognition as a Stateless Person”.

28.10.20

The beneficiary of the Slovyansk Office of the Right to Protection CF, together with our lawyer came through a difficult and long way to obtain a passport of a citizen of Ukraine for the first time in his life.

This was the whole process: renewal of lost documents, courts, confirmation of citizenship. The final step in this case was to obtain a passport, the man had to apply to the State Migration Service of Ukraine (SMSU) in Bakhmut and provide all the documents collected within two years.

But a few days before the appointed date an accident happened to a 66-year-old man – one of his legs stopped functioning, so he lost the ability to move independently, even with a stick. Our beneficiary did not have special funds, and could not buy or receive assistance free of charge due to lack of a passport. So, as of Monday, the lawyer had to look for ways to take the man from the Chasiv Yar town (Bakhmut district) to Bakhmut and help him climb to the third floor of the SMSU department, that is not equipped for people with limited mobility and people with disabilities. Given the situation with CoVID-19, it was difficult to find transport to relocate the man, as most organizations now do not provide social support with their own transport. The search took almost two days.

The Proliska NGO responded to the request for assistance, temporarily not carrying out transportation due to CoVID-19, but they found a volunteer who took the man to the Bakhmut SMSU. A neighbor of our beneficiary also responded, who, despite the working day, accompanied him from the apartment to the Migration Service and back. In three weeks the man will have to visit the SMSU again and it is unknown what difficulties he will deal with next time.

Today, none of the departments of the State Migration Service in the north of Donetsk region, with which the representatives of the Right to Protection CF worked, are properly equipped or even not equipped at all for people with disabilities or with limited mobility. Some local offices are located on the second or even third floor of buildings, so people sometimes cannot get the necessary services at all.

20.10.20

On October 18, a Law that clearly defined the procedure for recognition as a stateless person in Ukraine must have come into force. In fact, this has not happened. Still-existing legal gap is a real problem for the people with whom specialists of the Right to Protection CF work every day. Ms. Larysa (name changed) is one of those who received legal help from our lawyers. Her story is the evidence of the urgent need to introduce an adequate procedure for recognition as a stateless person in Ukraine.

Larysa lost her passport as the USSR was dissolving. Consequently, she spent nearly 30 years on the verge of statelessness, and she passed her own legal non-existence on to her own four children. Her eldest son has also passed the status on to his own two children. Statelessness is generational.

Larysa was born in a village called Kolomiya in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, but when she was young she frequently travelled around the Soviet Union because her father was in the military and he was assigned to posts across several Soviet Republics. Larysa grew up all over the USSR, but in 1987 she returned home to Ukraine, she got married, and she moved to a small town called Borodyanka in Kyiv oblast.

In 1990, not long before the formation of an independent Ukraine, Larysa lost her passport. She made several attempts to replace it, but at that time she was met with the chaos of the collapsing Soviet system. The turbulence of that moment mixed with the already burdensome and convoluted process involved in getting a replacement passport, and so Larysa was confronted with a never-ending bureaucratic process that gave her an interminable list of things to do and documents to provide.

At one point, she even had to contact the Estonian authorities to get proof of her prior residence there. Nevertheless, and despite her Ukrainian birth certificate and Ukrainian marriage certificate, Larysa’s attempts were rebuffed, and it was determined that she had insufficient proof of her residence in Ukraine at the time of the birth of the new nation in 1991. Interestingly enough, Larysa’s mother, who lived in Estonia at the time, managed to replace her own Soviet passport with a new, Ukrainian one. This, ultimately, served no aid in helping Larysa’s cause, however.

For decades, Larysa was stateless. As a result of her legal nonexistence, her challenges multiplied. She couldn’t legally work because a passport is a necessary condition of employment; she couldn’t get government assistance because she was legally non-existent; she couldn’t get a bank account, and she couldn’t legally rent or own property. Slowly, step by step, she was removed from existence; without a passport or documentation, living a normal life was not possible. This condition of legal nonexistence was also passed on to her children, and then onto their children, and after a while, the whole family had legally disappeared everywhere.

It wasn’t until 2018, nearly 30 years after becoming stateless, that Larysa learned about the legal services of Right to Protection. She was told about the services for stateless persons by a friend, a former stateless woman from Armenia, who had recently received her own passport with the help of R2P’s attorneys. Larysa called R2P’s offices, and she got in touch with Victoriia — the woman who would become her lawyer.

Victoriia brought Larysa’s case to court where she demonstrated Larysa’s residence in Ukraine in 1991 through her employment certificate in Borodyanka from that time. The court accepted the evidence, and late in 2018, Larysa received her passport for the first time in nearly 30 years. The first thing she did upon getting her passport was travel to Russia to see her father and her sister in Sochi, and to visit the site where her mother had been buried years earlier. Her mother had passed away in Russia, and Larysa had never been able to see the grave.

Since receiving her passport, Larysa has worked on those of her family too. Three of her children now have their passports, but Larysa’s eldest son, who was born in Tallinn prior to the fall of the Soviet Union, continues to have trouble getting his. He has passed his statelessness on to his own two young children as well, and they are likely to face difficulties proving their citizenship in the future.

But the overall situation is improving, and Larysa thinks there is hope for her son and her grandchildren. With her official documentation in hand, Larysa is employed as shop assistant, and she is now qualified to receive a pension. Her advice to others who face similar hardships:

“Don’t be afraid and ask for help. The thing is you have to take the first step, and then everything will be okay. But you have to put in the effort…You have to knock on all the doors.”

Following this link we offer you to read the analytical document on the procedure for recognition as a stateless person in Ukraine, neighboring countries and in throughout the world, prepared by the “Right to Protection” CF, with the support of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Ukraine (UNHCR Ukraine)

16.10.20

Right to Protection office in Kyiv from 19.10.2020 to 23.10.2020 will work in a limited mode.

All legal services will be provided to clients in full in the remote way using the ZOOM, Viber, Skype services. The office is closed to visitors! Interviews and consultations scheduled for this week will be conducted online using the ZOOM, Viber, Skype service.

You can contact us at the following phones:

For asylum seekers: +38 093 049 52 18, +38 094 905 67 62, +38 044 337 17 62 (Write to us on Viber, WhatsApp: +38 093 038 95 62)

For stateless persons: +38 093 039 00 71, +38 093 038 90 31

Stay tuned for updates and be healthy!