Fled to save his life and right for freedom of religion. The Story of Feraz

05.01.22

One of the main areas of work of the CF “Right to Protection” (R2P) is legal assistance to asylum seekers and refugees.

These people leave their country, home, and sometimes relatives not because of their own free will, but due to persecution for political, religious, and other reasons enshrined in the 1951 Refugee Convention.

They hope for help, but the road to recognition as a refugee in Ukraine is usually long and thorny.

Feraz (name changed), an Iraqi national, applied to the State Migration Service of Ukraine for refugee status, but soon had to prove the right for it in court. According to the Migration Service, the plaintiff simply sought to legalize his stay in Ukraine, and also could not prove the fact of religion change and threat to his life.

Here is what Feraz says about his reasons for appeal:

«I cannot return to Iraq because I am in danger there. In July 2014, I passed the rite of baptism in Ukraine. I have converted to Christianity. I currently attend a Protestant church in Kyiv. Every Sunday I also preach in church with other people. Because I changed my religion from Muslim to Christian, my relatives and the community in which I lived threatened to persecute and kill me. According to Islamic law, a person who changes his religion must be killed in the name of the Islamic God. I cannot return to Iraq because I am in danger of dying there.»
– Feraz tells.

Olena Kalashnyk, a senior lawyer and advocate at the R2P, took up Feraz’s case:

Overview of the practice of the Supreme Court in disputes concerning the recognition of persons as refugees or in need of the complementary protection (2018-2021) Огляд практики Верховного Суду у спорах щодо визнання осіб біженцями або такими, що потребують додаткового захисту (за період з 2018 по 2021)

«An asylum seeker appealed to the administrative court. Our lawyers helped gather the necessary evidence: information about the country of origin from internationally recognized sources, a baptismal certificate and photo evidence, the testimony of the pastor of his church, letters of support, and more. The court of first instance dismissed the claim, but the appellate court overturned its decision and ruled in favor of the plaintiff.»
– Olena tells.

Now Feraz has been granted refugee status in Ukraine and can finally start making his life and planning for the future while leaving all the fears in the past.

Read more about the legal practice in favor of asylum seekers and refugees in the review (in Ukrainian) from the National Bar Association of Ukraine and the CF “Right to Protection” (R2P).

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24.12.21

As of now, the CF “Right to Protection” (R2P) implements 5 dialogue projects and is actively involved in peacebuilding initiatives.

We are proud that the experts of our team took part in the development of the Conceptual Framework for Peacebuilding Policy in Ukraine. This document is the basis for the strategy of the Center for Peacebuilding.

On December 22, representatives of the R2P Nadiya Kovalchuk, Natalia Proskurenko, and Oleksandr Gviazdovskyi met with the Acting Director of the newly established Ukrainian National Center for Peacebuilding (UNCP) Oleksandr Smyrnov. The formats of partnership and the possibility of future cooperation were discussed at the meeting. They agreed to work together on priority issues of dialogue and peacebuilding.

The public sector and civil society worked together to create the Conceptual Framework for Peacebuilding Policy in Ukraine, represented by more than 200 experts and specialists, including human rights activists, participants of the religious initiatives, veterans, women’s organizations, as well as journalists.

It should be noted that the document on the vision of peacebuilding was written for the first time in Ukraine based on proposals from civil society.

In addition, for the first time, civil society organizations have the opportunity to influence the content of the highest priority areas of the Ministry for Reintegration and UNCP in the field of peacebuilding.

More about the Center for Peacebuilding

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21.12.21

A tired elderly woman was crying near the Hoptivka Border Checkpoint. When our colleague, monitor Valeria Samarska, finally managed to calm her down, she told a sad story…

Ms. Lyubov Volodymyrivna is 70 years old and lives in the territory temporarily out of Ukraine’s control. Due to a mistake of the Pension Fund, she was forced to urgently come to Kyiv, and from there – to Kharkiv. Having spent almost her entire monthly pension on the trip, the woman hurried home. She decided to go through the Goptivka checkpoint, where, as her acquaintances told, there were smaller queues.

In the hustle and bustle, Ms. Lyubov lost her passport to travel abroad. Therefore, when the monitor of our Fund saw her, the woman was in complete despair. Ms. Lyubov had no idea where to turn, what to do and how to get home. Our colleague calmed the woman down and started to be active.

Thanks to the coordinated cooperation of the monitor Valeriia Samarska with the lawyer of the project “Legal assistance to stateless persons in Ukraine” Oksana Zhelanova and representative of the management of the Kholodnohirsk Department of the State Migration Service Of Ukraine Maria Kovalenko, woman applied for loss of passport of a citizen of Ukraine for travel abroad. As a result, the woman’s citizenship was confirmed and all necessary procedures were urgently carried out.

Passport Втратила паспорт намагаючись відновити пенсійні виплати. Історія Любові Володимирівни

Soon, Mrs. Lyubov will be able to get a new passport. We hope that there will be no more reasons for the woman to cry again. Good luck!

CF “Right to Protection” (R2P), in turn, expresses our sincere gratitude to the leadership of the Kholodnohirsky department of the State Migration Service of Ukraine in the Kharkiv region for conscientious fulfillment of the requirements of the current legislation and their official duties. We also thank the leadership of the Migration Service of the Kharkiv region for effective cooperation in providing assistance to the people.

Project “Legal assistance to stateless persons in Ukraine” is implemented by the CF “Right to Protection” (R2P) with the support of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

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14.12.21

This year, 83 applicants, accompanied by lawyers and attorneys of the R2P team, submitted their documents for the Stateless Determination Procedure (SDP). This has been made possible thanks to the effective cooperation with the State Migration Service of Ukraine (SMSU).

On December 2, during an online meeting with the representatives of the State Migration Service of the Kyiv Region, specialists of the CF “Right to Protection” (R2P) spoke about the legal assistance to the stateless persons and about the ways to solve problems in non-standard cases.

The event was joined by the employees of the SMS, including Olga Valetenko, Deputy Director of the Department, Head of the Temporary and Permanent Residence of Foreigners, and Stateless Persons of the State Migration Service of Ukraine.

Lawyers and advocates of the R2P Sofiia Kordonets, Victoria Volynska, Alexandra Aivazian, Konstiantyn Funzhyi, and Kseniia Karahiaur shared their own experience in this area and spoke about:

The main categories of persons applying for the Stateless Determination Procedure (SDP);
Challenges when submitting applications for an SDP;
Ways to facilitate the application for recognition of stateless persons in non-standard cases.

Since April 2021, every person who can’t get a passport due to not being considered a citizen of any country, has the right to apply to the State Migration Service of Ukraine to become recognized as a stateless person.

Due to the implementation of an SDP, the CF “Right to Protection” (R2P) is holding its third event at the regional level with the representatives of the SMS of Ukraine.

The Team of the Fund plans to continue to meet with the government officials and other agencies to establish effective cooperation in this area, as well as to raise awareness and share the information about the new Stateless Determination Procedure.

Спільними зусиллями долаємо безгромадянство

Our team is sincerely grateful to the participants for their interest in the topic and for their active participation in the event! We look forward to continuing our cooperation.

USEFUL THEMATIC MATERIALS:

Project “Legal assistance to stateless persons in Ukraine” is implemented by the CF “Right to Protection” (R2P) with the support of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

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01.12.21

In the 1990s, the company where Oleh worked experienced an economic downturn, wages were paid only partially, and there was barely enough money to buy food. The man began working informally at various private enterprises. While looking for a new job, he lost his passport, birth certificate, and employment record. Later, the man decided to return to Kreminna.

Oleh repeatedly applied to the local Department of the Migration Service for a new passport but was always denied due to lack of documents and inability to prove Ukrainian citizenship. He tried to get a birth certificate again, but could not do so without a passport. Each unsuccessful attempt disappointed him more and more.

One day, Oleh’s best friend offered him to turn to the specialists of the Kreminna Free Legal Aid Bureau. There, the man told his story to the specialists, who then redirected him to the office of the CF “Right to Protection” (R2P) in Severodonetsk.

Serhii Mikhailov, the lawyer of the R2P, took up the job. It was not easy to prove that the man lived in Ukraine as of August 24, 1991, as well as to collect all the required documents to support this fact. All because the enterprises where Oleh worked changed their names many times, created private cooperatives, and information about the periods of work was not passed to the labor archives. And the house where the man lived at that time became a property of the private enterprise, so the information from the archives of registered residents was lost forever.

Yet the perseverance and a desire to help can move mountains. Documents about the place of residence were found, our lawyer immediately applied to the Kreminna district court of the Luhansk region. The witness also further confirmed the fact that Oleh lived in Ukraine as of August 24, 1991. As a result, the court sided with our beneficiary.

Finally, after so many years of suffering and exile, Oleh received a passport of a citizen of Ukraine. Now the man is discovering new horizons of life. He has already received a tax identification number, opened a bank account, and plans to become officially employed. This is what he says about his new official legal status:

“A passport is when you exist and when everyone sees you!”

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26.11.21

The specialists of the CF “Right to Protection” (R2P) were approached by the residents of one of the settlements near the contact line, who reported that a man born in 1959, who had not had a permanent residence for about two years, lived in their settlement. He periodically lives in the basements of apartment buildings and on the street.

The Fund’s social workers visited the settlement to obtain more detailed information and talk to the beneficiary. As a result, it was found out that the man is currently living in a summerhouse with a local resident. The house is not equipped with heating, there is no drainage, water supply, and other conditions for permanent residence.

The man speaks poorly, possibly due to a stroke he suffered, and needs a medical examination. He is not officially employed. It is impossible to issue a pension due to insufficient length of service, as evidenced by the official refusal of the territorial division of the Pension Fund. Man has the identity documents, employment record book, and education documents (previously restored by the house management representatives).

Employees of the R2P interviewed the man’s sister about taking him in, but the woman refused.

To help homeless man, a request was sent to the head of the Volnovakha City Civil-Military Administration for social protection, to register him as a homeless person, as well as further appropriate actions and measures under the Law of Ukraine “On Fundamentals of Social Protection homeless people and homeless children.”

As a result of joint work, a joint visit of employees of the CF “Right to Protection” (R2P), the Center for Social Services, and the Territorial Center for Social Services of the Volnovakha City Territorial Community was carried out, during which a detailed explanation was provided regarding the registration of a man and the provision of services by the Territorial Center for Social Services of the Volnovakha City Territorial Community.

We have discussed the possibility of man’s placement in charitable rehabilitation centers, but the man refused the offer. The man was informed about the possibility of organizing his escort to the hospital and about receiving humanitarian aid.

As a result of the joint work, the man was registered as a homeless citizen at the Territorial Center for Social Services of the Volnovakha City Territorial Community, and a certificate of registration of a homeless person was issued.

Unfortunately, the problem of living conditions remains unresolved. The state of health (stroke) and the age of the man do not allow him to work, rent a house, and generally support existence on his own.

According to the results of the next visit to the beneficiary, it was established that he continues to live in an unsuitable place (summer country house) without heating, electricity, and water supply. During the visit, we have also recorded the absence of food, lack of proper sanitary, hygienic, and temperature conditions. His health condition is a cause for concern.

Being worried about his own life due to the gradual decrease in air temperature, the man appealed to us to help him settle in a communal or private boarding house in the Donetsk region.

Realizing that further deterioration of weather conditions, lower air temperature endangers the life of the citizen, employees of the CF “Right to Protection” (R2P) appealed to the Territorial Center for Social Services of the Volnovakha City Territorial Community to place a homeless person in boarding house.

But while this question is being solved, weather conditions worsen and the man freezes in a country house. R2P Team found a temporary place of residence in one of the charitable centers for six months, where he then was taken. Now we are reassured knowing that our beneficiary will spend the cold season in the warm and will be provided with the means of subsistence.

#OCHAUkraine

#InvestInHumanity

#UkraineHumanitarianFund

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18.11.21

Kharkiv, 1998. Olesya, a girl from Uzbekistan, gives birth in a maternity hospital. She is young, scared, and does not have a passport. A boy named Timur is born. Being in such a difficult situation, Olesya decides to give a fictional surname to the boy to receive the birth certificate for him.

Later, when her son turned 18, Olesya received Ukrainian citizenship. Unfortunately, due to coming of age, the young man was no longer able to acquire citizenship with his mother. They then tried to apply to the migration service at their place of residence. And only then Olesya and Timur understood the complexity of this situation. According to the documents, the boy had a fictitious surname, so Olesya was not considered his mother under the law.

In 2018, the family turned to our colleagues in Kharkiv for help. With the help of an R2P lawyer, Olesya’s motherhood was established in court and the new birth certificate for Timur was obtained. Unfortunately, this did not solve the problem of Timur’s citizenship. So the boy had to wait patiently for the opportunity to apply for recognition as a stateless person. In early November 2021, the following opportunity occurred: the Kholodnohirsk branch of the State Migration Service of Ukraine in the Kharkiv region accepted his application, and the applicant was issued a certificate – the first official document proving his identity.

Also, our lawyer gathered enough evidence and proved in court the grounds for Timur to acquire Ukrainian citizenship by territorial origin. The court decision has already come into force, so after receiving the decision to recognize Timur as a stateless person, he will immediately apply to the Migration Service with a request to acquire Ukrainian citizenship to finally get the dream passport.

And we, for our part, will accompany and support him on this path. Good luck to all of us in this difficult matter!

Безгромадянство через вигадане прізвище. Історія Олесі та Тимура

Once again, the CF “Right to Protection” (R2P) is happy to express sincere gratitude to the Migration Service of the Kharkiv Region for its continued support in all the efforts and initiatives to help people, as well as for effective cooperation in the difficult way of documenting the stateless persons.

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08.11.21

Lyudmyla is a resident of the Stanychno-Luhanskyi district in the Luhansk region. In 2014, due to the lack of passport forms, she received a temporary identity card of a citizen of Ukraine.

Через обставини непереборної сили - негромадянка. Історія Людмили — Photo – **RFE/RL**

Due to the escalation of hostilities, Lyudmyla lost her documents and was left without a passport. The archive building of the district migration service, where all the data was located, was almost destroyed. Lyudmyla tried to renew at least her birth certificate, but due to the lack of documents, it was impossible.

Woman continued to live near where the modern “contact line” now is. She could not leave her village without identity documents. All because there were checkpoints on the outskirts, through which one can pass only with the proper documents.

In 2018, the district migration service resumed its work. Lyudmyla immediately applied for a passport. However, the service’s file archive was destroyed during the hostilities. Because of this, and because of the woman’s lack of documents, Lyudmyla didn’t receive a passport. To establish her Ukrainian citizenship, she was left with the only option – to go to court.

Our colleagues from the Severodonetsk R2P office helped the woman to overcome all legal issues. Lawyer Serhii Mikhailov started to work with Lyudmyla’s case. He first helped the woman obtain a birth certificate. Then he started collecting information from the school and from the village council, where Lyudmyla lived with her parents. All this information is required to confirm her Ukrainian citizenship.

However, a new problem arose. There were discrepancies in the documents collected by the lawyer on Lyudmyla’s date of birth. Thanks to persistent cooperation with the government agencies, the problem has been resolved and appropriate changes have been made. This managed to confirm the citizenship of Ukraine in a pre-trial procedure. All the necessary documents were submitted to the State Migration Service of Ukraine, and finally, Lyudmyla received her long-awaited passport!

We sincerely congratulate Lyudmyla! As she said herself, at the moment when you hold your passport in your hands, you understand that you are a part of society, that you are a citizen of Ukraine!

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08.11.21

Victoria was born in 1997 in Kharkiv. However, since the moment of birth, she had been living in the village of Kovyahy in the Valkiv district of the Kharkiv region. She graduated from the Kovyahy educational complex.

The girl’s mother was undocumented, so the child didn’t receive the birth certificate. So, when it was high time to get a passport, the girl did not exist from a legal point of view, because for all her life she lived without a birth certificate.

Народитись в Україні без громадянства. Історія Вікторії

In 2018, Victoria turned for help to our colleagues from the Kharkiv office. The first step was to go to court to establish the fact of the birth. Through the painstaking work of the lawyer, together with the help of the Center for Social Services of the Valkiv City Council, enough documents were collected to go to court. In August 2021, Victoria received her first official document – a birth certificate.

The second step was to apply to the Valkiv sector of the State Migration Service of Ukraine in the Kharkiv region to provide our beneficiary with the document. Due to her mother being undocumented at the moment of birth, it was not possible to prove citizenship. However, since Victoria was born in Ukraine, she has the right to acquire Ukrainian citizenship. However, in order to be able to apply for citizenship, first, she needs to get the status of a stateless person.

Victoria’s application for statelessness was accepted and she received another important document! And although this certificate is not an acquired status, this step brings it closer to resolving the issue of obtaining a long-awaited passport. Victoria already dreams of starting her own family, working officially, and feeling proud of becoming a citizen of Ukraine.

We thank the staff of the Center for Social Services of the Valkiv City Council, Valkiv District Court of Kharkiv region, and the staff of the Valkiv sector of the State Migration Service of Ukraine in the Kharkiv region for high professionalism, incredible sensitivity, and constant willingness to cooperate to help people!

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