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July 11, 2024
On Tuesday, 9 July, in Kharkiv, Right to Protection held a roundtable discussion, The Rights of a Person Who Has Lost a Passport: Between Declarations and Reality. The event hosted Svii, the adaptation space in the city.
Pavlo Snizhko, a leading lawyer for regional coordination of R2P's Kharkiv office, spoke about the current problems of undocumented persons in Ukraine and expectations from the event.
Pavlo Snizhko, a leading lawyer for regional coordination of R2P's Kharkiv office
The purpose of the roundtable was to discuss issues related to the restriction of the rights of persons who have lost or never had a passport of a citizen of Ukraine and to develop ways to resolve them.
Representatives of the public sector, the State Migration Service, free legal aid, the Office of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, NGOs and international organisations joined the discussion.
In the first part of the event, specialists from the Main Department of the State Migration Service in Kharkivska oblast spoke about the increased workload of the migration service due to the renewal of documents.
Anastasiia Klimova, a lawyer at R2P's Kharkiv office, highlighted the obstacles undocumented Ukrainian citizens face in accessing their rights and opportunities. She also shared the practical aspects of protecting and restoring the rights of citizens without passports.
Anastasiia Klimova, a lawyer at R2P's Kharkiv office
Our task at this event was to show that the cooperation of all participants in the process of realising the rights of undocumented persons is the key to ensuring the best interests of such individuals.
During the roundtable, the participants also discussed stateless people and those at risk of statelessness in Ukraine and their legal status and documentation problems.
Yuliia Shelipova, lawyer of the Assistance to Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Stateless Persons in Ukraine programme direction of R2P
The majority of stateless persons and those with undetermined citizenship in Ukraine have lived in Ukraine for decades but, due to the lack of legislative opportunities, could not regulate their legal status or confirm their Ukrainian citizenship or citizenship of another state.
In addition, the participants had the opportunity to discuss the problematic issues of ensuring the rights of stateless and undocumented persons and the main steps needed to eradicate statelessness in Ukraine.
Sofiia Kordonets, Head of the Assistance to Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Stateless Persons in Ukraine programme direction of R2P
Most of these people do not have the necessary documents to prove their identity, legal status or citizenship to lead a decent life and enjoy all the rights guaranteed by law. In 2021, the Law of Ukraine On the Legal Status of Foreigners and Stateless Persons was supplemented by Article 6-1, which defines the legal regulation of the procedure for recognising a stateless person. Thus, all people who do not have citizenship of any country in the world, regardless of the legality of their residence in Ukraine, can obtain an official status and identity document.
This procedure was an essential step towards respecting the rights of stateless persons in Ukraine and improving their situation. However, there are still factors that contribute to the spread of statelessness. A comprehensive approach in the legislative, administrative, social and other spheres is needed to address them and prevent the growth of statelessness.
In the second part of the event, Inna Tertyshna, Head of the Social Guarantees Division of the Department of Social Protection of the Population of Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, highlighted the issue of public sector involvement in protecting undocumented persons on the ground.
Oksana Cherviakova, a representative of the Secretariat of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, also joined the roundtable. She shared the experience of the Ombudsman's work in ensuring the rights of persons without passports are exercised by the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights.
At the end of the event, the participants agreed to further cooperate on this issue to prevent future violations of these people's rights.
The event was supported by the UN Refugee Agency in Ukraine.
