Legal aid providers in Mykolaiv region will be able to effectively protect the rights of asylum seekers and refugees

On December 7, 2017, a training session “International and National Standards for the Protection of the Rights of Asylum Seekers and Refugees in Ukraine” was held in Mykolaiv for employees of centers for the provision of free secondary legal aid and lawyers of the Mykolaiv region.

The event was organized by the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights with the assistance of the Regional Center for the Provision of Free Secondary Legal Aid in Mykolaiv region within the framework of the project “Enhancing Access to Justice for Asylum Seekers, Migrants and Other Vulnerable Groups of Foreign Citizens in Ukraine”, which is implemented with the support of the American people, provided through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) within the framework of the New Justice Program.

Addressing the training participants, the program director of the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights

Tukhan Ediev

emphasized the importance of holding such events and raising the level of awareness of lawyers and employees of the Mykolaiv region’s BVPD centers in migration legislation.

“Such an event is very important, because it is in Mykolaiv region that the Temporary Residence Point for Foreigners and Stateless Persons will soon be operational, which will become the third such center in Ukraine,” the human rights activist noted.

The event’s trainers were leading Ukrainian experts on migration issues, lawyers of the public organization “April 10” from Odessa

Maryna Kurochkina

and

Yuriy Syvologa

.

During the training, the participants were able to familiarize themselves with international and national legal mechanisms in the field of protection of the right to asylum, procedures for determining refugee status under the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the Law of Ukraine “On Refugees and Persons in Need of Supplementary or Temporary Protection”, the features of appealing decisions of the migration service to refuse to accept an asylum seeker’s application for recognition as a refugee or a person in need of supplementary protection, and the preparation of documents for consideration of such applications, considered the main aspects of the problem of statelessness and the practice of the European Court of Human Rights in the context of considering asylum seeker cases.

Upon completion of the event, all attendees received certificates of completion of training on providing legal assistance to vulnerable groups of foreigners.

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For information: The American people, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), have been providing economic and humanitarian assistance around the world for 55 years. Since 1992, USAID’s contribution to the economic and social development of Ukraine has amounted to about 2 billion US dollars. In Ukraine, USAID assistance is provided in such areas as: economic development, democracy and governance, health care, and the social sector. Additional information about USAID programs can be obtained from the USAID Information and Public Affairs Division by phone at +38 (044) 521-5741, on the website, or on the social network Facebook.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) New Justice Program has been implemented since October 2016 and builds on the achievements of previous USAID projects Ukraine: Rule of Law and Fair Justice. The program’s goal is to support the judiciary, the Government, Parliament, the legal community, law schools, civil society, the media, and citizens in creating conditions for an independent, accountable, transparent, and effective justice system that upholds the rule of law and combats corruption. For more information about the program, call +38 (044) 581-3303.