Legal aid providers and officials in Volyn improve their skills in protecting the rights of refugees and asylum seekers

On December 7-9, 2016, a series of trainings “International and National Standards for the Protection of the Rights of Asylum Seekers and Refugees in Ukraine” were held in Lutsk for representatives of centers for the provision of free secondary legal aid, lawyers, and employees of the migration and border services of the Volyn region.

The trainers of the events were leading Ukrainian experts on migration issues and practicing lawyers

Natalia Gurkovska

and

Ostap Tymchiy

.

During the opening of the trainings, the program director of the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights

Tukhan Ediev

emphasized the importance of regulating migration processes at the national and regional levels in order to prevent violations of the rights of refugees and asylum seekers, prevent ill-treatment of irregular migrants, and facilitate their access to justice and effective legal remedies.

The deputy director of the Regional Center for the Provision of Free Secondary Legal Aid in the Volyn Region

Yevheniy Blashchuk

acquainted those present with the practice of legal protection of asylum seekers, migrants, and other vulnerable categories of foreign citizens that has developed in the Volyn Region.

During the trainings, lawyers and representatives of the Regional and local centers of the region, as well as employees of the Volyn Temporary Residence Point for Foreigners, border and migration services of Volyn were introduced to the relevant practice of the European Court of Human Rights, the procedure for determining refugee status under the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees and the Law of Ukraine “On Refugees and Persons in Need of Additional or Temporary Measures”, with the features of appealing decisions of the State Migration Service of Ukraine on the refusal to accept an asylum seeker’s application, prepare documents for its consideration, and grant refugee or person in need of additional protection status.

The lecture material was reinforced by practical exercises, during which a constructive discussion took place between the training participants, which demonstrated the interest of those present in the topic of discussion.

At the end of the event, trainers

Natalia Gurkovska

and

Ostap Tymchiy

answered all the questions that interested the lawyers. As a result, all participants received informational materials for use in their work.

The trainings were organized by the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights within the framework of the project “Development of state and non-state systems for providing free legal aid to protect the rights of irregular migrants and asylum seekers in Ukraine”, which is implemented with the support of the Canadian Foundation for Local Initiatives.