Training of judges and migration service employees on the protection of the rights of migrants and asylum seekers

On June 16, 2014, a training was held in Uzhgorod for migration service employees and judges who consider cases regarding refugee status and persons in need of additional protection, as well as disputes related to the stay or forced expulsion of foreigners and stateless persons in Ukraine.

The event was organized by the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights and the Regional Representation of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Ukraine with the assistance of the International Fund for Health and Environmental Protection “Carpathian Region” (NEEKA) and the Supreme Administrative Court of Ukraine for judges of the Lviv Administrative Court of Appeal and the Transcarpathian District Administrative Court, judges of the Mukachevo and Uzhhorod City District Courts of the Transcarpathian region and employees of the Main Department of the State Migration Service of Ukraine in the Transcarpathian region.

The aim of the event was to raise awareness among judges of: ; proper use , recent changes in the definition of the terms “person in need of additional or temporary protection” Art. 1 , relevant to preventing the forced expulsion and extradition from Ukraine of international protection seekers and other categories of migrants.

Tukhan Ediev, Program Manager of the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights, focused the attention of the audience on the vulnerability of unaccompanied children, pregnant women and stateless persons before forced expulsion from Ukraine, due to the lack of: high-quality translation and free legal assistance during relevant procedures and court hearings.

Oleksandr Luchinets, lawyer of the Carpathian Region NEEKA, spoke about the challenges in working with seekers of international protection in the Transcarpathian region. The lawyers shared with the judges their experience in representing such vulnerable categories of persons in cases of forced expulsion.

Dmytro Plechko, Legal Advisor to UNHCR in Ukraine, spoke about international and European standards in the field of migration and asylum, and their application in the legal system of Ukraine. He focused in detail on the specifics of considering cases regarding refugee status and subsidiary protection, presented .

The participants’ particular attention was drawn to the most pressing problem in Ukraine today – internal displacement. In particular, the UNHCR Representative shared with the participants of the events practical experience in Ukraine, provided the latest statistical data, highlighted the main problems of IDPs, expected changes in legislation, etc.

After the discussions, the training participants watched the documentary film “Strangers: Somalis on the Road”.

The project is implemented with the support of the Human Rights Fund of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ukraine.