Legal ways to solve the problems of displaced people were discussed in Sumy

In Sumy, at the initiative of the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights, a round table was held on the topic: “Integration of IDPs and legal ways to resolve problematic issues.” The event brought together civil servants, public activists, social workers, human rights defenders, as well as representatives of the IDP community.

Volodymyr Vynogradov

, a lawyer at the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights, gave a report on the positive experience of legal protection of IDPs in the Sumy region, and also spoke about the problematic issues that have unfortunately been occurring recently, as well as the issues that are most often addressed by displaced persons. According to the human rights activist, the consolidation of the efforts of all those present: representatives of the employment service, social protection institutions, active public and the displaced persons themselves, is the right way to enable full integration into local communities of people who came from eastern Ukraine, fleeing the war.

The participants also discussed the provisions of the Resolution approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in November 2018 on the approval of the Action Plan for the Implementation of the Strategy for the Integration of Internally Displaced Persons and the Implementation of Long-Term Solutions for Internal Displacement for the Period Until 2020.

Representatives of the IDP system of Sumy region also participated in the event –

Yulia Andriyanova

, a lawyer at the Regional Center for the Provision of IDPs in Sumy region, said that in addition to providing free secondary legal aid, representatives of IDP centers in Sumy region are actively engaged in legal education work for this category of persons, participate in projects designed to resolve the issues of internally displaced persons, and cooperate with public organizations and state institutions.

The successful experience of integrating migrants using the example of Germany was told by

Natalia Yesina

, a participant in the Exchange to Strengthen the Integration of IDPs in Ukraine project (Berlin), who is also an internally displaced person. In particular, she emphasized the experience of Germans in overcoming stereotypes and the level of tolerance in society.

In addition, among the attendees were also IDPs who received legal assistance from the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights, they shared their own experience and thoughts on personal integration into local communities.

The project “Protecting Rights, Reducing Risks and Strengthening Humanitarian Response for IDPs and Conflict-Affected People in Ukraine” is implemented by the Danish Refugee Council in partnership with the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights with financial support from the Office of Emergency Assistance (OFDA) of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).