Access to justice for asylum seekers and refugees under quarantine under the attention of the public and experts

On December 10, 2020, an online discussion was held on the topic “The state of observance of the rights of asylum seekers, refugees and stateless persons in Odessa, Kherson and Mykolaiv regions”.

The online meeting was organized at the initiative of the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights as part of the implementation of the project “Ensuring access to justice for asylum seekers, migrants and other vulnerable groups of foreign citizens in Ukraine”.

Representatives of the migration and border services, regional centers for providing free secondary legal aid of Odessa, Kherson and Mykolaiv regions, Mykolaiv Temporary Residence Point for Foreigners and Stateless Persons, judges of local courts, representatives of other relevant authorities, social protection institutions and the human rights community of the region were invited to participate in the event.

The head of programs of the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights

Nadiya Edieva

highlighted the objectives of the project, which is implemented by the organization in 6 regions of Ukraine, spoke about the organization’s experience in the field of protecting the rights of refugees, migrants and asylum seekers, highlighted current changes and novelties in migration legislation.

According to the human rights activist, over the past year, in the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine restrictions, there has been a significant decrease in the number of applications by foreigners for refugee status or additional protection in Ukraine, but the legal problems faced by asylum seekers in Ukraine have not decreased. De jure, positive changes are being made to migration legislation, but in fact, mechanisms for their implementation have not been developed to date. In particular, the procedure for granting refugee status to stateless persons has not yet been regulated.

The representative of the Department of the State Migration Service of Ukraine in the Mykolaiv region

Iryna Borys

highlighted the urgent problems that migration authorities face in their work. As the specialist noted, there is a problem with identifying foreign applicants, who often provide false information about themselves. Another problem is the delay in the process of identifying foreign citizens by embassies and consulates of their countries of origin, which is an obstacle to the rapid and effective performance of the functions of the migration service. The involvement of translators remains a pressing issue. Although the migration authority has concluded an agreement with a local translation center to provide appropriate assistance, there is a shortage of translators for certain languages, and the translator does not always have time to take part in the questionnaire or the court hearing of the case against foreigners.

Lawyer of the public organization “Desyate avril”

Evgeniya Bulgakova

told the participants of the event about the pressing problem of foreigners’ access to medical care. As a result of the initiated medical reform, the right to medical care on an equal basis with citizens of Ukraine, according to Article 11 of the Law of Ukraine “Fundamentals of the Legislation of Ukraine on Health Care”, remained only for foreigners and stateless persons permanently residing in Ukraine, as well as for persons recognized as refugees or persons in need of additional protection. Thus, other categories of foreigners are actually deprived of the right to receive free medical care, which directly contradicts the Constitution of Ukraine.

The representative of the Odessa District Administrative Court

Alina Topashchenko

also raised the problem with translators. In this situation, the courts urgently need cooperation with translators and lawyers from public organizations.

A separate topic of discussion was the practical challenges of providing legal assistance to foreigners and stateless persons in cases of illegal crossing of the state border under Article 204-1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, mechanisms for appealing decisions on the detention and placement of foreigners in the Temporary Residence Point for Foreigners (TSPF), extension of the terms of their detention and forced expulsion from Ukraine.

The event was organized by the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights with the support of the Press, Education and Culture Section of the US Embassy in Ukraine within the framework of the project “Ensuring Access to Justice for Asylum Seekers, Migrants and Other Vulnerable Groups of Foreign Citizens in Ukraine”.