Lawyers and legal professionals of Transcarpathia improve their skills in protecting the rights of refugees and asylum seekers

On September 22, 2020, a training on the topic “Protection of the rights of asylum seekers, refugees and stateless persons. International and national standards” was held in Uzhhorod for lawyers and employees of local legal aid centers (LAC).

Opening the event,

Nadiya Edieva

, head of programs at the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights, noted that recent changes in legislation require representatives of the legal and human rights community to pay special attention to supporting cases of extradition of individuals and preventing the expulsion of foreigners to countries where they may be subjected to torture and ill-treatment, in particular in the context of the practice of the European Court of Human Rights.

The Director of the Regional Center for Free Secondary Legal Aid (BVLA) in the Zakarpattia Oblast

Vasyl Popadynets

emphasized the need to hold such mass events for BVLA lawyers in such a complex and rather new topic, in particular in the conditions of quarantine. The head of the center also noted that lawyers who have undergone training will have the priority right to receive instructions to work with foreigners, asylum seekers and refugees.

The trainer of the event was an expert on migration issues, lawyer

Ostap Tymchiy

. 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, examined 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.

In a separate block, the issue of stateless persons, the new Law of Ukraine “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine Regarding Recognition as a Stateless Person” dated 06/16/2020.

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.