Problems of access to justice for asylum seekers and refugees discussed in Transcarpathia

On November 16, 2021, a round table “State of observance of the rights of asylum seekers, refugees and stateless persons” was held in Uzhgorod.

The meeting was attended by heads of regional and local centers for the provision of free secondary legal aid, representatives of the Temporary Refugee Accommodation Point (PTRB) in the Zakarpattia region, representatives of the Mukachevo and Chop border detachments and the migration service, the children’s service and the department of social protection of the population of the Zakarpattia Regional State Administration, representatives of the legal and human rights community.

The main topics for discussion were addressing current legal and humanitarian issues, access of vulnerable categories of foreigners to legal protection mechanisms, access of asylum seekers to medical care, in particular in the context of the COVID-19 epidemic and quarantine restrictions, implementation of legislation on stateless persons, conflicts in regulatory acts and administrative practice.

Nadiya Edieva

, head of programs of the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights, presented the project being implemented, spoke about the organization’s experience in the field of protecting the rights of refugees, migrants and asylum seekers, and highlighted current changes and novelties in migration legislation.

The Director of the Regional Center for the Provision of Legal Aid in the Zakarpattia Oblast

Vasyl Popadynets

spoke about the principles of providing legal aid to international protection seekers and refugees in the region. In particular, the experts discussed in detail the problematic issues that arise for lawyers when providing free legal aid to refugees and asylum seekers. Vasyl Yuriyovych also emphasized the urgent challenges in the region, in particular the lack of translators, which complicates the work of lawyers who cooperate with the state system of legal aid.

A representative of the border guard service also stated about the problems with translators. The border guard also noted that there is a certain inconsistency between state structures, the issue of detaining persons who claim to be minors remains unsettled. Gaps in legislation, time restrictions – these factors lead to the fact that a person who has illegally crossed the state border must be released by the border service.

Representatives of the Main Directorate of the State Migration Service of Ukraine in the Zakarpattia region

Victoria Kovach

and

Oleksandr Rad

spoke about their experience working with asylum seekers. Migrants also noted that there are problems with translators and abuse of migration procedures by foreigners, including persons who declared themselves minors. Also, experts noted that this year the geography of origin of asylum seekers has changed somewhat. Thus, this year there has been an increase in applications from citizens of Turkey, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and the Republic of Belarus.

The representative of the NGO «NEEKA»

Vitaliy Vartsaba

spoke about the practical experience of working with foreigners in the region. According to the lawyer, the work between local human rights organizations and state institutions is coordinated. The human rights activist emphasized that it is important that asylum seekers have the opportunity to receive high-quality and timely legal assistance immediately after detention, and not at the stage of judicial consideration of cases, as is generally the case now. Mr. Vartsaba also emphasized the problems of translation and initiating a mechanism for involving translators using video communication.

Also

Vitaliy Vartsaba

stated that it is difficult to talk about high-quality legal assistance when during judicial consideration of cases, in particular on detention and deportation, foreigners and their representatives are limited in time. This position was also supported by the Director of the Local Center for Foreigners

Mykhailo Davydenko

, emphasizing that sometimes the court gives no more than 1.5 hours to consider a case, which significantly complicates the preparation and provision of procedural documents and thus violates the rights of foreigners.

During the event, the attendees also discussed problematic aspects of the implementation of legislation on stateless persons and the procedure for submitting applications for international protection, practical challenges in 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 participants of the event expressed hope that the government will soon bring the regulatory legal acts into line with the new Law, and that new draft laws and amendments to the existing legislation, which the parliament is to adopt in the near future, will resolve the current gaps.

The event was organized by the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights with the support of the Human Rights Houses Foundation.