Publication

19 December 2016

Ukraine: Translating IDPs' protection into legislative action

Ukraine: Translating IDPs' protection into legislative action

More than 1.6 million people are registered as internally displaced in Ukraine. Most have been forced to flee their homes over the past two years as a result of the political chaos sparked by anti-government
protests in 2014, Russia’s annexation of Crimea, the self-proclamation of the “people’s republics” of Donetsk and Luhansk and intense armed conflict in the east of the country.

This paper provides an overview of issues that have emerged during Ukraine’s development of a normative response to internal displacement, and the challenges inherent in implementing the regulatory framework that was established at the onset of the crisis. It focuses on three areas that are clearly problematic: IDPs’ registration and the granting of a legal status for them; civil registration and the issuance of documents;and effective and non-discriminatory access to social benefits and pensions.