The Cabinet of Ministers made changes to the Decisions regulating the procedure for registering internally displaced persons (IDPs) and appointing them targeted assistance. Informator.media tried to figure out what this would mean in practice.
Human rights activists from Charitable Foundation ‘Vostok-SOS’ gave explanations regarding the changes made to Resolution No. 505. Amendments to Resolution No. 509 have also been introduced.
Not in lists
As is known, the Resolution No. 505 of the Cabinet of Ministers regulates the appointing of targeted assistance to IDPs. Facility approved the list of settlements on the territory of which the bodies of state authority temporarily don’t exercise their powers.
If you didn’t detect in appointed list the name of your settlement, you won’t get targeted assistance. This scroll of settlements could be seen here. The text of document says that Ministry of Internal Affairs, Security Service on the proposal of the Anti-Terrorism Center under the Security Service of Ukraine must ‘monthly made changes in appointed order to the consideration of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine proposals for making changes to the lists approved by this order’.
Such done changes were commented by the coordinator of a law direction of Charitable Foundation ‘Vostok-SOS’ Alena Luneva.
‘According to made changes in Resolution No. 505 of Cabinet of Ministers on May 31, first, the territory will be clearly defined. IDPs from it can claim to get monthly targeted assistance. It must be noted that all area of Luhansk and Donetsk region had been detected as Anti-Terrorist Operation zone already in 2014. This means that citizens of Ukraine as from temporarily uncontrolled to the Ukrainian government settlements, and controlled, leaving them, were considered to be IDPs and had the right to receive targeted assistance’, Alena Luneva reported.
Lawyer accented that ‘according to made changes, IDPs from occupied territory (Crimea Republic and Sevastopol) and also from settlements of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, on which bodies of state authority temporarily don’t exercise their powers and also settlements on the Line of Contact, can claim on the targeted assistance and this is justly’.
Alena Luneva added that ‘public organizations offered to government to increase the size of targeted assistance to IDPs in accordance with the cost of living, considering that the number of beneficiaries will decrease in connection with made changes in Resolution No. 505’.
‘Such proposition wasn’t supported in summary documents’, the coordinator of law direction of Charitable Foundation ‘Vostok-SOS’ added.
‘Without windows and doors’: uninhabitable houses on controlled territory
As is known, earlier the targeted assistance wasn’t appointed if somebody from family members has owns a dwelling (or part of a dwelling), which is not in NGCA, but in other Ukrainian regions.
The situation also was commented by the coordinator of a law direction of Charitable Foundation ‘Vostok-SOS’ Alena Luneva.
‘IDPs, being owners of real estate on controlled to Ukrainian Government territory, were automatically deprived of the right to get targeted assistance regardless of the condition of the apartment (a dacha without a roof, an apartment without windows, a house without amenities, and so on)’, she reported.
Alena added that ‘the norm appeared now in the Resolution No. 505, according to which the presence of destroyed housing in a controlled area or housing uninhabitable, will not be an obstacle to get targeted assistance’.
‘It’s not important that such condition of the housing will have to be confirmed by a documentary corresponding act of technical condition. And it’s still not clear who will make such acts’, the coordinator of a law direction of Charitable Foundation ‘Vostok-SOS’ accented.
News for students
The changes were made also in the Resolution No. 509, which regulates an order of IDP registration. From now on students and pupils of vocational schools got a right to get IDP status.
Quotation from the text of the document:
‘The students and pupils of vocational schools were given a right to get the certificate about registration of the internally displaced person. Government made appointed changes in the Order of form and issue of this document.
In particular, the Resolution provides a right to get this certificate to students and pupils of vocational schools, who removed from temporary occupied territory of Ukraine, settlements, on which area bodies of state power temporary don’t exercise their authority and settlements, located on the Line of Contact.
Therefore, appointed persons can use rights and freedoms, provided by acting legislation for IDPs. And this will promote their social protection’.
Marina Kuraptseva for Informator.media