On 21 May 2019 an international conference on theme: “Improvement of legal framework, court practice and training programs regarding internal displacement”, organized by the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine took place in Kyiv. The conference, held in accordance with the Action Plan, elaborated for Ukraine by the Council of Europe for the period of 2018 – 2019 brought together the representatives of ministries, departments and agencies including the officials of the Mission of the President of Ukraine in AR of Crimea, judiciary, international organizations, lawyers, experts etc.

The actual challenges and problems of internally displaced persons in Ukraine were discussed by the conference, particularly improvement of the current legal framework of state concerning the protection of the human rights, enhancement of court practice and training programs on internal displacement to meet the standards of the Council of Europe.

However, it was pointed out that in comparison with refugees, protected under the Geneva Convention of 1951, any legal international instrument does not protect the IDPs. Consequently, efficient protection of IDPs depends mostly on Ukraine that is why this category of citizens needs targeted state social assistance.