On April, 3 the Permanent Representative of the President if Ukraine in ARC Borys Babin and the officials of the Departments of International Connections and Legal Analysis of the Mission participated in the International Conference “Refugees and IDPs’ Rights: Best European Practices and Ways of Their Implementation” held in the National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine in Kharkiv.

The participants of the meeting were the President of the National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine, the Head of the non-governmental organization of the Slovak Republic “SME SPOLU” (Bratislava), the Deputy Director of IFES in Ukraine, the representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Ukraine, the Deputy Mayor of Kharkiv, the officials of the Dnipro Regional State Administration, scientists, professors, the representatives of the non-governmental organizations.

The conference focused on issues of the IDPs’ rights court defense, implementation of voting, educational rights of IDPs, their property rights and obligations, IDPs’ integration into the local communities and other related issues. The participants analyzed the international experience, standards and practice of the European Court of Human Rights concerning the property rights of IDPs.

The Permanent Representative raised the issue on determining of the legal regime for the persons coming from the TOT, improving the mechanisms of their needs and rights exercising which differ from the needs of IDPs. He pointed out the current problems of verification of IDPs within covering their housing needs and unresolved issues of certification and civil registration for Crimean inhabitants, as well as the unsatisfactory equipment of the check points and establishing of the legal transportation to/from the check points, the prospects of the Administrative Service Centers establishment in the local communities of Kherson region.

It was emphasized the funding aspects and technical assistance to provide the needs of the persons coming from the TOT in Crimea by the international organizations and regional donors. The coordination of the administrative bodies’ activity concerning the IDPs by the Mission was discussed.

The conference resulted on the developed practical recommendations for IDPs’ rights defense as well as the rights of residents of the TOT in Ukraine.