Deputy Permanent Representative Olha Kuryshko participated in the panel discussion “10 Years of War. How to Not Give Up” within the framework of the Festival of Thoughts organized by the charitable organization East-SOS. The discussion was joined by Alona Lunova, Director of Advocacy at the ZMINA Human Rights Center, Violeta Artemchuk, coordinator of the Donbas-SOS NGO, and Oleksii Tilnenko, Head of the Board of the Crimea-SOS NGO. Lidiia Kuzmenko, Legal Adviser at UNHCR, moderated the event.
During the panel discussion, the Deputy Permanent Representative spoke about the search for ways to communicate with Ukrainian citizens in the temporarily occupied territories because of the occupier’s efforts to block information access to Ukrainian resources. In these conditions, Ukrainian citizens cannot receive information on how to travel to the territories controlled by Ukraine, nor can they receive comprehensive information on legal and social assistance. Olha Kuryshko stressed the importance of preserving the functioning of state bodies and military administrations forced to move temporarily to government-controlled territories.
“State bodies involved in the temporarily occupied territory should look for new ways to communicate and bring information to the residents of such territory and adapt their activities to their needs,” the Deputy Permanent Representative emphasized.
Olha Kuryshko also mentioned the need to cover Crimea on international platforms, as a constant presence in the information space is one of the most effective ways to keep the topic of the occupied territories in focus. She spoke about the diplomatic aspect of the de-occupation of the Crimean Peninsula, which included the Fourth Summit of the Crimea Platform, attended by representatives of more than 60 countries.
As part of the Festival of Thoughts, the Deputy Permanent Representative also had an interview with Hromadske Radio, in which she spoke about the stages of development of reintegration policies, implementation of educational programs, and difficulties faced by residents of the temporarily occupied territories when leaving such territories. She noted that reintegration policies should include the context of life in the temporarily occupied territories, and one of the successful elements of this policy implementation could be a personnel reserve for those specialists who have expressed a desire to work in the de-occupied territories.
The Festival of Thoughts is a festival platform for discussing socially essential issues. This year, the topics discussed included assistance to residents of the temporarily occupied territories, challenges for war veterans, cultural and social memory of traumatic events, and overcoming Russian narratives.
Photo by East-SOS