As of 31 December 2018, 5,650 stateless persons were legally residing in Ukraine. In addition, studies have revealed that there is a significant number of people with undetermined nationality, mainly people from the Roma minority, homeless people, migrants and people released without documents from penitentiaries. In the absence of better data, UNHCR has relied on an estimate for the size of this population, extrapolating from the results of the 2001 census (estimated 30,000 people). In addition, there is a growing concern about the risk of statelessness faced by babies born in the NGCA areas of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts for whom no officially recognized birth registration has been issued. According to its calculation based on open sources, UNHCR estimates that as of the 31 December 2018, over 46,000 babies born in NGCA have not obtained officially recognized birth registration. This will have long-term negative consequences for them, affecting their ability to obtain a Ukrainian passport. Without it, they may not be able to travel abroad, study at university, register their marriage, and even register the birth of their own children.
During the year, UNHCR and its partners continued to advocate at different levels for the introduction of an administrative procedure responsive to the circumstances of parents in NGCA. UNHCR and partners continued to support the Government in adopting and reviewing legislation to ensure the following: that no child is born stateless; protection status and documentation are issued to stateless people; birth registration is issued for prevention of statelessness; and to provide training on statelessness to the SMS, judges, local administrations, the FLACs, and NGOs. A major achievement to be noted for 2018 was the registration in the Parliament of the draft law no. 9123, which foresees the introduction of a statelessness determination procedure in Ukraine. In December, the draft law successfully passed the hearing at the Parliament Committee on Human Rights, National Minorities and International Affairs. Once adopted, the law will allow undocumented people with irregular stay in Ukraine to apply for recognition as stateless people, which would result in their documentation and access to rights associated with this status. It had been assumed that Ukraine would adopt this law introducing a statelessness determination procedure in 2018, but this did not happen. As a result, UNHCR postponed some capacity-building activities with state authorities. Instead, the focus was on outreach and legal assistance to people at risk of statelessness/people with undetermined nationality.
During the year, UNHCR and its partners provided legal aid to 1,147 people under its statelessness mandate in different regions (Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odessa and Zakarpattia) and assisted 148 people at risk with obtaining a passport, as well as 190 people with a obtaining a birth certificate or its duplicate. The Europe Bureau’s support mission to Ukraine provided recommendations that are being implemented. UNHCR continued to advocate with the government to ensure that the civil registration system is in line with national and international standards and is accessible to all without discrimination of any kind, and free of charge. No significant developments were noted in that area. UNHCR continued to raise awareness of the authorities on issues related to statelessness during events organized in Kyiv and Kharkiv to celebrate the start of the #IBelong campaign in November. Representatives from the Ombudsperson’s office as well as the SMS, the Ministry of Justice and the FLACs participated in joint field visits, including to Roma camps in the Zakarpattia region in western Ukraine. Stronger cooperation was also developed with the OSCE in that region.