THE PROBLEM OF STATELESSNESS IN UKRAINE AND THE WAYS OF ADDRESSING IT Problems of the current legislation on citizenship and the implementation of the UN Statelessness Conventions Despite the fact that Ukraine acceded to the two UN Statelessness Conventions in 2013, the country’s regulatory framework on this subject has still not been brought into conformity with their provisions. This prevents stateless persons and those with uncertain citizenship from accessing their rights and freedoms. At present, matters of citizenship and statelessness in Ukraine are governed by the UN Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons of 28 September 1954, the UN Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness of 30 August 1961, the UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees of 28 June 1951 (it was previously mentioned, that one of the causes of statelessness in Ukraine is the imperfection of legislation on refugee status), the European Convention on Nationality of 6 November 1997, and national laws. To assist the Contracting States with proper compliance of the standards set forth in the UN Statelessness Conventions, UNHCR published a Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons4. UNHCR explains in its Handbook that the 1954 Convention assumes a responsibility for States to take measures to identify stateless persons in their territory and to accord them access to at least a minimum set of rights under the Convention. It is worth mentioning that now, more than a year since the accession to the Conventions, their provisions have not yet been properly incorporated in the national legislation. In particular, no procedure for determination of a stateless person’s status or instruments that would make it possible for such persons to exercise their basic human rights have been adopted. Article 26, part 1 of the Constitution of Ukraine states that “foreigners and stateless persons staying in Ukraine on legal grounds shall enjoy the same rights and freedoms and bear the same duties as citizens of Ukraine, except as restricted by the Constitution, laws, or international treaties of Ukraine”. It is worth mentioning here that the Law of Ukraine on the Legal Status of Foreigners and Stateless Persons contains no special section on the rights and freedoms of foreigners and stateless persons5. 4 UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons, 30 June 2014, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/53b676aa4.html 5 The Law of Ukraine “On the Legal Status of Foreigners and Stateless Persons of 4 February 1994 had the section “Basic rights, freedoms and duties of foreigners and stateless persons”. The draft Law of Ukraine on the Legal Status of Foreigners and Stateless Persons, submitted by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in May 2011 to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, included a section on the rights and freedoms of foreigners and stateless persons. However, the section was deleted during the preparation of the draft law for the second reading. Thus, the Law of Ukraine “On the Legal Status of Foreigners and Stateless Persons” of 22.09.11 that is currently in force does not contain it. See http://zakon4.rada.gov. 9