THE PROBLEM OF STATELESSNESS IN UKRAINE AND THE WAYS OF ADDRESSING IT
Convention. The 1954 Convention requires that States provide its beneficiaries
with treatment along the following scale: treatment which is to be afforded to
stateless persons irrespective of the treatment afforded to citizens or other
aliens; the same treatment as nationals; treatment as favorable as possible
and, in any event, not less favorable than that accorded to aliens generally in
the same circumstances; and the same treatment accorded to aliens generally.
States have discretion to facilitate greater parity between the status of stateless
persons and that of nationals and indeed may also have an obligation to do so
under international human rights treaties33. Hence, the Law on the Legal Status
of Foreigners and Stateless Persons should be supplemented with a special
section “Rights, freedoms and duties of foreigners and stateless persons”, which
is currently absent Besides, a provision on non-discrimination on the basis of
their statelessness status should be enshrined in the law.
Also, the Law should incorporate a definition of a stateless person that is in line
with the definition found in article 1 of the 1954 Convention.
In addition, in order to introduce a procedure for the determination of
statelessness status, the Law should envisage a provision on authorizing the
Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine to establish such a procedure. Introduction
of such a procedure by a subordinate regulatory legal act would provide an
opportunity to make amendments in a more prompt manner, as required, taking
into account the practice of the application of the procedure.
The Law of Ukraine on Citizenship of Ukraine. This law should include a definition
of a stateless person that is in line with Article 1 of the 1954 Convention. It
should also be amended to regulate and facilitate the acquisition of citizenship
of Ukraine by persons who 1) entered Ukraine on Soviet passports between 13
November 1991 and 1 January 200234, or 2) entered Ukraine on a birth certificate
before the age of majority, whether with one or both parents or separately from
their parents, during the period from 13 November 1991 through 1 September
2002.
Another category of persons consists of adult great-grandchildren of individuals
of Ukrainian origin. At present, only children and grand-children of persons of
Ukrainian origin can acquire citizenship by territorial origin based on Article 8(1)
of the Law. Hence, it would be reasonable to extend the scope of Article 8(1) of
the Law to adult great-grandchildren of persons who were born or permanently
resided before August 24, 1991, on the territory that became the territory of
33 UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons, 30 June 2014, available at: http://
www.refworld.org/docid/53b676aa4.html, paragraphs 130 and 131
34 The date until which entry was allowed with ex-USSR citizen passport.
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