Conclusion
Even though decades have passed since the fall of the Soviet Union, the problems of statelessness, whose roots reach way back into the past, have yet to be
overcome in either Russia or Ukraine. The laws and practices of both countries are
unfriendly to stateless persons, most of whom are citizens of the former Soviet Union.
Ukraine now faces the challenges of adapting laws and practice to the Convention Relating to the Status and of Stateless Persons (1954) and the Convention on the
Reduction of Statelessness (1961).
Russia, which agreed with recommendations made within the framework of the
Universal Periodic Review (2018) concerning accession to these Conventions, must
implement the ECtHR’s strategic judgment in the case of “Kim v. Russia” and the subsequent RF Constitutional Court judgment in the case of Mskhiladze. In the absence
of general measures, systemic violations of the rights of stateless persons continue.
These include the practices of confining stateless persons in foreign national temporary detention centers for an indefinite period without judicial control and of ordering
expulsions that cannot be enforced.
Both countries must adopt urgent positive measures to improve the situation of
the Roma minority, including in relation to documentation.
The matter of the citizenship of residents of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts who
are now governed by the self-proclaimed DPR and LPR is particularly critical in light
of the military conflict. Russian passports issued to residents of these territories under
simplified procedures are not recognized by Ukraine and will likely be boycotted by
other countries as well. This means that holders of these passports may be deprived
of their Ukrainian citizenship. Children born in these territories who do not have any
documents other than the ones issued by the de facto authorities are now hostage to
this situation.
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