UKRAINE 2019 UNHCR PARTICIPATRY ASSESSMENT Recommendations To the Government of Ukraine  Ensure timely access of asylum-seekers to the asylum procedure and documentation.  Provide improved independent and quality interpretation free of charge.  Introduce necessary legislative amendments, as well as changes to the format of the asylumseeker certificate, so that asylum-seekers can access medical care, employment and bank services.  Asylum authorities should inform relevant service providers, in particular medical institutions, about the status of the current asylum documents, so that access to services will improve.  Increase recognition rates for the asylum-seekers from refugee-producing countries.  Provide persons with complementary protection the opportunity to apply for naturalization.  Facilitate access to residence registration. To UNHCR, international organizations and NGOs  Continue advocacy for legislative and administrative reforms that would strengthen the asylum system and possibilities for integration in Ukraine. Advocacy should be more vocal through greater use of media and involve a wider number of actors.  Encourage the authorities to explore regularization of asylum-seekers who have been rejected by the authorities but for whom UNHCR consider that they have a valid claim. Among those, some have resided in Ukraine for several years and have developed bonds with the country (e.g., family, social, cultural ties).  Implement peaceful coexistence projects, allowing for refugee communities to design projects jointly with local institutions, since this encourages dialogue. Also, engage the regional offices of the State Migration Service in community activities, as this allows for enhanced understanding. Continue to support community initiatives which help refugee communities to self-organize.  Continue with the small business grants program and reduce time in reviewing applications.  Prioritize the provision of language courses at different levels for varying groups of students; consider organizing skype classes and increase the intensity of existing language classes.  Adopt a more creative approach to employment options, which could include employment with NGOs and UNHCR; create social enterprises with new job placements; involve the private sector and UNHCR grants beneficiaries more closely; and support vocational training. Stateless Persons and Persons at Risk of Statelessness in Ukraine Protection Environment In this year’s participatory assessment, UNHCR focused on outreach to persons at risk of statelessness among the homeless, migrant and Roma populations. Some homeless persons met during this exercise do not hold Ukrainian passports and said they have lived without a passport for over 20 years. They say they cannot afford legal support in approaching the SMS. As they do not have any documents, they cannot benefit from the state’s free legal aid. DID YOU KNOW Many homeless people lost their USSR passport and in order to receive a new Ukrainian passport they need to present the SMS with a birth certificate (or a duplicate), a passport picture, and they must have a parent with a Ukrainian passport. Obtaining proper documentation most often require going through court procedures which is a challenge for marginalized populations. Stateless persons who reside irregularly on the territory complained that there is no way for them to regularize their stay in Ukraine and no access to employment, education, birth and marriage registration, livelihoods and freedom of movement. “I am 26 years old, I want to get married, I want to have children. I do not want my children to be in the same situation as me. I do not have a nationality. I arrived in Ukraine in 1999. I could not receive my diploma, I cannot work officially. I feel like my life is total chaos.” Woman from Turkmenistan 9