OPERATIONAL UPDATE > Ukraine Operation / DECEMBER 2021 Updates on Context  Following sustained UNHCR and partner advocacy, the President of Ukraine signed amendment #5630 to the citizenship law on 20 December, allowing stateless persons to apply for naturalization three years after their recognition as stateless instead of after seven years. ■ As of 9 December, the Government of Ukraine allows IDPs to change their place of factual residence (indicated in an IDP e-certificate) remotely through the governmental Diya online portal. This simplifies the procedure as IDPs no longer need to go to the state social protection departments to update their information. However, IDPs who are not IT literate – often older persons- are still compelled to use the paper format of the certificate and visit the state social protection services to update their information. ■ Some barriers to freedom of movement across the contact line related to Covid-19 restrictions were removed. On 29 December, the Government of Ukraine simplified the process for crossing the contact line in eastern Ukraine and the administrative boundary with Crimea through the Entry-Exit Crossing Points (EECPs). Travellers are no longer required to install the Vdoma app or undergo selfisolation/observation. Since the start of the pandemic, UNHCR and other humanitarian actors have advocated for abolishing this requirement as such restrictions have not been imposed for other internal movements in Ukraine and have had a disproportionate effect on older persons. Persons who do not have smartphones, mostly older persons, cannot install the Vdoma app and were thus limited in visiting GCA to visit family members and collect pensions and other social benefits. Working in Partnership The humanitarian response to displacement in Ukraine is a coordinated effort by the Government of Ukraine, international organizations, national and international NGOs. UNHCR works closely with the Government, including its line ministries and central and local administrations and authorities to ensure the protection of and durable solutions for persons of concern to UNHCR. In relation to IDPs, UNHCR has signed a Letter of Understanding with the Ministry for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories. In relation to refugees and stateless persons, UNHCR cooperates closely with the State Migration Service (SMS) of Ukraine. In 2021, UNHCR has agreements with eight local NGO project partners. UNHCR leads the Protection Cluster and Shelter/Non-food Items (NFI) Cluster under the Humanitarian Response Plan. UNHCR together with OCHA co-leads the Logistics Working Group responsible for facilitating humanitarian convoys to eastern Ukraine. Refugees and Asylum-Seekers Capacity Building and Institutional Support ■ UNHCR and its NGO partner Right to Protection (R2P) worked to raise awareness and share best practices on access to justice for asylum-seekers held in custody centres through a round table on 3 December in Chernihiv. It was organized in cooperation with local authorities, Free Legal Aid Centres (FLACs) and civil society. The participants, which included judges, representatives of the State Migration Service (SMS), Migrant Custody Centres, State Border Guard Services (SBGS) and FLACs, discussed access to justice by people who were apprehended by SBGS officers and placed in custody centres, in particular their access to receiving the services of state attorneys and interpreters, access to the asylum procedure and access to information on their legal situation. www.unhcr.org 2