Lubinets: the government failed to prepare an effective strategy for IDPs

The Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets criticized the government's policy on internally displaced persons (IDPs), noting that the current IDP Strategy until 2025 contains declarative tasks that are difficult to assess. Lubinets said this during the event "Analysis of the implementation of the Strategy of state policy on internal displacement for the period up to 2025", reports UNN correspondent .

Since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the number of displaced people has increased to unprecedented levels. The latest government data tells us that 4.6 million IDPs are registered in Ukraine. At the same time, according to the Ministry of Social Policy, as of 01.03.2024, there were 4.8 million IDPs on the territory of Ukraine

According to him, the decrease in the number of IDPs by 200 thousand indicates that the government's policy is bad.

"In my opinion, this indicates that the state policy on internal displacement is not effective enough. I pointed out the need to approve new strategies in my annual report," he says.

He says that the program document on IDPs has significant shortcomings.

Unfortunately, the government has failed to prepare an effective program document. The IDP Strategy until 2025 is filled with a large number of purely declarative tasks with performance indicators that cannot be calculated or evaluated

Lubinets says that the central authorities have not fulfilled a number of the most important tasks of the strategy. These include amending the law on ensuring the rights and freedoms of internally displaced persons to take into account the consequences of the full-scale invasion of Russia and updating bylaws.

"Creation of housing funds for temporary residence of IDPs and their actual filling. Implementation of full-fledged needs and risks of IDPs in communities. Also, many measures have been identified poorly, without prior planning with the responsible executors, who then understand how to fulfill the measure assigned to them," the ombudsman said.

Lubinets says that as for certain measures of the Ministry of Reintegration, they indicate that there are no grounds for their implementation, and the measures should be transferred to other responsible bodies or excluded.

It seems that the strategy was forgotten for a long time. The Cabinet of Ministers did not review the annual report on its implementation prepared by the Ministry of Reintegration, nor did it make changes to the strategy or the operational plan. Interaction between the main executors and co-executors of the measures is low

He emphasizes that the formal approach to IDP support is not monitored locally, and local programs to support IDPs are not approved.

Recall

The Government approved the Strategy of State Policy on Internal Displacement for the period up to 2025

The Verkhovna Rada has voted in favor of two draft laws on internally displaced persons in the first reading. We are talking about the document №11028, which determines the priority among IDPs for receiving compensation for lost housing. Also, the draft law No. 11281 on ensuring the housing rights of IDPs.