PACE adopts a resolution calling for support for Ukrainian IDPs and refugees: what is expected

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) unanimously adopted a resolution calling on Europe to provide immediate and long-term political solutions to support Ukrainians, including payments and social support for IDPs and refugees, a member of the Ukrainian delegation to PACE, MP Oleksiy Honcharenko, said in Telegram, according to UNN.  

Details

"The PACE has just unanimously adopted a resolution calling on Europe to provide immediate and long-term political solutions to support Ukrainians," Goncharenko said.

According to him, according to the decision, "IDPs should receive all payments, and Ukrainian refugees and children should receive all financial and social support.

"The PACE voted to pay money to Ukrainians to return to Ukraine! That is, after the end of hostilities, Ukrainians who will return to live in Ukraine will be able to receive financial assistance from European countries," Goncharenko said.

MP Yevhenia Kravchuk of the Ukrainian delegation to PACE said that the resolution is titled "Urgent call to Europe and its partners: developing short- and long-term policy solutions for displaced persons from Ukraine and their support" and received 56 votes in favor in the Assembly.

The resolution, in her words, includes, among other things:

• Calls for increased political support and necessary funding for the implementation of internal displacement policy in Ukraine; 
• Supports the extension of the EU Temporary Protection Directive for Ukrainians and the search for long-term solutions for the accommodation of displaced persons; 
• confirms the right of persons under temporary protection to apply for asylum and proposes to grant permanent residence after three years of stay; 
• notes that long-term support programs for IDPs residing in Ukraine should include financial assistance to ensure access to housing, including social housing, as well as loans for the reconstruction of private housing and other support to find long-term housing solutions, including through sustainable reintegration into the rental housing market; and psychological support.

According to her, the Assembly also notes that the return of displaced persons to their homes may require years of preparation, which should begin now. "The return will certainly involve the provision of financial assistance for resettlement, and the issue of payment of assistance for resettlement and reintegration over a certain period of time should be resolved. Very importantly, and I am personally grateful for this, the document contains a reference to my resolution adopted yesterday: The Assembly emphasizes the importance of creating opportunities for displaced persons in Ukraine to preserve and develop their cultural heritage," Kravchuk wrote on Facebook.

Addendum

According to Kravchuk, since the beginning of Russia's aggressive war, more than 5.9 million Ukrainian citizens have sought refuge in Europe, and more than 500,000 have moved outside Europe. There are also about 5 million internally displaced persons in Ukraine.