Lubinec acknowledged problems with coordinating support for internally displaced persons
Ukraine currently lacks a dedicated ministry with systematic responsibility for policies regarding internally displaced persons, which creates difficulties in coordinating assistance.
This was stated by the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, during the presentation of a report to the Verkhovna Rada.
According to him, because of this, IDPs often do not know where to turn for support or which government agency is responsible for their issues.
“As of now, there is no dedicated ministry in the government. This has placed an additional burden on Ukrainian citizens in the IDP category. Sometimes they do not know which government agency to turn to for support and who is currently responsible for a systematic policy aimed at protecting the rights of IDPs,” Lubinets emphasized.
He also supported the idea of reestablishing a separate ministry to work with IDPs and those affected by the war.
“I view the proposal to reinstate a separate ministry within the government structure that will oversee the protection of the rights of internally displaced persons and others affected by Russian aggression positively,” said the ombudsman.
Separately, Lubinets noted that certain legal provisions regarding IDPs have yet to be implemented. “Namely: the development and adoption of specific regulatory acts, and the creation of a digital system for recording damages suffered by Ukrainian citizens,” he noted.
In his view, policy regarding displaced persons requires a comprehensive approach, but currently government decisions are often piecemeal.
“Very often, the government documents that are adopted are documents for the sake of documents—without a single coherent vision of where to secure funding, in what amount, and how to allocate it most effectively,” Lubinets added.
Earlier, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine expanded the living assistance program for internally displaced persons, extending payments to the most vulnerable categories of displaced persons for another six months.
Previously, the eOselya program was expanded to include displaced persons, allowing them to purchase housing through mortgages at a significant discount. Funds for compensation will be allocated from the state and local budgets. The government expects that over 10,000 families will take advantage of this service.
As a reminder, on October 25, 2024, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the provision of subsidies to displaced persons for housing rent. These subsidies will be calculated using a mechanism similar to that for housing and communal services subsidies.
