UNHCR supports Human Rights Centres opening across the country through its partnership with the Ombudsman of Ukraine

Yesterday, a regional Human Rights Protection Centre was opened in Chernivtsi city by the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets together with Head of Chernivtsi Regional State Administration Ruslan Zaparaniuk, Head of Chernivtsi Regional Council Oleksii Boiko, Mayor of Chernivtsi city Roman Kluchuk and UNHCR Representative to Ukraine, Karolina Lindholm Billing.

The facility has been refurbished and equipped with support from UNHCR through its NGO partner Rokada. It will serve as a resource to people in the region – including internally displaced people, returnees and people at risk of statelessness – by providing counseling services, public initiatives and information on access to fundamental rights.

Jointly with other UN partners, UNHCR is continuously supporting the opening of regional Human Rights Protection Centres and Offices across the country by refurbishing the premises, including by making them accessible for people with low mobility, and providing furniture, IT-equipment and other basic amenities. UNHCR has for example supported facilities in Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Chernivtsi, Ivano-Frankivsk and Vinnytsia, while work is ongoing in Uzhhorod and other regions like Khmelnytskyi, Odesa and Volyn.

By establishing these regional centres, the crucial work of ensuring human rights for all people in Ukraine, including through information and outreach to those groups or individuals who may need it the most, is moving even closer to the people.

The partnership and joint work between the Ombudsman of Ukraine and UNHCR dates back to 2010 and was further consolidated with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding in August this year. In the midst of the full-scale war, with dramatic human consequences, the commitment to safeguard the rights of all people living in Ukraine involves a special focus on people who have become particularly vulnerable or at-risk due to the war, including those forcibly displaced and people with disabilities or low mobility.

“The starting point for the protection of human rights is for people to know their rights, how to access them and for services and advice to be accessible to all. We have a better chance of achieving this with the expansion of human rights centres across the country – closer to the people. In UNHCR, we are very happy to be part of the regionalization of the Ombudsman’s office and taking our cooperation to the regions. Ensuring that all people can equally enjoy their rights and fundamental freedoms and receive advice in barrier-free and dignified conditions is more important than ever, in the midst of this horrific war,” said UNHCR’s Representative in Ukraine, Karolina Lindholm Billing.

“‘The Ombudsman’s Office is expanding its work in the regions and is opening a new Human Rights Protection Centre in Chernivtsi region, an accessible space for everyone to get help in case of human rights violations. I would like to emphasize that last year, the number of appeals in Chernivtsi region increased by 80%, and thanks to the new space, it will be easier for citizens to contact us. I am grateful to our partners UNHCR and the Rokada Charitable Foundation for their cooperation and support in creating this space,” said Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets.

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the cooperation between UNHCR and the Office of the Ombudsman of Ukraine has spanned from the development of information material for specific vulnerable groups to raise awareness about their rights, for example how to register as an internally displaced person or access medical assistance, to capacity building and strategy development, and, importantly, advocacy for the rights of forcibly displaced and stateless people. In addition, hundreds of joint monitoring visits have been carried out in collective sites to inspect the living conditions of the IDPs hosted there.