38^th session of the Human Rights Council

Item 3

Clustered interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty

and the Special Rapporteur on IDPs

Intervention by the Representative of Ukraine

(Geneva, 22 June 2018)

 

Mr. President,

Let me thank Special Rapporteur on IDPs for her report.

As the world marks the 20^th anniversary of the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, Ukraine finds itself at the epicenter of a “global crisis” in this field as cited in the report.

Russian aggression has brought suffering and destruction to Ukraine, forcing almost two million of its citizens to flee conflict-affected areas in search of peace, safety and dignity. For the last four years, Ukraine has been implementing comprehensive policy to answer this call.  

Today, the rights of Ukrainian IDPs are protected by the respective Law of Ukraine, they are being reintegrated in Ukrainian society in accordance with the respective State Strategy, while the recently launched State Registry of IDPs ensures that no one is left behind in the process.

This policy is coordinated by the Ministry of Temporarily Occupied Territories and IDPs, created for this purpose. It is implemented in cooperation with Ukraine’s civil society and international community, including the UN-affiliated agencies.

Although there is still much work to be done, Ukraine has achieved substantial progress showing commitment to implementation of durable solutions in addressing the needs of IDPs as envisaged by the UN Guiding Principles.

In this spirit, we welcome the initiatives put forward in the report aimed at “forging a common global agenda to reduce internal displacement”, including through the GP20 Initiative and the idea of establishment of an international day for protection of IDPs.

A global crisis needs a global response. We fully support the Special Rapporteur in her pursuit of all-encompassing solutions to problems of IDPs and consider her latest report a step in the right direction.

Thank you.