Support for war victims: human rights defenders presented new roadmap of draft laws

A coalition of organizations dealing with the protection of the rights of victims of armed aggression against Ukraine has developed a new roadmap of draft laws for the Thirteenth Session of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the IX Convocation, which began its work on February 4, 2025.

The document contains an analysis of key legislative initiatives that should be adopted to support affected citizens, as well as those that should be revised or rejected to avoid violations of their rights.

Priority draft laws

Draft law No. 9069 is in the “green zone” of the roadmap, ie among those that human rights defenders are urging to adopt. Its adoption will allow for the introduction of an administrative extrajudicial procedure for establishing the facts of birth, death, marriage and divorce that occurred in the TOT.

The list of important legislative initiatives also includes a draft law on a new version of the Law of Ukraine “On Ensuring the Rights and Freedoms of Internally Displaced Persons”, which is intended to improve state support for IDPs.

Draft laws of concern

Human rights defenders have included in the “red zone” the draft laws that, in their opinion, could negatively affect the rights of war victims. In particular, initiatives that imitate the ratification of the Rome Statute are of concern, as their provisions may complicate the process of investigating international crimes.

Alena Lunova, Advocacy Director of the Human Rights Center ZMINA, notes: “When adopting draft laws, we need to assess the effect they may have on our citizens who are currently under occupation. This time, we have in the “green zone” again a draft law that has been under consideration by the parliament for a long time, No. 9069, the adoption of which should ensure the introduction of an administrative extrajudicial procedure for establishing the facts of birth, death, marriage and divorce that took place in the TOT. Also, a draft law that we have been preparing for a long time on a new version of support for IDPs. In the “red zone”, we have draft laws related to the imitation of the ratification of the Rome Statute.”

The importance of coherence in legislative initiatives

The Coalition of Human Rights Organizations urges the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to avoid adopting draft laws that contain contradictory provisions or duplicate existing laws. One such example is initiatives regarding the registration of affected children, which could lead to legal confusion and complicate access to assistance.

The full text of the roadmap is available on the website of the Human Rights Center ZMINA.

The coalition prepares such roadmaps of draft laws for the parliament twice a year. This year, representatives of the coalition also presented 13 priority steps for the state for 2025 in the field of human rights protection in the context of war. These actions, according to human rights defenders, will ensure a predictable policy of support for victims, achieve justice and make the state’s actions more effective.

For more information

The Coalition of organizations dealing with the protection of the rights of victims of armed aggression against Ukraine since 2014 includes: The Human Rights Center ZMINA, NGO Donbas SOS, NGO CrimeaSOS, CF Right to Protection, CF East SOS, Civil holding GROUP OF INFLUENCE, CF Stabilization Support Services, and the Crimean Human Rights Group.

This material was published with the support of UK International Development from the UK Government; the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the official position of the UK Government.