Press conference: “Is the Government Developing a Policy for Victims of War?”

On 18 September at 11:00, the Ukraine Crisis Media Centre (UCMC) will host a press conference on the topic: “Is the Government Developing a Policy for Victims of War?”.

Organisers: Coalition of organisations dealing with the protection of the rights of victims of armed aggression against Ukraine, which includes: the Human Rights Centre ZMINA, NGO Donbas SOS, NGO Crimea SOS, Charitable Fund Right to Protection, Charitable Foundation EAST-SOS, NGO Civil Holding GROUP OF INFLUENCE, Charitable Foundation Stabilization Support Services, Crimean Human Rights Group.

Since 2016, there has been a separate ministry within the structure of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine responsible for protecting the rights of victims of war, in particular internally displaced persons (IDPs) and residents of the temporarily occupied territories (TOT) of Ukraine. Its activities ensured the consistency of state policy in this area and emphasised the importance of the issue at the state level.

Following the transformation and dissolution of the Ministry of Reintegration at the end of 2024, some of its functions were transferred to other agencies, but a number of powers were left unattended by state authorities. Currently, there is no comprehensive policy for protecting the rights of victims of war, and interagency mechanisms for its implementation remain ineffective.

On 10 September, the Government adopted the Action Plan for 2025, which contains only fragmentary references to certain categories of affected populations. Human rights defenders emphasise that without a comprehensive approach and a designated responsible entity, the state risks leaving millions of people without adequate protection.

Participants of the press conference will discuss:

• whether experts’ warnings following the dissolution of the Ministry of Reintegration came true;
• which state functions regarding victims remained “lost”;
• how current policy is being implemented with respect to IDPs, residents of the TOT, children from occupied territories, prisoners of war and other groups;
• why it is necessary to change approaches to determining who is responsible for policy-making;
• whether there is an effective interagency mechanism for protecting the rights of victims.

Speakers:

• Violeta Artemchuk, Coordinator of the NGO Donbas-SOS
• Kseniia Hedz, Advocacy Coordinator of Charitable Fund Right to Protection
• Olha Skrypnyk, Head of the Board of the Crimean Human Rights Group
• Alena Lunova, Advocacy Director of the Human Rights Centre ZMINA

Moderator: Mariia Krasnenko, Expert on Internal Displacement.

The event will also be streamed on the Ukrainian Crisis Media Centre’s YouTube channel in Ukrainian and English: https://www.youtube.com/live/fgOIKrGfCVI