URC2025 in Rome: Alena Lunova joined the discussion on the role of IDP Councils in Ukraine’s recovery processes

On 9 July 2025, on the eve of the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC2025) in Rome, a discussion “One Nation – Many Homes: From Local Leadership to Transnational Reintegration” was held. The discussion focused on the role of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Councils in the processes of return, reintegration and recovery.

The event was organised by the Congress of IDP Councils and the CF “Stabilization Support Services” with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation and the participation of international experts, representatives of civil society and the humanitarian sector.

The first panel discussion focused on how IDP Councils can be integrated into national and local recovery frameworks. Speakers included representatives of governments, international organisations, humanitarian initiatives, and the human rights sector. Among the speakers were Doron Verstraelen, representative of the Dutch Ministry of Asylum and Migration; Paula Gaviria Betancur, UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons; Martina Ranieri, Head of institutional cooperation at the Department of International Refugee and Migration Law at the International Institute of Humanitarian Law; Noemi Gallo, specialist in social housing, urban regeneration and economic and public investment financial feasibility; Anna Borysova, Director of Humanitarian Response at Stabilization Support Services; and Yana Liubymova, Head of the Luhansk Council of IDPs and co-founder of the Congress of IDP Councils.

Alena Lunova, Advocacy Director of the Human Rights Centre ZMINA, also participated in the panel discussion. In her speech, she focused on the need to develop a comprehensive state policy for the affected population, including IDPs.

“After more than 11 years of armed aggression against Ukraine, there is still no comprehensive support system for victims. Instead, we have dozens of categories of people who receive assistance based on different principles and legal grounds. This approach does not correspond to reality, where people can simultaneously be victims of torture, IDPs, and those who have lived and continue to live under occupation for a long time,” said Alena Lunova.

She emphasised that state policy on IDPs cannot be isolated from policy on temporarily occupied territories, refugees, the Ukrainian diaspora and other categories of affected populations. People who decide to leave the occupied territories face enormous obstacles, ranging from obtaining state-issued documents to recognition of their qualifications and education: “In fact, people are forced to start their lives from scratch, or even from a negative point, without housing, without work and without valid documents. But the state is not doing enough to ease this transition.“

Alena Lunova also emphasised the importance of involving civil society human rights organisations in shaping state policy to support victims, not only formally but also substantively. It is these organisations that often serve as repositories of institutional memory about the development of the victim protection system in Ukraine.

It is worth noting that on the eve of the URC2025, Ukrainian and international humanitarian and human rights organisations called on the Government of Ukraine, as well as international partners, to ensure that the needs and rights of residents of temporarily occupied territories are included in recovery plans. You can read and support the joint statement at the link.

For reference: The URC2025 takes place in Rome on the 10th and 11th of July, 2025. It is the fourth Ukraine Recovery Conference, continuing the annual series of high-level political events dedicated to the swift recovery and long-term reconstruction of Ukraine since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine.

The conference reflects the Lugano principles, including a “whole of society” approach to recovery through the meaningful participation of a broad range of stakeholders.