We express our gratitude to the leadership and team of the Ministry of Social Policy to protect the rights of internally displaced persons (IDPs) during wartime. This applies to both regulation development and implementation as well as information technology solutions put into practice.
Given the unprecedented number of citizens displaced by the war and the organizational and technical challenges of working with IDPs, we propose to consider and implement policy proposals.
The purpose of policy proposals is to ensure delivery of better service to applicants and more efficient work of both local self-government bodies (LSG) and Social Protection Departments (SPDs) of city councils, district state administrations and the Ministry of Social Policy.
- Provide flexible options to register and obtain IDP certificates. Should operations of the software solution, “Social Community”, be temporarily disrupted, the system shall provide for the possibility to obtain a paper-based certificate without the mandatory entry of data in an electronic file. This file may be created at a later stage once the software functioning and communications are resumed. It is advisable to grant powers to the Administrative Service Centers (ASC) and community representatives, or local officials, to process applicants’ requests in paper-based form only – at least during the next few months when registering IDPs), to be followed by transfer of such cases to the SPDs and creation of an electronic file. A decision to issue an IDP certificate shall be taken immediately during one visit. Implementation of such proposals is expected to boost capacity of the authorities and increase the number of access points for IDPs while improving territorial service accessibility.
- Provide comprehensive services for IDPs, when they can be registered based on one application despite it requiring “splitting” into several applications, a certificate issued for an IDP status registration and provided with necessary assistance at his or her request or consent. An integrated service approach minimizes the need for citizens to visit the authorities and reduces the corresponding front-office workload on SPDs and ASCs.
- Organize and clearly define the list of documents required for an IDP to obtain an IDP status certificate and the necessary assistance. If necessary, additional clarifications for LSG bodies, SPDs and ASCs shall be provided regarding the above; this may concern clarification of an IDP’s military registration status established as a requirement by some LSG bodies before an IDP subject to mobilization applies for an IDP status certificate.
- In the medium term, consider providing ASCs with a review mode access or a full access to the information systems of the Ministry of Social Policy – in the same scope as access granted to the SPDs of LSG organizations. This shall improve speed of service and quality for IDPs and other applicants’ social services.
- Define and regulate the status of “victims of Russian aggression” if a person has lost their home; but, continues residing within their territorial community. Alternatively, recommend authorities to register such citizens as IDPs and provide them with the assistance available for IDPs. Up to now, this issue has not been regulated and in some territorial communities, decisions are taken at the discretion of officials of the SPDs, ASCs.
- In the regulations, leave it to the discretion of LSG to decide on points of handling IDPs’ applications to obtain an IDP certificate. Specifically, let LSG determine points of service and decision-making from among the three possible options established by the Government according to the formula associated with SPD, ASC or authorized persons. Each territorial community may have its own specificity: SPD may work only through the ASC; or the ASC may not have been established yet; or access to the ASC is closed due to security considerations of LSG; or authorized persons are not identified due to the small size of the community.
- Provide for deadline extension to apply for an IDP status registration and an IDP certificate issuance should it be established that such a request could not be made within the established deadline through no fault of an applicant. In April and May 2022, such deadlines should be extended as much as possible, as the large number of IDPs and the restricted capacity of the state authorities or LSG in some places may become a significant barrier to the realization of citizens’ rights. Implementation of these proposals shall reduce the burden on authorities and remove excessive stress for citizens in view of the risk of unfair treatment by the state and failure to receive state aid.
- In the legal framework, we suggest revising the name of this administrative service. To register an IDP and issue an IDP certificate represent only the formal side of government activity aimed at assisting IDPs. In fact, the proper name of the administrative service shall be “granting/receiving an IDP status”.
- As the DIIA Portal provides for e-service of an IDP registration, it shall be established how the SPD or LSG shall receive information on an IDP registration at the place of their temporary residence. Ultimately, it is at this level that issues of community life support need to be addressed while maintaining liaison with IDPs and providing them with necessary services.
When decision-making is provided in an automated mode, it is important to ensure the rights of applicants to seek technical support, to receive information about reasons for refusal, should it be impossible to obtain a positive result and to ensure the procedure for appealing the refusal.
An IDP certificate issued through the DIIA application shall deem a sufficient document for all legal relations, without the need for an additional paper certificate with a “wet stamp”.
If necessary, experts of the Law in a Wartime Initiative are ready to provide more information on these proposals and participate in the development of mechanisms for their implementation.
