The series of trainings for lawyers providing secondary legal aid have been jointly organized by the Coordination Centre for Legal Aid Provision with the support of the Council of Europe Project “Strengthening the Human Rights Protection of Internally Displaced Persons in Ukraine”

During June – July 2016 the Coordination Centre for Legal Aid Provision in cooperation with the Project organized two constituent sessions for 10 lawyers-trainers on elaboration of training materials on protection of human rights of internally displaced persons and 10 trainings for lawyers providing secondary legal aid.

First constituent session on “Legal Aid Provision for Internally Displaced Persons: Towards European Standards” held on June 4-5 was opened by Ms Antonina Vykhrest, Project Manager (Strasbourg), Mr Myroslav Lavrinok, First Deputy Director of the Coordination Centre for Legal Aid Provision, Ms Tatyana Kovalyova, Head of the Department of Humanitarian Cooperation and IDPs of the Ministry of Temporary Occupied Territories and IDPs and Ms Ganna Khrystova, the Senior Project Officer (Kyiv).

Leading European and national experts on IDPs issues invited by the Project also contributed to the trainers’ preparation. Ms Evgenia Giakoumopoulou, Executive Director of the Advocacy Centre on Council of Europe Standards (ACCESS) described the Council of Europe standards towards protection of IDPs emphasizing on relevant examples from the European Court of Human Rights case-law. Lawyer and academician Mr Yevhen Herasymenko presented to the participants the main challenges in court protection and law enforcement practice on IDPs issues and suggested the recommendations on use of the national courts mechanisms protecting rights of IDPs. Professor Borys Babin introduced the implementation of the basic international mechanisms of responsibility of the state for violation of IDPs rights.

Long-term Consultants of the Project - Mr Oleksandr Voroshkov (Donetsk region), Mr Oleksandr Kiselev (Dnipropetrovsk region), Mr Sergii Marushchenko (Kyiv region), Mr Oleksii Murashkevych (Luhansk region) introduced the regional situations on IDPs and issues which challenge the fulfillment of human rights. Lawyers-trainers explored and solved practical cases, shared own experience on legal protection of IDPs and discussed logistical aspects of delivering the next series of trainings.

On June 18, during the second constituent session lawyers-trainers and long-term consultants of the Project discussed the recent changes in legislation regarding IDPs and agreed on the program and content of regional trainings for lawyers.

The series of regional trainings titled “Legal Aid for IDPs: European Standards and National Practice” have been conducted for lawyers providing free secondary legal aid in target regions of the Project according to the schedule: Donetsk region (25.06 in Svyatogirsk, 16.07 in Mariupol), Dnipro region (2-3.07, 16.07 in Dnipro), Luhansk region (9.07 in Severodonetsk), Kyiv region (2-3.07, 9.07 in Kyiv, 10.07 in Bila Tserkva). As a result, around 200 lawyers took part in the trainings. Some of them were internally displaced persons themselves.

Within the regional trainings relevant international acts, the cases of European Court of Human Rights, current Ukrainian legislation related to IDPs were considered. Participants practiced in analyzing court cases on IDPs issues in light of the European standards of human rights. Trainers and lawyers-participants positively evaluated the events and expressed the interest in further involvement into the Project activities.

The Council of Europe Project “Strengthening the Human Rights Protection of Internally Displaced Persons in Ukraine” plans to continue cooperation with the Coordination Centre for Legal Aid Provision. Particularly, in terms of support of further initiatives which promote amendments to the Law “On free legal aid” in the part of including IDPs to the list of categories which are entitled for receiving free secondary legal aid.