On March 17, 2017 long-term consultants of the Council of Europe Project "Strengthening the human rights protection of internally displaced persons in Ukraine" from Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Luhansk regions together with the regional representatives and coordinators of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, took part in the meeting in order to discuss methodology on monitoring the human rights of internally displaced persons in Ukraine (hereinafter - Methodology).

The Methodology was developed by the group of selected experts jointly created by the Council of Europe Project “Strengthening the human rights protection of internally displaced persons in Ukraine”, the UNDP Project “Strengthening Capacities of the Office of the Ombudsperson” and the Ombudsperson office of Ukraine and other relevant key civil society organisations.

Ms. Zhanna Lukyanenko, representative of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights on the rights of IDPs, opened the meeting and drew attention to the strategic decisions and documents on issues related to the massive internal displacement, she also noted the importance of obtaining comprehensive data on the enjoyment of the rights of IDPs to identify situations that require urgent intervention. Igor Konev, senior specialist of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Secretariat on the rights of IDPs, reminded the audience about the basic legislative provision on internal displacement, temporary occupation and certain areas of Donetsk and Lugansk regions. Tatiana Durneva, Executive Director of Public Holding “Group of Impact”, presented the methodology and provided practical advice on how to implement relevant monitoring.

Methods and tools of the monitoring of the IDPs rights are based on particular indicators that have been developed in accordance with the Ukrainian legislation and which correlate with Council of Europe standards. Such indicators provide a comprehensive toolkit to implement systematic assessment on respect of the rights of IDPs, which is crucially important for the Ombudsperson Office, as Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights plays a special role in protecting the rights of IDPs through parliamentary control over the observance of constitutional rights and freedoms of all citizens of Ukraine and within its jurisdiction.  

Currently the monitoring methodology will be approbated in different regions of Ukraine. Based on its approbation results it will be finalized and shared widely with the representatives of civil society organisations and all other relevant institutions.