During June – July 2017 the Project “Strengthening the Human Rights Protection of Internally Displaced Persons in Ukraine” within the framework of supporting the system of free legal aid in Ukraine in cooperation with Coordination Centre for Legal Aid Provision organized 11 trainings “Providing free legal aid to internally displaced persons: national practices and tips for legal consultations” for lawyers working in legal aid offices in Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kyiv and Luhansk regions.

As trainers the members of the network of lawyers-trainers performed. The network has been initiated by the Project in 2016 and has been actively supported through organizing 4 trainings of trainers and involvement of lawyers in other activities of the Project.

In 2016 lawyers-trainers conducted 10 cascade trainings on European standards of providing legal aid to IDPs in which 200 advocates took part.

This year a series of trainings have been conducted in Donetsk region (17.06 in Svyatogirsk), Dnipropetrovsk region (03.06., 17.06., 30.06., 1.07. in Dnipro and 3.06 in Kryvyi Rih), Luhansk region (10.06. in Severodonetsk), Kyiv region (1.07, 3.07., 8.07 in Kyiv, 10.06 in Bila Tserkva). As a result, around 200 lawyers took part in activities. Some of them were internally displaced persons themselves.

During the trainings participants worked on situations related to exercising rights of IDPs to property, education, freedom of movement, social protection. They discussed the standards of the Council of Europe in protection of human rights of IDPs, the role of the legal aid offices in ensuring the rights of internally displaced persons.

Additional session to discuss the factors of gender-based violence in a conflict and the role of the system of free legal aid in preventing this phenomenon has been organized. It was facilitated by the regional coordinators of UNFPA in Ukraine.

As a result of the trainings participants noted the relevance and practicality of the information received and stressed the need to organize such activities regularly.

For the participants of the trainings and target groups they work with the Project and Coordination Centre for Legal Aid Provision created thematic information materials. Leaflets and brochures were disseminated among centres of free legal aid provision and other partners dealing with IDPs’ issues in Ukraine.

The materials are following:

- leaflet “FREE LEGAL AID IN UKRAINE” describing and giving contact information of the centres for free secondary legal aid provision; 30 000 copies;

- leaflet “FREE LEGAL AID FOR INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS” listing rights that internally displaced persons are entitled to under the legislation of Ukraine; 30 000 copies;

- brochure “THE RIGHTS OF INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS AND LEGAL ASSISTANCE IN THEIR EXERCISING” which contains answers to the questions of establishing the fact of birth or death on the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine, crossing a contact line, receiving pensions, social benefits and other peculiarities of exercising the basic rights of IDPs; 10 000 copies;

- manual for lawyers and legal consultants “LEGAL AID FOR INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS. NATIONAL PRACTICES AND TIPS FOR LEGAL CONSULTATIONS” with explanations and recommendations on provision of free legal assistance to internally displaced persons on issues related to the restoration of documents, establishment of legal facts, access to social services etc.; 1000 copies.