On May 25, 2017, the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine, in cooperation with the Legislation Institute of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and International Foundation for electoral systems (IFES), organized a roundtable titled, “Features of Implementation of Internally Displaced Persons’ (IDPs’) Electoral Rights and the Legal Framework.” Participants discussed existing gaps in legislative provision of IDPs’ voting rights, as well as possible ways to ensure the electoral participation of IDPs based on international standards and good practices. The roundtable gathered representatives of legislative and executive authorities of Ukraine, academia, civil society, and media along with national and international experts in this sphere. Participants developed recommendations for legislators on ensuring the electoral rights of IDPs and other mobile groups, including internal labor migrants. Recommendations include the following:

• To the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine - to immediately send the Draft Law No 6240 On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine Related to Electoral Rights of Internally Displaced Persons and Other “Mobile” Groups of Ukrainian Citizens to the Venice Commission for its assessment of the draft’s compliance with European standards and preparation of the respective opinion;
• To the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Policy and Justice - to accelerate the consideration of the Draft Law No 6240 and to recommend the Verkhovna Rada to adopt it in the first reading;
• To the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine - to adopt the Draft Law No 6240 in the first reading with consideration given to the recommendations developed by national and international experts while preparing it for the second reading.

List of conclusions and recommendations