Civil registration and personal identification documents for Roma in Ukraine are crucial for ensuring their fundamental rights and equality, say participants at OSCE/ODIHR seminar

The importance of civil registration and personal identification documents and the negative effects on Roma in Ukraine who lack these documents were the focus of an expert seminar organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), in co-operation with the Ukrainian Parliament’s Commissioner for Human Rights in Kyiv on 19 and 20 November 2015.

More than 35 participants from the central and regional state authorities and Roma and non-Roma civil society organizations explored solutions to the problems Roma face in accessing civil registration and personal identification documents.

"A lack of access to personal documents perpetuates the marginalization of Roma in Ukraine, as it prevents them from accessing basic services in the areas of housing, healthcare, employment and education," said Mirjam Karoly, Chief of ODIHR’s Contact Point for Roma and Sinti Issues.

Participants emphasized the situation of Roma displaced by the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Many of them are deprived of any humanitarian assistance because they either never had or lost their personal documents. In order to break this vicious circle, experts at the seminar stressed the importance of close co-operation between various authorities and of determination on the part of those authorities to close existing gaps in law and practice.

"All responsible authorities must collaborate to urgently alleviate the problem of lack of personal documents among Roma," said Aksana Filipishyna, the Ukrainian Parliament’s Representative of the Commissioner for the Observance of Children’s Rights, Non-Discrimination and Gender Equality. "Sitting back and waiting until the problem gets resolved is not an option."

Sharing her experiences as a practitioner, Nataša Živković, Deputy Secretary of the Belgrade City Administration, said: "Fighting their legal invisibility is a pre-condition for the protection of the equal rights of Roma, and it is essential that public authorities at all levels devise and apply economic and social measures to improve the integration of Roma into our societies."

In line with the Action Plan on Improving the Situation of Roma and Sinti within the OSCE Region, and ODIHR’s Situation Assessment Report on Roma in Ukraine and the Impact of the Current Crises, this seminar is part of ODIHR’s ongoing support to governments in improving the situation of Roma.

This event was supported by UNHCR and the Kyiv-based International Renaissance Foundation.