We would like to share some great news with you: a Coordination Council on Internally Displaced Persons’ Issues (IDP Council) will be created in Uzhhorod. It will take care of the rights of IDPs and their integration into the local community.
On November 21, a constituent assembly was held to determine the composition of the advisory body. Very soon, the project on IDP Council establishment and regulations governing its activities will be reviewed at a meeting of the City Council Executive Committee.
Our regional coordinator in Zakarpattya region Anzhela Babkina told us how everything happened:
“The city authorities initiated the establishment of the Volunteer Council in Uzhhorod, which was to include NGOs dealing with humanitarian issues. However, an alternative concept was proposed – the one developed and implemented by our Foundation together with IREX in Ukraine under the United Voices for Action program. It is the concept of IDP Councils, which has existed for many years in different regions of the country. The provisions regulating the activities of Kramatorsk, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia IDP Councils appeal to me. In addition, this summer, a similar body was established in Chernivtsi. The case of Chernivtsi IDP Council is more relevant for the western regions of Ukraine than for the eastern and central ones, as the situation here is different, so are the realities.
We worked on the idea of creating an IDP Council in Uzhhorod with both the authorities and NGOs – both relocated and local ones; both well-known and those with which we were not familiar before. On November 2, we presented this concept to the public and representatives of Uzhhorod city authorities. Everyone liked the idea, so we unanimously voted for the IDP Council in Uzhhorod. As early as on November 21, we held the constituent assembly: thus, less than three weeks passed from the presentation to the decision for the Council to be established!
The Legal Department of Uzhhorod City Council worked on the documents and later on showed us the draft regulations on the Coordination Council on Internally Displaced Persons’ Issues. It consists of 23 representatives of NGOs and 10 representatives of the authorities – in my opinion, the balance is kept.
Our Coordination Council will consist of those people who are interested in bringing about changes and who see no other option but to integrate into the host community and communicate with the authorities. We have experience in advocacy, the city authorities are also interested in the operation of such an IDP Council, so the work should be fruitful.”
We thank Ms. Anzhela for her persistence and desire to take care of the interests of IDPs in Zakarpattya!
Interested in creating an IDP Council in your community? Join the initiative group – write to us at: [email protected].
Photo: official website of Uzhhorod City Council.