We continue to acquaint you with the work of IDP Councils, the creation of which was initiated by our Foundation and the United Voices for Action program. Today we will go to the capital and check out the features of the Coordination Council for Internally Displaced Persons, which operates under Kyiv City Council. And our regional coordinator in Kyiv and Kyiv region, Oleksandr Yavtushenko, will help us to figure this out.
The decision to create the council was made on December 16, 2021. According to the Regulation, it should include representatives of local authorities and, of course, the public sector. After all, who, if not the public activists who work with the displaced persons, and IDPs themselves should influence the development of programs aimed at IDPs integration? Currently, we are waiting for vacancies announcement to approve the staff composition of the Council so that it can perform its functions.
“Over 150,000 IDPs are registered in Kyiv right now. Entire centers are created for them, like, for example, for displaced persons from Mariupol and other occupied cities. The city government is now dealing with this issue on their own. We believe that it will be easier for the city to help IDPs when there will be a coordinating and advisory body with the public involved”, explains Mr. Oleksandr. “Our Foundation is making efforts to ensure that the staff of the IDP Council is approved, and that people with an active public position and displaced persons themselves can participate in IDPs initiatives development.”
Why is an operational IDP Council needed? It addresses at least three issues.
First, the relevant resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine provides for public participation in the management of state affairs. In essence, the IDP Council is a specialized public council on a specific issue — the integration of displaced persons and assistance to them.
Second, civil society representatives, who will be the members of the council, can collect high-quality and detailed analysis of the IDPs’ problems. Representatives of NGOs and charity foundations work with the displaced persons and know their needs, so they can create effective solutions projects and submit them to local authorities for approval.
Third, it is a tool of public control over the decisions’ proper implementation and a tool for combating possible corruption manifestations.
“Let’s imagine that you are the government, and you know that you have 150,000 IDPs in the city. You do a lot to meet their needs, but you have no feedback, no advisor who understands the problems of IDPs and can help solve things that are not obvious to you. The IDPs themselves are not always ready to approach you with a certain problem, or they do not know how to do it correctly. For this, there is an IDP Council, with this principle applied: no decisions for IDPs without IDPs. The Council is an element of drawing attention to the needs of displaced persons and more qualitative targeted development of proposals,” Oleksandr Yavtushenko notes.
In order to launch Kyiv IDP Council, Mr. Oleksandr and his colleagues initiate meetings with city authorities representatives and send official letters to those who can contribute to the approval of personal composition of the council. We believe that this issue will be resolved soon.
We would like to remind that IDP Councils are created in the frames of the United Voices for Action program, which is implemented by our Foundation together with IREX in Ukraine. Today, similar consultative and advisory bodies exist in more than 10 regions of Ukraine, aiming to integrate displaced persons in their new places of residence as quickly as possible and give them the right to vote.
Do you want to create an IDP Council in your region? Write to us to join the initiative groups: [email protected].