Alexander Bilak: Income Level, Political Will and Public Attention: Th...
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Alexander Bilak: Income Level, Political Will and Public Attention: Three Factors Influencing the Time of Solving the Problem
02.10.2017
Alexander Bilak: Income Level, Political Will and Public Attention: Three Factors Influencing the Time of Solving the Problem
In Kyiv, a discussion was held on the topic "Resolution of issues of restriction of housing, land and property rights of internally displaced and affected by armed conflict in the East of Ukraine: steps towards restitution / compensation". The government has to commit itself to finding a solution to the lost rights of citizens, as well as to restore these rights, according to a meeting organized by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).
More than 17 thousand buildings were damaged or destroyed as a result of the conflict in the East of Ukraine. In the absence of any prospect of a ceasefire in the near future, the conflict continues to complicate the everyday lives of thousands of civilians who have lost their homes and land.
At present, more than 100 lawsuits on damages for destroyed property (real estate) are being considered in the Ukrainian courts of various instances without any prospect of compensation. Experts say: even if the court of first instance makes a decision in favor of the victim, the state will bring the case to the appellate and cassation courts. This is due to the lack of appropriate legislation to compensate for damaged property as a result of hostilities. The second reason is that the state budget does not have funds to pay such compensation.
Legal uncertainty along with financial problems with court fees prevents many people from appealing to court. Only court costs amount to 1% of the declared value of property, which ordinary citizens can not afford, noted during the discussion.
The participants of the conversation were People's Deputies of Ukraine Oleg Nedava and Mykhailo Dyadenko, Director of the Norwegian Refugee Council in Ukraine (NRC) in Ukraine Christopher Mayley, international expert Massimo Morati, representatives of the Ministry of Regional Development, Construction and Housing and Communal Services, as well as the Ministry of issues of temporarily occupied territories and internally displaced persons, Donetsk Regional Court of Appeal, activists of public organizations.
Direct speech.
Christopher Mayley, Director of NRC:
"In the context of a long-term conflict, the economic resources of internally displaced persons and families who receive them are always worsening. The state of such families is extremely impoverished. Therefore, it is really important to focus on solving priority issues related to the right to housing, property and land so that such families feel more secure and stable. "
In order to overcome the difficulties with realization of rights to property, housing and land, the participants of the discussion recommend the following measures to the Government of Ukraine:
• Develop a procedure for restitution and compensation for loss of rights, value, use and / or access to housing, land and property caused by military actions in the East of Ukraine, as provided for in the Law of Ukraine "On the Fight against Terrorism";
• to create pretentious commissions specifically authorized to carry out both a formal assessment of losses as part of the administrative procedure and to provide compensation for losses from the State Budget of Ukraine.
Among the invited experts was Alexander Bilak, Director of the International Center for the Monitoring of Internal Displacement (Geneva, Switzerland). The center tracks the situation with internal displacement around the world - through violence, natural disasters, armed conflicts or other causes. After the discussion, she answered the questions of the correspondent of the newspaper "Migration".
- Lady Alexandro, are you the first time in Ukraine? What is the purpose of your arrival?
- I came to Ukraine for the first time, and above all the reason was the meeting of representatives of international agencies and humanitarian organizations engaged in long-term internal displacement. These are experts who rarely meet together and discuss long-term prospects as to what should be a joint decision and a joint result.
In addition, my program in Ukraine provides for a trip to the East, I want to see with myself what's happening on the line of demarcation.
- Your organization analyzes the situation with internal displacement around the world. Is it possible to compare countries with different levels of development and other characteristics?
- Mostly, long-term internal displacement relates to middle- or high-risk countries and low or middle-income countries. Of course, Ukraine is not the poorest of all the countries we are dealing with. But we should not forget that we pay attention to these risks in the long run: 10, 20, 30 years. During the discussion, we talked about Bosnia's example, when no compensation was paid even over the past 20 years, and people are in a difficult situation.
We do not perceive that the level of profits is the only factor in the long-term internal resettlement. The main thing is both political will and political commitment.
Of course, we are also looking at high-income countries. For example, in the United States, there is the Katrina hurricane in Louisiana and the hurricane Sandy, as well as a nuclear accident in Fukushima, Japan. These are countries with a fairly high level of income, but still remain internally displaced people who are severely affected. They need to provide both psychological, social support and other types of care. In the United States, it is mostly African-Americans who are discriminated against.
And, of course, a very important role is played by civil society and journalists who have to constantly cover this topic and not to forget about it.
- At the level of international acts, the issue of internal movement is regulated. Should additional national legislation be adopted in this regard?
- I am convinced that international assistance and support are important here, but you need to start with national, local laws. To concentrate efforts primarily on the country itself.
- Could you predict how the situation in Ukraine will develop in the coming years?
- Hard to say. But we are observing the trends since the beginning of the conflict and we see that the number of cases of new displacements has decreased. We look more at those cases that eventually become "aging" and become permanent. Some problems, in comparison with other countries, can become more complex and long-term. Because it's been three years since, and the situation has changed little. The special needs of settlers and the satisfaction of these needs are not well defined. Need more targeted help for these people.
We do not know thoroughly what the range of these needs is. It can be very diverse. It can be both people who have lost their homes and people who have lost relatives and relatives and who need special social support and assistance. Unless we identify this list of needs, we can not say that the case of internal displacement has been completed.
Of course, in Ukraine, a special situation is a long-standing military conflict that has not yet ended. Accordingly, we can not go beyond what is happening at the post-conflict stage. It will be possible to do something, and conclusions will also be drawn when the conflict in Ukraine is over.
There are still a number of gaps in understanding the trafficking of internally displaced persons as well as their special needs and vulnerabilities. Internal displacement is likely to continue if access to social assistance and services continues to depend on official social and other benefits and if conditions are not created to provide displaced persons with accommodation and employment opportunities. It is important to offer targeted and long-term solutions for internally displaced persons before they become even more socially vulnerable and turn into the category of people in need of long-term humanitarian assistance.
- Based on international experience, what are the ways of restoring housing, land and property rights of migrants?
- Compensation is always the most painful issue. As my colleague from Bosnia said, compensation is still difficult to obtain even after so many years of conflict, and therefore the issue needs to be regulated at the national level as soon as possible and as best as possible. But political will, preconditions of creation (for example, limitations in the budget) necessarily require. Based on this, it is worth looking for alternative measures. Perhaps this will help people who are internally displaced persons.
Ukraine has a legal system that is still functioning - unlike many countries in the world. For example, in the countries of Africa to the south of the Sahara, people simply have no place to turn to, there is no hope for them. In Ukraine, on the contrary, there is hope, there are many instances where you can appeal. You can also contact the European Court of Human Rights, which is also an opportunity.
- How much time did you pay for accommodation for internally displaced people in other countries whose experience you are studying?
- Unfortunately, I do not know any example, when the suffering would fully compensate the damage. This is the most difficult question all over the world: from Rwanda to Colombia. Sometimes this volume of help becomes symbolic or there is no such help at all.
- Comment, please, the tendency when settlers return to their homes. Is it observed in other countries?
- Internally displaced persons returning to their homes are no longer considered to be HPE. That is why the government at the national level encourages such a return. But very often there are cases when people started living in a new place, found a job, their children went to local schools. Accordingly, such citizens are no longer interested in returning. During the discussion one of the speeches said: 25% of settlers are not interested in returning to where they lived earlier. But about 70% of people still want to come back and we need to respect this choice.
Of course, during a long conflict, as in Ukraine, too early returns can lead to further internal displacement. This is also bad, and we need to take this into account.
For reference.
Foreign experience.
Ukraine is not the only country that has faced a solution to the issue of compensation / restitution / compensation for loss of rights, value, use and / or access to housing, land and property. Based on the experience of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Colombia, Cyprus, Georgia, Moldova, Serbia and Turkey, the best practices and lessons are as follows.
1. The compensation process includes certain stages: restitution, and, if impossible, restitution - compensation. Such an approach allows for the coverage of all persons affected by the conflict, regardless of their legal status in national legislation: internally displaced persons; civilian victims of war or terror; people affected by the conflict; those who returned; locals, etc.
2. Claims commissions are usually a mix of administrative and quasi-judicial bodies that worked together with the courts. Typically, pretentious commissions consider claims for damages and pay damages for losses incurred as a result of a conflict. These pretentious commissions provided faster results, lower costs, limited standards of evidence, non-controversial procedures and factual determinations that were consistent with the administrative nature of the program of reimbursement.
3. Significant role played by well-developed cadastres and land valuation, as they were used by the pretentious commissions as evidence base.
4. Many positive initiatives were led / supported by donors, including the provision of compensation funds.
5. The approach to long-term housing solutions envisaged not only the adoption of housing legislation, but also land use and infrastructure development.
L. Kushch
vikorok of the newspaper "Migration"
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