RETURNING TO UKRAINE: WHAT CAN BE DONE FOR PERSONS TRANSFERRED TO OCCUPIED TERRITORIES OR TO RUSSIAN FEDERATION

Andrii HVOZDETSKYI, рartner, attorney, co-head of Dispute Resolution

According to Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights about 1.2 million citizens of Ukraine have been forcibly transferred to Russia or to the occupied territories of Donetsk and Lugansk Regions since the beginning of full-scale invasion. It is well known, that the Government and the Ombudsman aim to develop an efficient mechanism to help deported Ukrainian citizens. Still, there is no such a program yet.

Individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations from occupied territory were prohibited by Geneva Convention back in 1949. Such actions are qualified as a war crime.

However, protection of violated rights and bringing responsible persons to liability is not a main concern for the persons transferred, deported or allegedly evacuated to Russia. Ultimately, at top of mind has to be a personal security issue.

Personal security

First of all, please note and try to secure or memorize all data of your passport, contacts of your family members, relatives or other persons, who you can call at the first opportunity. It is important not to save such information in your mobile phone due to the fact that mobile devices can be taken away.

Also pay attention to your data privacy. You have to delete from your device all contacts, correspondence, chats, subscriptions to informational resources, messaging containing anti-war narratives. Also, you need to log out all user accounts (email, social networks, etc.) and to delete passwords.

If possible, avoid signing of any forms or documents, which are presented during the transfer, “filtration” procedures, etc. Such documents can be used afterwards to hide aggressor state’s crimes as well as to explain people’s transfers with evacuation needs. The aggressor’s propaganda purposes should be also kept in mind. It is important to avoid any video records of you, interviews to media regardless of what state (country) such persons or media allegedly represent.

While being interviewed or examined, please answer indifferently and evade disclosure of personal political attitude, do not be involved into chats or discussions.

Identification

The passport of citizen of Ukraine (ID card) as well as the passport of citizen of Ukraine for travelling abroad should be safely secured. Do not turn over your ID’s to third persons. Being exposed to the “filtration” procedures you should try not to allow putting any stamps or marks to your documents. Please refer to Geneva Convention.

Pursuant to the Regulation on the Passport of Citizen of Ukraine and the Regulation on the Passport of Citizen of Ukraine for Travelling Abroad, approved by the Resolution of Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine 2503-ХІІ as of 26.04.1992, it is prohibited to put to the passports any marks or records that are not envisaged by the law. Such passports are considered to be invalid.

It is necessary to make copies of your ID documents. Scan copies (photos) should be saved in cloud data warehouses or sent to your email in order to get access to it in the case of necessity and to provide it to Ukrainian authorities for the purpose of re-issuance of documents.

It is also recommended to get out and conceal a sim card. If your mobile device is withdrawn by third persons, you will be able to access the mobile app “Diya” and to restore electronic documents using your sim card.

On the way home

As Ukrainian authorities are reliably informed, the “filtration” procedure of citizens ends with issuance of different types of certificates, which allow citizens to move (travel) between or within the occupied territories or the territory of Russian Federation.

At this stage it is recommended to leave such territories and cross the border of safe country. The best directions are as follow:

• From Leningrad or Pskov Region of RF to Estonia or Latvia;
• From RF to Lithuania (by bus or transit through Belarus); and
• From occupied southern regions of Ukraine to Turkey or Azerbaijan (by transit through Crimea).

Please note that Ukrainian passport is needed to enter a safe country. It is known, that Lithuania and Georgia authorize crossing their border with the passport of citizen of Ukraine (domestic passport). According to the Ministry of Temporary Occupied Territories there have not been revealed and confirmed any restrictions from the side of Russian Federation for crossing the border of the safe countries listed above.

In particular, you can make to Estonia through Ivangorod-Narva checkpoint (Sankt-Petersburg – Ivangorod – Narva – Tallinn). To cross Lithuanian or Latvian border, you can use international bus routes.

Diplomatic missions and consular agencies of Ukraine provide consulting assistance and consular services to deported Ukrainians in order to help them to return home. Once forcibly transferred person arrives to the safe country, he or she should contact such institution and to inform about the situation. It is important to memorize the whole route, to make records of all procedures that he or she has got through.

Diplomatic missions and consular agencies of Ukraine will help to re-issue lost or damaged documents or to issue so-called “white passport” as an identification document for returning to Ukraine.

The Ministry of Temporary Occupied Territories and the Ombudsman recommend to notify them on the fact of deportation by means of:

• email info@minre.gov.ua or hot line 0800−75−01−07;
• email hotline@ombudsman.gov.ua or hot line 0800−50−17−20 (24/7).

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