2024-02-21T16:05:00+02:00 Economy 2024-09-15T04:40:00+03:00

Ukrainian news

1 million IDPs will lose right to aid from March, Ombudsman Lubinets calls on Shmyhal to reconsider changes on

1 million IDPs will lose right to aid from March, Ombudsman Lubinets calls on Shmyhal to reconsider changes on assistance

The Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets has called on Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal to revise the changes on assistance to internally displaced persons (IDPs) from March.

Lubinets announced this on his Telegram channel, Ukrainian News Agency reports.

"I, as the Ombudsman of Ukraine, appealed to the Prime Minister of Ukraine regarding changes in the mechanism of payment of housing benefits for internally displaced persons, which will come into force from March 2024. According to preliminary estimates, potentially 1 million IDPs could lose the right to assistance, which could have significant negative consequences for people already affected by the war," he said.

Lubinets stressed that for most IDPs, housing assistance is the only source of income, the loss of this assistance can deprive them of access to basic needs and housing.

He said that in the appeal he emphasized that:

the Government has not introduced effective mechanisms to encourage IDPs to be employed;

cancellation of benefits may encourage IDPs to return to TOT, dangerous territories or move to other countries;

the use of significant financial resources to evacuate people from the war zone becomes irrational when people are denied basic support after displacement, prompting them to return back.

Lubinets hopes that the government will reconsider the changes in IDPs’ assistance, taking into account the comments it outlined in the appeal.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, in January Shmyhal said that the Cabinet of Ministers decided to extend payments for all internally displaced persons until the end of February 2024, and from March new rules for IDP assistance will be launched.

According to him, from March, payments will be extended for another 6 months for IDPs from among pensioners, for citizens with a disability of 1 or 2 groups, for children with disabilities, for orphans and children deprived of parental care.

Also, payments will be extended for able-bodied citizens who have registered at the employment center or have been employed.

According to Shmyhal, since March, the state will continue to support payments to more than 1.5 million IDPs and at the same time will continue more targeted support tools to help those who really need it.