Public debate on the law on refugees in Ukraine

Abstract

On July 2011 the National Parliament of Ukraine adopted the Law of Ukraine “On refugees and persons who need complementary or temporary protection”. Its adoption was an important step forward in terms of bringing the national legislation in compliance with international standards and regulations. Thus, it has taken into consideration the provisions of the Convention on refugees’ status of 1951, Protocol on the Status of Refugees of 1967, and strategic documents on migration issues adopted by the Council of Europe and the European Union. Furthermore, it introduced a cluster of significant innovations regulating the procedure of allocating the legal status to foreign nationals and persons with no citizenship and enabled a better protection of rights of refugees and asylum seekers. However, the expert community expressed concerns regarding a number of shortcomings in the Law. Thus, one of the most challenging issues was the actual possibilities for the practical implementation of the Law. The paper outlines the public debate on the Law which exposed a diversity of opinions by both supporters and opposers to the Law. The general conclusion is that the Law is an important step of the state on the way to quality reformation of the current Ukrainian legislation in the area of immigration, which will draw it in compliance with international standards and norms and enhance democratic developments in the society.