On this page, you will find:
To find organisations working for LGBTQI+ rights, visit our Ukraine LGBTQI+ Resources page.
For Ukraine country of origin information (COI) experts, reports, commentaries, and relevant documents visit our Ukraine COI page.
Refugee protection
Click here to see the numbers and origins of refugees hosted by Ukraine.
The following sections contain information on the most important international treaties and agreements of which Ukraine is signatory, as well as national legislation relevant to the protection of refugees.
In 2002, Ukraine ratified the 1951 Convention relating to the status of refugees and its 1967 Protocol. In 2013, Ukraine ratified two UN Conventions relating to the status of stateless persons (1954) and on the reduction of statelessness (1961). Furthermore, the UN Refugee Agency has been working in Ukraine since 1994 and established a country office the following year.
In 2011, the government adopted the Law of Ukraine On the Legal Status of Foreigners and Stateless Persons, establishing a legal framework for migration in Ukraine. The law defines legal status of foreigners and stateless persons staying in Ukraine and establishes the procedure for their entry/exit to/from Ukraine. Learn about migration and human rights in Ukraine, via this report prepared by the OHCHR.
Legal aid organisations
Website
Address: 57/1 Goncha St., Chernihiv, Ukraine, UA-14000
Tel: +380 462 675-281
Email: protection.ua@gmail.com
Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights (CHGKZPL) is an NGO founded in 1999. They provide direct counselling assistance to refugees and migrants; providing with interpreter and lawyer; support with mediation activity; work and travel of mobile group, as well as additional legal aid for migrants. They also prepare different human rights and information booklets for refugees and migrants, distributing information to promote legalisation of irregular migrants.
‘Edopomoha’ meaning ‘Help is there’ in Ukrainian is a dedicated virtual toolkit launched by the Danish Refugee Council Ukraine’s Legal Aid Team.
The online platform allows people in need to access legal info and legal updates on Ukrainian and other legislations in relevant languages as well as to make a referral to free legal aid services in Ukraine and other countries.
Website
Facebook
Instagram
Tel: 800-HIAS-714
Email: info@hias.org
Contact person: Alexandr Galkin (A.Galkin@hias.kiev.ua)
HIAS is the global Jewish humanitari
an NGO that helps refugees find welcome, safety, & opportunity. HAIS is a longtime partner on the ground in Ukraine providing emergency assistance and refugee support, including legal aid. Visit their Ukraine Crisis Response page to learn more about their work.
Website
Facebook
Address: Svobody Str. 27, Kharkiv, Ukraine
Tel: +380 57 700 6281
The group is a registered charity that focuses on providing assistance to individuals whose rights have been infringed, and carrying out investigations into cases of human rights violation, developing human rights education and promoting legal awareness through public actions and publications, and providing analysis of the human rights situation in Ukraine (particularly with regard to political rights and civil liberties).
Website
Email: contact@w2eu.info or w2eu_info@yahoo.com
The Welcome to Europe website is an independent source of information for refugees coming to Europe. It might be useful on their journey to and through Europe by giving access to counseling and useful contacts in different European countries. Their Ukraine country page provides information on the asylum application process and provides useful contacts.
Organisations providing other support to refugees
Website
Facebook
Instagram
Address: Ozarkevycha str, 4, Lviv, Ukraine
Tel: +38 (032) 297 66 36; +38 (032) 297 12 56
Email: caritas@caritas-ua.org
The aim of the project and the tasks of Caritas are to provide legal, social and medical assistance to migrants, asylum seekers and refugees detained at detention facilities, contribute food and hygiene packages to them; provide legal and social assistance to asylum seekers and refugees who are in the procedure of granting refugee status in Ukraine, provide temporary accommodation for 20 vulnerable asylum seekers and refugees; to improve a dialogue between governmental bodies and other NGOs who were working with the issues of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees.
Website
Address: 3 Michurina St
Mukachevo, Transcarpathian region Ukraine
Tel: +38 03131 32122
Email: info@neeka.org
The international fund of health and environment protection “Region Karpat”, or NEEKA (an abbreviation of the Hungarian name) is a branch of an international NGO established to assist with individual and social development. In Ukraine, NEEKA’s activities are focused mainly on providing social protection and aid to asylum seekers and refugees, especially women, children and the elderly.
Since Russia’s full scale invasion, NEEKA has focused on supporting asylum seekers, refugees and persons in need of additional protection in Ukraine whose vulnerabilities have been exacerbated by the war. Learn more about there current projects here.
Website
Address: 7 Vasylya Chumak Street, 04201 Kyiv / 03113, Kyiv, PO Box 1993
Tel: +38 (044) 50 15 696
Email: office@rokada.org.ua
They provide a variety of services for citizens, foreigners and the community. For citizens, they provide psychological support, consultation and help internally displaced persons and war-affected population in Ukraine with basic necessities. For foreigners, they protect the rights of refugees and asylum seekers from other countries, provide psychosocial support, promote adaptation and integration into Ukrainian society, and mobilize refugee communities in Ukraine.
Finally, for the community, they promote the development of communities’ potential through educational activities, the implementation of joint infrastructure projects with the involvement of displaced persons in the lives of host communities.
Ukraine LGBTQI+ Resources
Find organisations working for refugee LGBTQI+ rights in Ukraine.
Ukraine COI
Find Ukraine Country of Origin information (COI) experts, reports, commentaries, and relevant documents.
We are always looking to expand the resources on our platform. If you know about relevant resources, or you are aware of organisations and/or individuals to include in our directories, please get in touch.
Last updated May 2023