On 27 March, a coordination meeting on current pressing issues affecting young people leaving the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine was held.
The event was initiated by the First Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Oleksandr Korniienko, and the Chair of the Subcommittee on the Restoration of State Authority and Local Self-Government in the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine, the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, of the Committee on the Organisation of State Power, Local Self-Government, Regional Development and Urban Planning, Tamila Tasheva.
"We need to broaden our focus: it is not only about Crimea, but also about the temporarily occupied territories of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, and Donetsk. I saw firsthand the challenges that people face every day," Oleksandr Korniienko emphasised.
The participants of the meeting discussed strengthening information provision to youth regarding departure procedures and available state support mechanisms; improving interagency coordination and interaction with Ukrainian diplomatic missions abroad; simplifying administrative procedures and access to services upon arrival in government-controlled territories; ensuring initial support and housing assistance; developing state youth support programs; implementing a human-centered approach in government communication; and enhancing partnerships with international organizations and civil society institutions.
According to the First Deputy Speaker, work is already underway to improve admission conditions to educational institutions for youth from temporarily occupied territories.
At the same time, this week in Strasbourg, closed consultations will take place with the participation of Oleksandr Korniienko, during which the Ukrainian parliamentary delegation aims to align its vision for managing deoccupied territories with European standards and secure the expertise of Ukraine’s partners. As part of his visit to the French Republic, the First Deputy Speaker will also take part in the 50th session of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe and in the 5th High-Level Dialogue “Good Democratic Governance in Ukraine: Achievements, Challenges, and the Way Forward in the Post-War Period.”
“We must maintain the connection with our youth who were forced to leave the country and work to ensure that, once their basic life needs are addressed, they have both the desire and the opportunity to return,” said Oleksandr Korniienko.
He also noted that Ukraine continues its efforts to secure the release of political prisoners, civilian captives, and local government heads from russian captivity.
“The issue of abducted children and unlawfully detained youth remains a key topic on international platforms, particularly within the parliamentary dimension of the Crimean Platform,” said the First Deputy Speaker.
During the coordination meeting, Tamila Tasheva emphasised that in the context of protecting and supporting youth from temporarily occupied territories, changes need to be developed in five key areas: organisation of exit procedures – implementation of updated identification forms and interagency crisis protocols so that youth do not have to wait for documents for over a month or even a year; integration – breaking bureaucratic cycles, simplifying access to education, and providing mentoring support; human-centered communication – moving away from dry bureaucracy towards empathetic communication; social support – development of financial assistance programs that genuinely meet the needs of youth during adaptation; international cooperation – strengthening collaboration with partners and expanding access to consular and support services for youth abroad.
She expressed special gratitude to civil society representatives, experts, and the youth themselves, who have completed the existing bureaucratic procedures and are now in Ukraine helping their peers. “We must find ways to address the problems of our youth leaving the occupied territories. This concerns return documents, identification, and information about exit procedures. It is also important to involve diaspora organisations to provide temporary support to these people abroad. The state must be a reliable support for them,” emphasised the Chair of the Subcommittee on the Restoration of State Authorities and Local Self-Government in the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine, in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, of the Committee on Organisation of State Power, Local Self-Government, Regional Development and Urban Planning.
In conclusion, summarising the results of the meeting, the First Deputy Speaker noted that coordination meetings on pressing issues concerning youth leaving the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine will be held regularly and will contribute to strengthening cooperation between state authorities, representative bodies, and international partners in decision-making on the protection of the rights and freedoms of youth from temporarily occupied territories, particularly in the context of further legislative initiatives. “I thank my colleagues for a substantive dialogue. Special thanks to the civil society sector, which today is a powerful core for uniting people in frontline territories,” Oleksandr Korniienko concluded.