Batkivschyna, All-Ukrainian Platform of Donbas agree on joint actions to help IDPs
The public union "All-Ukrainian Platform of Donbas" and Yulia Tymoshenko's Batkivschyna party have signed a memorandum of cooperation in lawmaking in the newly elected parliament: human rights activists and MPs committed themselves to jointly lobby bills to help solve the problems of Donbas residents and displaced people.
The signing of the memorandum took place on June 20, 2019 on the World Refugee Day. The document provides for the development and consolidation of the state strategy of assistance to the residents of Donbas, the gradual implementation of a comprehensive policy to restore peace and territorial integrity of Ukraine.
"The aggressive attitude towards people, inattention, and detachment from problems is unacceptable. The new government is obliged to view it in a completely different way and take real steps to help all its citizens," Tymoshenko believes.
"The pressing issues for Ukrainians from Donbas are: the lack of permanent housing, restrictions in the passing of the contact line, legislative gaps in the issuing of identity documents, non-payment of pensions," head of the All-Ukrainian Platform of Donbas Hennadiy Borysychiv said.
The parties agreed on the need to create an international fund for the restoration and development of Donbas, where donor funds will be used exclusively for the intended purposes.
"Over the past five years, international donors have provided the Ukrainian authorities with about $1 billion in assistance to support the affected residents of Donbas and damaged infrastructure. However, they were inefficient: some money was stolen, and some were simply redistributed to other state needs, which is a crime against affected people. In addition, it undermines the credibility of donor states to Ukraine," Borysychiv said.
The All-Ukrainian Platform of Donbas is a public union that united organizations and coalitions of internally displaced persons in order to protect and restore their rights.