Acceso usuarios
Mykhailo Moskaliuk, Volodymyr Matviienko, Viktoria Lisnycha, Ruslan Frosiniak, Anastasiia Sukhodolska
This paper assesses the legal system of reintegration of refugees in Ukraine via a comparative legal and doctrinal approach that draws upon international refugee law and European legal norms. Reintegration is considered an obligation of states under the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, the 1967 Protocol and other human rights instruments; it is distinguished from the legal regime applicable to internally displaced persons. From a methodological perspective, the research uses a doctrinal legal methodology to determine the extent of normative obligations that exist in the Ukrainian legislation; the methodology also uses a comparative legal structure to compare Ukrainian legislation to international standards. In order to implement this comparison, a Normative Compliance Index was developed to measure how well Ukraine's legislation conforms to international standards across five legally defined dimensions of reintegration: legal status; access to rights; institutional obligations; procedural guarantees; and enforcement mechanisms. It is demonstrated in the study that there is a high level of formal compliance of Ukraine with international refugee law in three key aspects: legal assistance; housing; and employment guarantees. Despite this formal compliance with international standards, however, there are still large gaps in enforcement; institutional coordination; and the practical realization of rights. In addition, the study demonstrates that legal conformity of national laws with international standards is insufficient for ensuring successful reintegration of refugees; rather, a strong and effective mechanism of accountability and administrative capacity is necessary. Finally, the study contributes to the field of refugee law by developing a new model of reintegration governance that connects normative compliance with implementation; the study suggests a move away from mere declarative compliance with international standards towards legally binding compliance and effective reintegration mechanisms in post-conflict situations.
