Lack of citizenship, lack of identity papers, lack of legal residence status is a big problem because it means limited rights, social and economic insecurity, an uncertain future, difficulties and inconveniences of all kinds. Many refugees from Ukraine after 24 February 2022 are convinced of this.
Neglected in peacetime, the issue of documentation becomes a priority for people who have left their homes because of the dangers and atrocities of armed conflict. That’s why the legal services provided by CDA staff have been increasingly in demand since the outbreak of violence in the neighbouring country.
The increased interest in solving the documentation problems of forcibly displaced persons from Ukraine has also been supported by local authorities, social workers. They directed undocumented persons to the CDA, an organization with which many local authorities have established partnerships in 2022.
For legal assistance, the CDA is approached by Moldovan residents, people who settled many years ago in Ukraine, but also in other countries, some of them without legal residence status. Their children are often undocumented or have only birth certificates.
Beneficiaries of the CDA are also people who have lost their documents or who have lost their valid documents, such as holders of passports of the former USSR, who have not acquired citizenship of any country and have not completed the corresponding identity documents. Another category of beneficiaries are third-country nationals who have been legally residing in Ukraine but for some reason cannot return to their countries of origin.
The resolution of problems related to documentation, obtaining stateless status, acquiring citizenship takes months or years on a case-by-case basis and involves numerous actions and procedures that must be carefully followed.
The efforts made by the organisation’s lawyers are increasingly bearing fruit and more and more often the beneficiaries have words of appreciation and gratitude for CDA – a united team of professionals and promoters of human rights.
