Ukraine not knows exact number of births and deaths in Crimea – human rights activists

Ukraine does not know how many people exactly have been born and have died in the temporarily occupied territories.

The state has registered slightly over 600 births and 48 deaths during the whole time of occupation, the Human Rights Agenda reports.

These data evidence too complicated registration procedure, as the birth and death of people living in the occupied territories are registered in the documents, which are not recognized by Ukraine.

The Parliament of Ukraine passed in the first reading the law on the amendments to the Code of Civil Procedure of Ukraine regarding the establishment of the fact of birth or death in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine, though it does not stipulate the integrated approach.

First, only the adoption of this law only will discriminate the residents of the occupied territories, as it would deprive them of access to administrative services.

Second, the law does not enable the courts to consider the documents issued in the occupied territories, which are virtually not recognized by Ukraine.

“We believe that comprehensive settlement of the issue of registration of facts and documentation of persons from the occupied territories needs amending a series of laws, primarily the Law of Ukraine” On Registration of Civil Status” to determine the peculiarities of the state registration of birth and death of a person in a temporary occupied territory by the civil registry offices. This will leave citizens the right to use the administrative procedures for establishing the facts except for disputed cases,” reads the statement of the human rights defenders.