Ombudsman Proposes a Simplified Issuance of Passports to Crimeans

The Ombudsman points out that, in order to solve the problems with entry into the temporarily occupied Crimea, amendments must be made to the laws relating to the special order of issuance or changes made to the passports of citizens of Ukraine.

As stated in the Annual Report on the State of the Observance and Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms for 2014 made by the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, attention needs to be paid to the problems relating to the right to freedom of movement, particularly the entry and exit to and from the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea by citizens of Ukraine who have refused Russian citizenship.

Those citizens of Ukraine who are not able to do the necessary update to their internal passport photo upon turning 25 or 45 years of age, children over the age of 14 but less than 16 years old who cannot obtain internal passports yet according to Ukrainian law, and have nowhere to obtain them when reaching 16, and Ukrainian citizens who have lost their internal passports, cannot leave the peninsula.

Citizens of Ukraine who are registered and reside in Crimea but lost their internal passport on the mainland, as well as Crimean Tatars who are returning to Crimea from places of deportation on the basis of the Bishkek agreements, but did not manage to obtain a Ukrainian internal passport before March 18, cannot get to the peninsula.

According to the Commissioner, these problems can only be solved by amending the legislation concerning the special procedures for obtaining or amending a Ukrainian passport for people living in the temporarily occupied territory.

The Ombudsman also mentioned the cases of the Crimean Tatar leaders Mustafa Dzhemilev and Refat Chubarov, the head of the Mejlis, who are banned from entering Crimea. It is emphasized that these bans are violations of the law.

“As in the case of M. Dzhemilev, the actions of officials of the Russian Federation are beyond the established legal framework. R. Chubarov was notified of the decision only verbally, without providing the corresponding document which could be appealed in an established way,” states the Commissioner’s report. 

According to an earlier monitoring of the administrative services, residents of Crimea who have not abandoned their Ukrainian citizenship have difficulties obtaining documents in the Kherson region because of organizational shortcomings. The agencies do not provide the necessary information, including their opening hours. The procedures to obtain services are complex, and require a great deal of time.