Kyiv, 10 March 2020 –  Further updates to the Your Right mobile application, a universal legal guide for people affected by the armed conflict, were discussed at a roundtable held at the Pravocator Law Club on 5 March 2020 in Kyiv.

The app is designed to help protect the rights of internally displaced persons, people who often cross the contact line, ex-combatants of the ATO/JFO security operations, the elderly, people with disabilities, people affected by sexual and gender-based violence, and those affected by human trafficking.

The app was commissioned by the United Nations Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme (UN RPP) with financial support from the European Union and the governments of the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland.

In February 2019 the Donbas SOS civil society organization built the second version of the application, and later on IOM Ukraine and the civil society organizations La Strada - Ukraine and The Legal Hundred developed three additional sections in their areas of expertise.

The discussion was attended by Oleksandr Baranov, Acting Director of the Legal Aid Coordination Centre, Aliona Kryvuliak, Director of the National Hotlines and Social Assistance Department of La Strada NGO, and Rustam Pulatov, Programme Coordinator of UN RPP Social Cohesion & Community Security Component.

“This app has been well received by Ukrainian users, although there is a lot of work ahead to make legal help promptly available to as many people as possible,” Pulatov noted in his speech.

“Also, in 2019 (the app) was presented at the Justice Innovation Forum in The Hague, at which it received a lot of praise from forum participants,” Pulatov added.

During the roundtable, participants discussed the results achieved so far, and agreed on the way forward. Specifically, it was decided that the Legal Aid Coordination Centre under the Ministry of Justice would take on the role of overall coordinator of future development of revisions of the application.

As Baranov stated in his speech: "Beyond the coordination of development, our centre will be able to provide funds for the web hosting of the app. It will also look into integrating the existing legal web-solutions developed by the centre into the Your Right application."

Also present at the meeting were representatives of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the OSCE Project Coordinator in Ukraine, the Council of Europe Office, the Donbas SOS and Legal Hundred NGOs, and the Right to Protection charity fund.

All participating organisations agreed that the solutions provided by the application could also be used for the overall coordination and integration of efforts by international and national partners to bolster legal awareness and support in Ukraine.

The idea of creating an executive board of all interested parties to support future developments was also positively received. It was agreed that the Legal Aid Coordination Centre would ensure the creation of a clear action plan and algorithms of engagement for the partners, and that it will, jointly with the executive board, ensure quality control over the information received to update the app.

The app can be downloaded from the App Store (iOS version) and Google Play (Android version).

Media enquiries:

Maksym Kytsiuk, Communications Associate, United Nations Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme (UN RPP), maksym.kytsiuk@undp.org or +380 63 576 1839.

Background:

The United Nations Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme (UN RPP) is being implemented by four United Nations agencies: the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

The programme is supported by twelve international partners: the European Union, the European Investment Bank and the governments of Canada, Denmark, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.