Today’s meeting was attended by the heads of all 24 organizations under the regional military administrations and the Kyiv City Military Administration.
The event was also attended by Valeria Vershinina, Executive Director of the Stabilization Support Services Charitable Foundation, and UNHCR representative Nadiya Vakhovska.
The meeting reviewed the current state of affairs in the activities of regional IDP councils: the main challenges, problems, proposals, and solutions.
As a reminder, IDP Councils began to be established in Ukraine in late summer last year.
The Councils’ mission is to advocate for the interests of internally displaced persons on the ground, to help them interact with authorities at all levels and with public and international organizations. The Councils also provide support in solving current problems, facilitate adaptation and integration of IDPs into host communities, support relocated businesses, etc.
Currently, there are 873 IDP Councils in Ukraine. Of these, 25 are under the CMA and Kyiv City State Administration, 114 are under district military administrations, and 734 are under local governments.
“The IDP councils were created as the main representatives of the interests of internally displaced persons. They have been working in the regions for a year now. And today we heard what a wide range of tasks they perform. We also heard a number of problems. This is the first such meeting, but it will definitely not be the last. There is work to be done and room for improvement. I thank the participants of the meeting and our international partners who joined the discussion. For my part, I am ready to assure you that we will do everything in our power to further support our IDPs,” Iryna Vereshchuk emphasized, summarizing the meeting.