15 DECEMBER Let me greet Ms. Maria Stogova, representing the EU Delegation in Ukraine, who is also attending the meeting.

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1 Funded by the European Union LOCAL INTEGRATION OF REFUGEES IN BELARUS, MOLDOVA AND UKRAINE Implemented by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees NATIONAL STEERING COMMITTEE OF THE LOCAL INTEGRATION PROJECT INTERVENTION OF THE SENIOR REGIONAL LOCAL INTEGRATION OFFICER 15 DECEMBER 2010 Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to welcome all of you to the forth meeting of the National Steering Committee of the Local Integration Project in Ukraine, and to greet first of all our chair, the State Committee of Ukraine for Nationalities and Religions, in the person of Ms. Natalia Naumenko, (her Deputy) and the colleagues from regional migration services. Let me greet Ms. Maria Stogova, representing the EU Delegation in Ukraine, who is also attending the meeting. I also welcome our refugee representatives who are present here Ms. Nasifa Rabani and Mr. Thomas Lukai from Kyiv, Elenga Yvon Christian Sorrel from Kharkiv, and Ms. Yelena Khvan from Kharkiv. I would also greet Ms. Natalia Shevchenko from State Employment Centre of Ukraine.. Last but not the least, I welcome our NGO Implementing partners from all three locations of project implementation from Kharkiv, Kyiv and Odessa. Almost two years have passed since the beginning of the Local Integration Project. Today we are here to reflect on the achievements in the last six months, to identify the most problematic issues and to propose a way to solve them. As you are aware, the aim of the National Steering Committee meetings is to provide a free forum where partners can exchange their views in an open and mutually respectful manner, while committing to future action. As for the organization of our work today, you have received the agenda. After these opening remarks, the three implementing partners to the project will report on the last six months of their activities. A short coffee break in the lobby will take place at 11:00. Then we will hear the feedback on this phase of project implementation from the persons of concern, and there will be time available for the discussions, which I hope will be lively 1

2 and fruitful. Finally we will review the existing work plan for the project. We intend to close the meeting by There are several points I would like to underline from my side concerning the project implementation. 1) Approval of the project revision. Extension of the project lifespan till the end of 2011, introduction of the new elements. As many of you are aware, UNHCR has requested European Commission to revise the project and extend its lifespan. Following proper submission from the side of UNHCR, European Commission has agreed to extend the project and introduce the elements requested by UNHCR. As the result, the project has been extended till the end of December Several new elements were introduced. First, upon request of the governmental partners, and in cooperation with SCNR, UNHCR will support the analysis of the current legislation in the field of employment and education for relevance with Ukrainian national and international legislation. The TORs of the legislation analysis were recently agreed between SCNR and SEC, while UNHCR will hire a national expert who would do the research. A second important element is the introduction of the integration grants for the beneficiaries of Local Integration Project. According to the regional criteria recently developed, those grants intend to cover miscellaneous needs of refugees in local integration, in an attempt to adapt the project capacities to the integration needs of refugees. The grants will fund the business-ideas of refugees aimed at their self-reliance. Currently, UNHCR has reviewed 13 business plans and 4 of them were approved. In addition, the integration grant may cover refugee vocational and re-qualification training, internship to renew the professional skills, subsidized employment, and other needs as proactively identified by the partners. It is also important to inform you that the EU has decided that as of next year the project will be de-concentrated at Kyiv level. I am sure that later Ms. Stogova will give us more details of this. 2) Approval of the Phase II Following the preparative work done by UNHCR and the partners, UNHCR has submitted the request to European Union for the second phase of the project. After the respective review by the EU, the proposal has been approved by European Union. The Phase II of the Local Integration Project is expected to commence in 2012 and will continue till the end of The Phase II is possible due to generosity of the EU as the 2

3 main donor and will aim to support and continue the activities started in the Phase I and implemented now. 3) Participatory Assessment in Crimea, Kharkiv and Kyiv In October, UNHCR rolled out the Participatory Assessment exercise in Crimea, Kharkiv and Kyiv. The exercise followed last year s in Odessa and will also contributing to a better understanding of the needs of refugees in terms of local integration in those locations. Local Integration staff and partners were fully involved in the visits to the refugees accommodations and their working places. 4) Introduction of the individual integration plans with the project implementing partners With the aim of adjusting even more the project to the individual needs of refugees, UNHCR has introduced the concept of the individual integration plans. An individual integration plan is developed by the partners as the pace of actions in education, vocational training, cultural induction, job placement and other needed for the refugee to successfully integrate. The plan is concluded and jointly agreed between the respective counsellor from the NGO IP and the refugee. The integration grants will be the operational tool of the integration plans, providing the strategy to further develop the first results of the skills audit, and make the project as adaptable as possible to the individual needs of every refugee. So far UNHCR has received and reviewed around 40 integration plans from all three partners. I urge the partners to elaborate more on their first experience with the integration plans, as this should be interesting to our government counterparts. 5) Inception of the work with Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Ukraine Among the successes since the last NSC, particularly important is the inception of work with the MoCT of Ukraine, which supported the integration of refugees (happy to welcome MoCT representative to this meeting). Thanks to the active position of MoCT, one activity aimed at cultural integration of refugees has been funded from the state budget and undertaken in Kyiv. This is the first example of this kind in the history of independent Ukraine, and by all means UNHCR is ready to further develop this cooperation. We are aware that the MoCT is planning to have another event for refugees funded next year, and we have submitted our proposals for review to the Ministry. 6) Regional Study Visit Representatives of SCNR, SEC, MLSP and non-government counterparts could participate to the Study Visit to the Netherlands which has taken place this July to become aware how refugee integration works in one of the best models. Thus, the participants have seen the arrangements for the language training, accommodation, job placement, social and community support and were able to develop the links with respective organizations in Netherlands. Unfortunately, the follow-up letters we have sent 3

4 to government counterparts after received no replies, but UNHCR believes that Study Visit was successful. The participants are invited to reflect on the experience received and how it can be used in the realm of Ukraine during this meeting. 7) Further development of the cooperation with employers Following the cooperation with the Global Compact in April this year, UNHCR has requested the partners to develop and establish the cooperation with the employers. In November UNHCR together with the partners from UN Country Team in Ukraine has participated in the forum called Corporate Social Responsibility Marketplace held in Kyiv. UNHCR were able to present the issue of refugee employment with special developed materials to the employers who attended the event. UNHCR is also planning to have the presentation for the employers who are the members of American Chamber of Commerce before the end of the year. We have also established the contact with Metro Cash and Carry Ukraine and Regional Representative will have the meeting with the country director before the end of the year. 8) Regional workshop in Yalta In October, UNHCR held a regional seminar dedicated to the issues of refugee training in local language. Implementing Partners and the educational institutions from Belarus, Moldova and three locations in Ukraine were present. The country working groups could develop national working plans for the introduction of the language training and wider issues of refugees integration through education in the governmental agendas. For Ukraine, the event became an important landmark for the advancement of the cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. Second rounds of Ukrainian language classes have started in the three Universities, and I am sure that our partners have more to say. No new diploma recognition, though 9) DAFI UNHCR has started the DAFI scholarship project in Ukraine, giving access to higher education to 6 refugee students with excellent academic records. The project is funded by the German Government and administered by UNHCR. The scholarship covers cost of tuition and fees, including living allowance throughout the studies. 10) Development of the Strategy and Action Plan for Integration and Re-integration of migrants. Further development of cooperation with Ministry of Labour and Social Policy. Earlier this year, UNHCR has been invited to participate in the development of the governmental Strategy and Action Plan of integration of migrants and re-integration of Ukrainian migrants returning home. We would like to thank MLSP for involving UNHCR and being sensitive in refugee issues. Many of the issues important for refugee integration are included in the document are will hopefully be adopted by the Cabinet of 4

5 Ministers of Ukraine. As far as we know, the document is now in the final drafting stage and we hope to share the final copy of the draft with the partners soon. 11) Change of the partner in Odessa Following the results of the call for proposals for 2011 implementation in Odessa, UNHCR has taken an uneasy decision to resort to direct implementation arrangements that will start as of next January. We are fully aware of how special the situation in Odessa is, and taking decision on this arrangement is meant to reinforce the integration of those refugees who do not live in the TAC. We urge the governmental partners to exert all the support so necessary in this strategic shift. 12) Rural Settlement project in Odessa The Odessa Regional Migration Service proposed a project in the countryside of the Odessa Oblast, which UNHCR visited and proposed some criteria for its project development. UNHCR is waiting for a plan of action from the government. 13) Updated Website and Vestnik The regional Web-Page on local integration ( is being regularly updated with news and updates. UNHCR has reviewed the content and appearance of the web-site to promote better visibility of the project. The Web-page represents an operational instrument for information sharing with the national steering committees members, project partners and beneficiaries as well as donors. Therefore inputs of partners are essential to its success. The Local Integration Bulletin Vestnik is regularly issued and distributed on a monthly basis. It is published in Russian (1,200 copies in the region) and widely distributed for free. I would encourage the active participation of the partners to ensure timely submission of articles -featuring human stories and providing information for persons of concern- and to provide suggestions on improvements. Ladies and gentlemen, I am sure that the members of the Committee will have the opportunity to discuss all these issues in the presentations and in the overall debate. Thank you for your attention. I am ready to answer your questions. 5