RCIS

Abstract:

The article examines the legal status of persons who have been forcibly displaced, in particular refugees and IDPs, through the prism of the full-scale war that has been ongoing in Ukraine since 2022. The relevance of the topic is due to the unprecedented scale of forced displacement of the Ukrainian population and the urgent need to transform the domestic legislative environment in line with the challenges posed by the protracted humanitarian situation in the country. The aim of the study is to analyse the legal framework for regulating the status of refugees and IDPs, identify gaps in legislation and law enforcement, and assess the effectiveness of the implementation of the rights of these categories of persons. Combining research on the legal status of IDPs and refugees in Ukraine allows for the formation of a systematic vision of national policy in the field of protection of persons who have been forced to leave their homes, regardless of whether this occurred within the state or outside its borders. This approach opens up opportunities for comparative analysis, critical assessment of legislation, and identification of gaps in the implementation of legal guarantees. There are a number of legal and socio-political overlaps between the statuses of IDPs and refugees, which are evident in the protection of basic rights and access to social services: both categories are vulnerable social groups that need not only legislative guarantees but also real institutional tools for their implementation. Successful policies for such persons must be based on the principles of accessibility, comprehensiveness, and interagency cooperation, which is particularly important in the context of martial law and a humanitarian crisis. In the context of limited funding and extraordinary pressure on institutions, priority in providing protection is given to Ukrainian citizens, which logically follows from the constitutional obligation of the state. Statistics are indicative in this context: as of February 2025, there were approximately 3.7 million IDPs officially registered in Ukraine (People in Need, 2024), while the number of persons recognized as refugees was only 1,301 (State Migration Service of Ukraine, 2024). It has been concluded that there is a need to improve the unified interagency system for monitoring the rights of IDPs, introduce digital registration tools, and expand integration programs at the local level. It has therefore been established that the legal status of refugees and IDPs is not only a legal construct but also an indicator of a state’s ability to respond effectively to humanitarian challenges while fulfilling its obligations to the international community and its own citizens.

Keywords:

armed conflict; forced displacement; temporary protection; internally displaced person; refugee; protection of constitutional rights.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.33788/rcis.90.4

Download: Challenges of Legal Status of War Refugees and Internal Migrants: the Case of Ukraine