On December 5, 2023, the Department of Administrative, Economic Law and Financial and Economic Security of the Institute of Law of Sumy State University together with the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union held a Scientific and Practical Round Table “Legal Protection of the Rights of Veterans, Family Members of Fallen (Deceased) War Veterans, Defenders and Defenders of Ukraine “.
The thematic directions of the round table were devoted to the preparation of the training program “Veteran’s Assistant” and included the following:
- organizational and legal guarantees of protection of the rights of veterans and family members of dead (deceased) war veterans, Defenders of Ukraine.
- grant of UDB status to volunteers without a contract, restoration of a lost or damaged UDB certificate;
- legal assistance to veterans and their family members in providing services, benefits, and compensation after demobilization.
- benefits for veterans; financial aid to a combatant in case of disability, for family members of fallen veterans, Defenders of Ukraine, and families of prisoners of war.
- material and social support of the participants in hostilities: obtaining housing, land.
- general provisions on judicial and extrajudicial protection of citizens’ rights: access to justice and the right to apply to court, procedure.
Representatives of Sumy, Cherkassy, Kramatorsk and Chernihiv reception centers. Nataliya Yesina (Sumy), Marina Kuprikova (Kramatorsk), Dmytro Naumenko (Chernihiv), Marina Kuprikova (Kramatorsk), Taras Shcherbatyuk (Cherkasy), Deputy Director of the Regional Center for Providing Free Secondary Legal Aid in the Sumy Region, Valentina Volobuyeva, Sector Head of the Sumy Bureau of legal aid No. 2 Anna Kozhushko shared their practical experience on issues of communication with military units, analysis of local policies and programs, social security and access to justice for servicemen in a broad sense.
The participants of the event noted the benefit of the joint discussion of important issues, the training of social workers, who should be actively involved in the adaptation of veterans to the peaceful life of the community, and agreed to exchange experience and be involved in practical cases together, to establish a referral system.