Residents of the temporarily occupied Crimea who are unable to renew or obtain Ukrainian documents (Ukrainian passport, Ukrainian passport for travel abroad, birth certificate, etc.) in a timely manner face a number of critical legal, social and humanitarian problems. Without a valid Ukrainian passport or a passport for travel abroad, it is difficult or impossible to leave the peninsula via third countries. The lack of a Ukrainian birth certificate or passport significantly complicates the admission of young people from Crimea to Ukrainian higher education institutions. Adolescents who turned 14 whilst under occupation and who have not been issued with a Ukrainian passport are forced to undergo a lengthy and complex identity verification procedure involving witnesses and, where necessary, court proceedings or special checks. Citizens are unable to apply for or reinstate the payment of Ukrainian pensions and social assistance; they have no access to state digital services or financial accounts in Ukraine; nor can they carry out legal transactions concerning property registered under Ukrainian law, particularly that situated in Crimea.

Among Ukrainian citizens who, due to war aggression, are currently in the Republic of Turkey, there are many who, as their documents have expired, are losing their legal residence status in Turkey and are unable to apply for a residence permit, receive medical care or carry out banking transactions. A separate and pressing issue is the processing of documents for citizens whose 1993-model internal passport booklets are not recorded in the Unified State Demographic Register (USDR). Such passports were issued in Crimea, particularly in 2013-2014, and the relevant details were not forwarded to the central authorities. The procedure for verifying these passports and establishing the holder’s identity takes up to two months; therefore, without the assistance of the State Enterprise ‘Document’, it is practically impossible to carry this out through consular offices.

Trips by residents of the temporarily occupied Crimea to the nearest overseas branches of the state enterprise ‘Document’ (for example, in Moldova or Bulgaria) pose serious risks for them upon their return, as the occupying authorities regard such trips as signs of ‘treason’ or, at the very least, disloyalty. This, in turn, increases the risk of criminal prosecution for an even greater number of Crimeans and weakens the occupied territory’s ties with the state.

Furthermore, for both residents of Crimea and Ukrainian citizens residing in the Republic of Turkey, travelling to a ‘Dokument’ branch in other countries is financially and logistically unfeasible due to the high cost of tickets and the length of the journey. Resuming the operations of the ‘Document’ State Enterprise’s branch in the Republic of Turkey would also significantly ease the burden on Ukraine’s consular offices in Turkey and ensure a swift and high-quality service for Ukrainian citizens.

We consider it necessary to note that the proposed alternative – namely, the issuance of an identity certificate for return to Ukraine, followed by the production of documents in the Government-controlled territory, this cannot be implemented for this category of citizens due to security, legal and economic factors:

– firstly, the requirement to travel in person to Government-controlled territory, which is subject to regular shelling, as the sole means of renewing documents, is inconsistent with the State’s obligation to uphold and ensure human rights, in particular with regard to citizens residing in the temporarily occupied territory, as well as with the guarantee of care and protection for citizens abroad;

– secondly, travelling to Government-controlled territory for residents of the temporarily occupied territories – many of whom are Crimean Tatars, an indigenous people of Ukraine – entails significant risks upon their return home to Crimea: there have been repeated reports of enforced disappearances, torture and the fabrication of criminal cases, the very fact of such a journey serving as the pretext;

– thirdly, due to the lack of air links, the route to government-controlled territory runs exclusively overland via third countries. Many children from the occupied territories do not have valid passport documents or, having reached the age of 14, have not received their first ID card, which makes it impossible for them to cross the borders of transit countries. An identity document for return to Ukraine is issued for a single entry, and the possibility of transit with it depends on the rules of third countries; it does not guarantee minors and their accompanying persons a prolonged overland transit, which jeopardises the safety of citizens and creates a risk of their deportation or being detained at the borders;

– fourthly, for many citizens who are living under occupation or have sought refuge in the Republic of Turkey, such a journey is financially unfeasible.

Consequently, the best way to ensure that Ukrainian citizens remaining in the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea or residing in the Republic of Turkey are able to obtain or renew documents certifying their identity and confirming their Ukrainian citizenship is to resume the operations of the ‘Document’ State Enterprise branch in Istanbul or to open such a branch in Ankara.

In view of the above and with a view to ensuring the realisation of the constitutional rights of Ukrainian citizens residing in the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea and in the Republic of Turkey, we request that:

• To consider the possibility of resuming the operations of the mobile branch of the State Enterprise ‘Document’ in Istanbul or opening a permanent or mobile branch of the State Enterprise ‘Document’ in Ankara (Republic of Turkey).
• To facilitate the expansion of the technical capabilities of Ukraine’s consular offices in Turkey for the verification of Ukrainian citizens’ passports issued in Crimea, details of which are not available in the Unified State Register of Citizens, and for the identification of such citizens.

Signatories:

1. NGO “Crimean Process”
2. NGO “CrimeaSOS”
3. Association “Education Human Rights House – Chernihiv”
4. NGO “Office of Action”
5. NGO “Regional Centre for Human Rights”
6. NGO “Association of Relatives of the Kremlin’s Political Prisoners”
7. Human Rights Initiative “Irade”
8. NGO “Crimean Human Rights Group”
9. NGO “Almenda Centre for Civic Education”
10. ZMINA Human Rights Centre