Lately, many organizations have turned their attention to the issue of Roma documentation. The International Charity Organization “Romani Women’s Fund Chirikli” has been actively working in the direction of Roma documentation for quite some time, specifically since 2011, through the efforts of Romani intermediaries.
Currently, the organization is implementing a project in this direction with financial support from the European Roma Centre. Within the framework of this project, Romani intermediaries assist the most vulnerable members of the Roma community in Kropyvnytskyi, Odessa, Kharkiv, and Uzhhorod.
Passport ready. Photo: “Chirikli” Romani Women’s Fund.
Intermediaries Highlight Cases of Hidden Discrimination and Neglect
Starting from July 2017, Romani intermediaries have helped 125 Roma individuals to collect or renew documents for the issuance of passports and birth certificates. While the majority of these cases are complex and require significant efforts to gather the necessary documents, often resulting in legal proceedings, some results have been achieved in just a few months: 8 passports and 1 birth certificate have been obtained, with all others still in the process of issuance.
During this work, they often encounter difficulties on-site, and intermediaries point out that there is hidden discrimination and dismissive attitudes towards individuals of Roma nationality. Additionally, the documentation process is highly intricate, requiring the collection of numerous certificates, the validity of which is very short.
Nevertheless, there are also many positive examples where people are cooperative, helping to resolve issues that arise during the documentation process more quickly. Here are a few such examples.
“Marathon” of Certificates Requires Time and Diplomacy
After obtaining a birth certificate at the age of 16, Oleg S. (pictured below) accompanied by a Romani intermediary, approached the local office of the State Migration Service to obtain a passport. However, the matter had to be resolved quickly as the office was located in a different locality. The service required a Form 13 certificate from the village council. Within the same day, they managed to meet with the village head, obtain the certificate, pay the fee, and return. By the end of the workday, they were able to submit everything.
The documentation process was for an entire Romani family. During the verification of submitted documents, it became apparent that an additional certificate from the RADS (Regional Archive of Document Storage) was needed regarding the registration information of Ivan’s father, based on his mother’s information, as stipulated by Article 135 of the Family Code.
This problem needed to be urgently resolved: the children were left at the passport office while the Romani intermediary and the mother urgently traveled to the regional RADS. It turned out that since the child was not born in Kropyvnytskyi, a request had to be sent to the place of birth for the issuance of the birth certificate. However, it was the end of the week, Friday, 4:30 PM. Upon the intermediary’s request, the RADS staff sent the request and asked for an urgent response. By 5:00 PM, they received the desired extract.
They returned to the passport office after the workday had ended, but they submitted the necessary documents, had the children photographed. Most importantly, they discussed further cooperation with the head of the office regarding the documentation of Roma individuals and the resolution of individual matters outside the general queue. Such collaboration is essential at both the local and national levels.
For this reason, representatives of the “Romani Women’s Fund Chirikli” and the Coalition of Romani Non-Governmental Organizations of Ukraine “Strategy 2020” closely cooperate with the State Migration Service of Ukraine and the Department of State Registration and Notary of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine to address this issue. The leadership of these institutions is well aware of the problems related to Roma documentation and is always ready to assist in their resolution.
How to Expedite the Documentation Process for Roma Individuals
With the aim of simplifying the document collection process for obtaining birth certificates and passports, the Department of State Registration and Notary of the Ministry of Justice proposed considering the possibility of further approving the regulation on the Commission for Considering Applications of Individuals for Establishing Citizenship of Ukraine, developed by an expert group as part of the project.
Establishing such commissions at local administrations will significantly reduce the time spent on obtaining a passport or birth certificate. We hope that through joint efforts, we will succeed in enabling even more people to obtain their documents more quickly.