Ukraine: On the Margins

Rights Violations against Migrants and Asylum Seekers at the New Eastern Border of the European Union

Related Material Download PDF file of this report (95 Pages, 1.2 Mb ) Download PDF of report with cover (97 Pages, 1.6 Mb ) Also available in: Purchase a printed version of this report More on Human Rights Watch's work on Ukraine More on Human Rights Watch's work on Refugees This report was amended in January 2007 to correct errors. The original version of the report incorrectly characterized the role of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Ukraine. The section on IOM has been removed. The information in the corrected report was accurate as of November 2005.

• Executive Summary

• Key Recommendations

• Background

• Migration Trends in Ukraine

• External Dimension of E.U. Asylum Policy

• Readmission Agreements

• E.U. Relations with Ukraine

• Operation of Existing Bilateral Readmission Agreements

• Readmission Agreement with Slovakia

• Readmission Agreement with Poland

• Readmission Agreement with Hungary

• Proposed E.U.-Ukraine Readmission Agreement

• Ukraine as Location for Future Regional Protection Programs

• Treatment of Migrants and Asylum Seekers in Ukraine

• Relevant Legal Standards

• Limitations of the Asylum and Migration System

• Impact of Repeated Institutional Restructuring

• Denial of Access to Asylum Procedures

• Lack of Protection against Return to Torture

• Impact of Detention on the Right to Seek Asylum

• Refusal of Guards to Transfer Applications

• Systematic Profiling of Foreign Nationals

• Processing Within the Ukrainian Asylum System

• Alternative Protection: UNHCR’s Refugee Status Determination

• Detention of Migrants and Asylum Seekers

• Legal Standards on Detention of Asylum Seekers

• Profile of Immigration Detainees in Ukraine

• Women and Children in Detention

• Prolonged and Arbitrary Detention

• Ill-treatment in Detention

• Beatings

• Substandard Conditions of Detention

• Overcrowding

• Poor Nutrition

• Limited Access to Fresh Air, Natural Light, and Exercise

• Unhygienic Toilet and Bathing Facilities

• Inadequate Medical Treatment

• Limited Access to Exercise and Recreational Activities

• Inadequate Heating during Winter

• Procedural Rights Violations

• Information on Rights and Procedures

• Access to Legal Counsel

• Challenging the Lawfulness of Detention

• Access to Interpreters

• Communication with the Outside World

• Expansion of Detention Capacities in the Absence of Adequate Legislation

• Conditions for Those Not in Detention

• Reception Conditions

• Integration for Recognized Refugees

• Deportation and Refoulement Concerns

• Deportations

• Recommendations

• Methodology

• Acknowledgements

November 2005    Volume 17, No. 8(D)