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“Your Rights”: UNDP launches mobile app to protect the rights of IDPs and SGBV survivors [EN/UK]

Countries
Ukraine
Sources
UNDP
Publication date

Kyiv, 3 July 2018 – Protection and promotion of human rights, specifically those of internally displaced persons and survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), continue to be key priorities to be addressed within the restoration and reconciliation processes in the conflict-affected areas in the eastern Ukraine. The “Your Rights” mobile application, developed in the framework of UNDP’s Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme with the support from the Government of the Netherlands, is yet another important step towards tackling these challenges.

According to OCHA’s March-April 2018 Humanitarian Bulletin for Ukraine, the four-year conflict in the east of the country has affected 4.4 million men, women and children, of whom around 1.5 million are internally displaced. The internally displaced, half of whom are elderly, are being forced to make impossible choices between food, medicine, shelter, heating or their children’s education. Many require legal assistance to facilitate access to documentation, social payments and pensions, and compensation for destroyed property.

Meanwhile, the high concentration of military and armed groups, proliferation of weapons, weak law enforcement, impunity and post-traumatic stress have increased the risk of SGBV for people living along the ‘contact line’, particularly women, adolescent girls and young men. However, stigma surrounding SGBV, and a lack of services and referral pathways prevent survivors from receiving adequate support.

This context makes the launch of the “Your Rights” mobile app, a timely response to help protect the rights of internally displaced persons and survivors of sexual and gender-based violence. The first of its kind, the app includes useful information along with comprehensive tools for IDPs and SGBV survivors to enable restoration of their rights. It is available for free downloading for iOS and Android systems at “Your Rights”https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=undp.idev.bz&hl=ru.

“The app is a crucial contribution to addressing the information gap concerning the rights of internally displaced persons and survivors of SGBV. It goes beyond mere provision of information to also include step-by-step, practical guidance to its users on the protection and restoration of their rights, along with the contact details of Free Legal Aid Centres,” said Rustam Pulatov, UNDP’s Community Security and Social Cohesion Specialist.

Media inquiries:

Yuliia Samus, Communication Specialist, UNDP Ukraine, +38 097 139 14 75, communications.ukaraine@undp.org
mailto:communications.ukraine@undp.org