At the Human Rights Festival taking place in Lund for the second time, RWI’s Senior Programme Officer David Eile spoke at the panel discussion “Initiatives for Ukrainian Refugees in Lund” organized together with Eos Cares, the social sustainability program of IK EOS, and Interkultur Ukrainian Unity Lund established early last year.
During the discussion, David Eile spoke about the scale of displacement both across Europe and Ukraine, the Temporary Protection Directive (TPD) and implementation challenges related to it. He also talked about two projects led by RWI focusing on strengthening the capacities of actors providing legal aid to Ukrainian refugees in Sweden and Poland, as well as internally displaced persons in Ukraine. Starting in September 2023, both projects aim to result in evidence-based recommendations on how to address various legal needs of Ukrainian IDPs and refugees disseminated among key stakeholders.
Olesia Havura, Community Manager at Interkultur Ukrainian Unity Lund, then spoke about challenges faced by Ukrainian refugees such as the lack of personal number which, for instance, impacts access to the healthcare system, BankID, Internet, and many other aspects of daily life. She then elaborated on what temporary status under the TPD entails in terms of employment and education at an individual level.