The overview of the current social and humanitarian situation within the territory of the Donetsk People`s Republic as a result of hostilities between 25 November and 1 December, 2017

 

The Ukrainian government continues to introduce new reforms that threaten the well-being of citizens and their access to state guarantees in the health sphere. Not so long ago the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the Law of Ukraine “On State Financial Guarantees for the Provision of Medical Services and Medicines”. It is worth noting that the medical reform is contrary to Article 49 of the Constitution of Ukraine, which guarantees free health care. This law will increase corruption in health care and make medical services inaccessible to ordinary citizens.

Compensation for medical services for every Ukrainian will be carried out by three packages.

The first one is “green”. It includes calling an ambulance, free-of-charge services of a therapist or a family doctor, and treatment in hospices.

The second one is the “blue” package. It is partly financed from the budget and partly financed by a patient. It includes childbirth care, surgery and hospital treatment.

The “red” package includes aesthetic medicine and aesthetic dentistry, which are fully paid by a patient.

State financial support will extend only to three areas: emergency, palliative and primary medicine. That is, patients who need services of a narrow specialist will have to pay a portion of the costs. At the same time it is planned to cancel compulsory home visits.

The innovation also prescribes establishment of a Public Control Council, designed to ensure the alleged transparency and public control over the authorized body. The Council will be formed on the basis of an open competition consisting of 15 people who are re-elected every two years.

Obviously, the adoption of the Law “On State Financial Guarantees for the Provision of Medical Services and Medicines” was necessary for the Ukrainian authorities to create a new governmental body and to get new budgetary investments. Considering the above-mentioned facts, it is clear that health care in Ukraine will remain a corrupt sector and deprive ordinary citizens of the right to health care.

In the Donetsk People’s Republic, every effort is made to ensure that constitutional rights of Donbass residents are respected, and each person can receive state support. On March 1, 2017, Head of the Donetsk People’s Republic approved the Road Map for the implementation of the Humanitarian Programme for the Reunification of Donbass people. On March 15, registration of patients wishing to receive medical assistance within the framework of the programme began.

Thanks to the regular supply of highly specialized medical equipment and the renewal of the existing equipment in health facilities of the DPR involved in the programme, residents of the Republic as well as patients from areas controlled by Kiev can fully receive the necessary treatment to improve the quality of medical care.

So, as of November 23, 2017, 466 patients living on Donbass areas temporarily controlled by Ukraine received tertiary care:

37 patients got electric cardiac pacemakers placed;

85 women who arrived from the territory controlled by Kiev received childbirth care, 37 women received the necessary operative gynaecological care;

63 patients received hip replacement.

Within the framework of the Programme medical assistance is also provided for oncology and oncohaematological patients.

The post of the Human Rights Ombudsman has been established in the Donetsk People’s Republic to ensure the state protection of citizens’ rights and freedoms, to prevent any form of discrimination regarding the exercise of their rights and freedoms.

Citizens can apply to the Ombudsman in any suitable way. Now, the majority of applications are still verbal and submitted through personal reception either with the Ombudsman or the heads of the Office, addressing the Public Complaints and Appeals Department, via hotlines and via web-reception on the Website of the Ombudsman. There is a possibility to file a written complaint that may be submitted either in person or via e-mail. Since 2017 the Ombudsman received 5762 appeals. In the period of work between 25 November and 1 December, 2017, 5 persons visited the Ombudsman in person, 34 claims were accepted by the Appeals department 53 calls were made via hotlines. 26 applications were received via e-mail, 20 written appeals were taken into consideration, 12 – have been reviewed among those received earlier, 33 persons have been given legal assistance.

All appeals received can be divided into four categories: violations in criminal law – 362 appeals, violations in civil law– 744 appeals, administrative and legal violations against the DPR citizens – 35 appeals, social and humanitarian issues – 4621 appeals (diagram 1).

 

 

The number of appeals (complaints, applications) from citizens,  submitted to the Office of DPR Ombudsman as of 01.12.2017

 

 

 

 

 

 

Among all incoming correspondence to the Ombudsman of DPR, the one which deals with the issues of exercise of social rights of citizens and violations of these rights is the most frequent.  These issues are: pension and social payments – 667 appeals, temporary accommodation – 522 appeals, the order of a complaint submission and paperwork in case of property destruction – 126 appeals, humanitarian assistance – 181 appeals, employment – 171 appeals, paperwork on travelling documents –11 appeals, search of the missing – 199 appeals, loss of IDs   – 347 appeals, housing issues – 288 appeals, temporary residence permit – 228 appeals, other social and humanitarian issues – 1881 appeals. (Diagram 2).

 

The number of appeals (complaints, applications) from citizens on social and humanitarian isses, received by the DPR Ombudsman`s Office as of 01.12.2017

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The majority of complains are traditionally received from Donetsk, by territory (Diagram 3).

 

The number of appeals (complains, applications) from citizens, received by the DPR Ombudsman`s Office as of 01.12.2017

 

 

 

 

 

1. Statistics and analysis of destroyed infrastructure objects

Targeted shelling by Ukrainian forces causes destruction of private property and infrastructure – this is the reality of the front-line regions of the Donetsk People’s Republic.

As of September 28, 2017 more than 11413 infrastructure objects were partly destroyed (damaged) as a result of hostilities.

More than 6845 objects have been destroyed in Donetsk, 268 units in Debaltsevo, 528 units in Gorlovka, 91 units in Dokuchayevsk, 312 units in Yenakievo, 91 units in Zhdanovka, 75 units in Kirovskoye, 1113 units in Makeyevka, 56 units in Snyezhnoye, 122 units in Torez, 750 units in Khartsysk, 75 units in Shakhtyorsk, 582 units in Yasinovataya, 278 units in Amvrosyevka region, 3 units in Volnovakha region, 24 units in Maryinka region, 17 units in Novoazovsk region, 57 units in Starobeshevo region, 93 units in Telmanovo region, 33 units in Shakhtyorsk region.

Destroyed objects by branches:

– 6247 houses;

– 770 power lines and points of distribution of electricity;

– 176 heating supply facilities;

– 52 water supply facilities;

– 2669 gas supply facilities;

– 14 wastewater and sewerage facilities;

– 102 healthcare facilities;

– 519 general educational institutions (schools, kindergartens);

– 59 vocational and technical educational institutions;

– 62 higher educational institutions;

– 26 physical and sport education institutions;

– 55 cultural institutions;

– 241 road and transport infrastructure objects;

– 63 industrial objects;

– 89 trade objects;

– 269 objects in other spheres.

 

According to the official data as of November 27, 2017 there are 2841 objects of governmental and communal ownership damaged, 666 – rebuilt and 2175 – are to be rebuilt.

 

2. Estimates of mortality, wounds to civilians and soldiers as a result of hostilities in the territory of the Donetsk People`s Republic.

 Almost every day the DPR Ombudsman’s Office records cases of violations of Donbass citizens’ rights by Kiev authorities: right to life, to security of the person, to inviolability of the home.

On November 26, a DPR serviceman born in 1983 sustained mine-blast trauma, shrapnel wound of the face during military operations near Donetsk Filtering Station.

On November 28 three servicemen born in 1966, 1968 and 1971 sustained mine-blast traumas as a result of military operations in Novoazovsk region.

 

Within the period between 24 and 30 November, 2017, 4 DPR servicemen  sustained injuries in the territory of the DPR as a result of armed aggression of the Ukrainian side.

Within the period between January 1 and November 30, 2017, 554 persons sustained injuries of various severities in the territory of the DPR. Among them, there were 331 DPR servicemen and 223 civilians, including 14 children under 18.

Within the period between 24 and 30 November, 2017, 1 DPR serviceman died in the territory of the DPR.

Within the period between January 1 and November 30, 2017, 254 persons, including 224 servicemen and 30 civilians died in the Donetsk People’s Republic, including two underage children.

 

To be specific, since the beginning of the armed conflict   4543 persons died. Among them, there are 605 women and 3938 men, including 76 children under eighteen.

Officially confirmed information on individuals, who have been wounded since the beginning of the conflict continues to be reported to the Ombudsman’s Office in DPR. The information is being processed at the moment and it will be included into general statistics of the injured individuals.

 

3. Register of the prisoners of war, missing soldiers

and civilians

This week no appeals on arrest were received by the Ombudsman’s Office in the Donetsk People’s Republic.

Based on the updated figures as of 01.12.2017, 457 persons are kept by the Ukrainian side including:

– 256 of those whose presence on the territory of Ukraine had been confirmed.

– 195 persons whose whereabouts are unknown or are being clarified by the Ukrainian side.

– 6 persons were requested from the Ukrainian side for the first time.

This week no appeals on missing persons were received by the Ombudsman’s Office in the Donetsk People’s Republic.

After some official information has been received, it was established that 15 persons from the list of missing persons were recognized as dead; the whereabouts of another three persons have been confirmed.

The search for another 45 people is impossible at the moment due to the lack of data.

As of 1 December 2017, 446 persons are considered missing. Hypothetically, they might be in Ukrainian captivity.

 

4. Register of forcibly displaced persons.

Temporary Accommodation Centres (TACs) have been opened in the Donetsk People’s Republic. Any person can receive temporary accommodation there if they need it. 1152 IDPs now live in temporary accommodation of the Office, including 224 underage children. Since the beginning of the conflict 2539 referrals for temporary accommodation have been issued, 345 of them – in 2017. All the TACs are under the DPR Ombudsman’s inspection. The staffs of the Office monitor the TACs on a weekly basis, with the view to respond promptly to the citizens’ needs. The Ombudsman makes every effort to improve social and living conditions for people who live in the TACs.

During the period of work between 25 November and 1 December, 2017, 33 persons have applied to the Ombudsman’s Office on the issues related to internally displaced persons, one of them was accommodated in the TACs of the Ombudsman`s Office in Donetsk.

There are currently 1394 housing spots available for IDPs. Among them: 1394 – in DPR Temporary Accommodation Centres (including TACs of Ombudsman`s Office); 500 – in TACs of the Ombudsman`s Office.

It is necessary to remind that there are 7813 persons, including 2011 children under the age of eighteen registered since the beginning of the conflict. 63 temporary settlements have been established within the territory of DPR, 55 of them operate today, 8 of them are held in reserve.

Currently, 2738 individuals live in the centres, including 526 underage children, 5075 persons live in the housing fund of DPR, including 1485 children under eighteen.

 

5. Employment of DPR citizens

The Republican Employment Centre is the main institution responsible for providing jobs to the population.

According to their data, 39.3 thousands of vacancies were available in the common database as of 01.12.2017. As of December 1, 2017, there were 49.4 thousand individuals who seek for job, registered in the Republic Employment Centres. Among them: 41.3 thousand have been employed (23.8 of them – on permanent positions, 17.5 – temporarily).

Donetsk Centre of Vocational Education of The Republic Employment Centre organises regular free public workshops to train practical skills, such as work with personal computers; technique and mechanization of trade accounts (work with cash register machines); the program “1C: Accounting 8.2.”; fundamentals of entrepreneurship; processing and decoration of textile and clothing products etc. Since the beginning of 2017, 368 persons participated in those workshops.