Briefing note: Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on human rights of Roma in Ukraine

OHCHR/Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) has been monitoring the human rights situation in Ukraine since its deployment in 2014,  in line with the realization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and UN commitment to leave no one behind. Amidst the global COVID-19 crisis, HRMMU has been assessing the human rights impact of COVID-19 and related prevention and response measures with a special focus on vulnerable groups, including minorities. This note aims to highlight human rights concerns affecting Roma that have emerged or are exacerbated as a result of the pandemic, and to make recommendations for addressing these concerns and mitigating risks related to the pandemic. This note exclusively covers the Government-controlled territory of mainland Ukraine.

Between 1 and 17 April 2020, HRMMU has conducted 30 interviews with representatives of Roma civil society organisations, NGOs focusing on Roma issues as well as independent human rights defenders working on Roma rights, covering 15 regions of Ukraine: Volyn, Donetsk, Zakarpattia, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Kherson, Odesa, Poltava, Sumy, Ternopil, Kharkiv, Cherkasy, and Kyiv city. UNHCR and UN-Women contributed to this document by providing their expertise and support to HRMMU.