Advocacy That Changes Lives: Persons without birth certificates will be able to access free legal aid
Persons who did not receive a birth certificate due to the non-registration of their birth were in a rather difficult situation.
Although the law formally provides undocumented individuals with the right to apply for free legal aid, persons with unregistered births were unable to prove their eligibility for this category of population and remained outside the legal framework.
They could not access legal assistance on a paid basis either, as, without official employment, a decent salary and financial stability were not available to them.
As of June 2025, NGO "The Tenth of April" is providing legal assistance to 117 such persons.
🙌 A breakthrough in solving this problem came during an informal meeting at the forum dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the #IBelong campaign, organized by UNHCR and the Office of the Ukrainian Ombudsman.
Natalia Tsutsman, a lawyer from NGO "The Tenth of April", informed representatives of the Coordination Centre for Legal Aid Provision about a gap in the legislation: persons whose births were not registered are unable to apply for free legal aid, because the current procedures for legal aid provision do not include any documents that could confirm their legal status or vulnerability category.
As a result of the discussion, an action plan was developed:
NGO "The Tenth of April" would prepare an official submission with proposed amendments, and the Coordination Centre for Legal Aid Provision would consider these proposals when updating the relevant regulatory acts.
Already on June 20, 2025, the Organization received an official response: the proposals were taken into account, and the updated Procedure for the Organization and Provision of Free Legal Aid included an important change — the list of documents confirming eligibility for legal aid was expanded to include civil registry office (DRATsS) decisions refusing to register a birth.
❓Why is this important?
It enables:
– Persons without birth certificates to access the legal protection system for the first time;
– Legal support during court procedures to establish the fact of birth;
– The start of the documentation process and acquisition of legal status;
– Gradual reduction of statelessness in Ukraine.
We are sincerely grateful to the Coordination Centre for Legal Aid Provision for turning an informal conversation at the forum into real change.
This proves once again that advocacy is not only about paperwork — it’s about human relationships, empathy, and cooperation.
Change is possible, and we call on everyone who cares to contribute to building a modern legal society in Ukraine.