State policy of social protection of internally displaced persons in Ukraine: current state and directions for improvement

Abstract

The article examines the state of public policy on social protection of internally displaced persons in Ukraine in the context of the armed conflict in the eastern part of the country. The regulatory framework governing the status and social protection of IDPs, formed during 2014–2018, is analyzed, and its main contradictions and gaps are identified. The key problems in the implementation of state policy regarding IDPs are determined: imperfect verification mechanisms, duplication of social payments, limited access to services at relocation destinations, and the absence of effective inter-agency coordination. International experience in state regulation of internal displacement — in particular the experience of Georgia and the Baltic states — is examined, and possibilities for its adaptation to Ukrainian realities are substantiated. Directions for improving state policy on social protection of IDPs as a component of ensuring the social security of the state are proposed.