UGCC Commission on Matters of Immigrants presented in Kyiv a book on The Church in the Realm of Migration

A new book, The Church in the Realm of Migration: ethno-cultural resources and socio-integrative potential of religious communities of Ukrainians was presented at a round table devoted to the topic of work migrants, held at Taras Shevchenko Kyiv National University on March 27^th. Author Oksana Ivankova-Stetsiuk is a candidate in sociology and an adviser to UGCC Commission on Matters of Immigrants.

The book is a summary of several research projects done by the Commission in collaboration with other research and charity organizations, in particular the Laboratory of Social Research in Lviv, Caritas Ukraine International Charity Fund, Institute of Ethnology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. The book focuses on the role and meaning of the Church in conditions of social and global mobility, one aspect of which is the migrant process.  Special attention is devoted to the formation and development of church communities within the context of the fourth wave of Ukrainian immigration which began right after the disintegration of the Russian Empire.

Besides the presentation during the round table in Kyiv, its participants, scholars, politicians, and representatives of migrant associations also discussed the present draft of the proposed law on external work migration that is currently being prepared by the Ministry of Social Policy.  National Deputy Valentyn Nalyvayko emphasized the importance in the immediate future of holding Parliamentary hearings on the topic of migration, while Deputy Oleh Pankevych underlined the significance of forming an appropriate sub-committee of Parliament on issues of protection of the rights of work migrants.

On the day before the round table, on March 26^th, there was an expert discussion on “What law on migration does Ukraine need?” organized by the National Institute of Strategic Research in partnership with UGCC Commission on Issues of Immigration?  The discussion resulted in concrete agreements about the schedule of completing the final draft of the proposed law with the participation of experts and migration leaders.  Head of the Commission, Hryhoriy Seleshchuk, stressed that participation of representatives of migrant associations from European countries is a weighty principle in working on migratory laws which will protect the rights of the migrants.  In his opinion this will avoid the acceptance of nominal declarative documents.

Therefore, the measures of the migrant leaders, perhaps for the first time, would be discussed directly at a high institutional level with lawmakers and politicians responsible for migration policy in Ukraine.  Also a “three-way” consensus was reached among officials, migrant leaders and scholars, experts in the migration field, which can bear real, rather than simply formal, results in the further formulation of Ukraine’s migration policy.

The gathering at Taras Shevchenko Kyiv National University was transmitted on Navigator. Partners and co-organizers were:  UGCC Commission on Issues of Immigration; Laboratory of Social Research in Lviv; Council on Issues of Work Migration of  Ukrainian Citizens of the Cabinet of Ministers; International Fund  Renaissance; Europe without Borders, a community initiative;  Institute of Ethnology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine; Caritas Ukraine International Charity Fund;  Association of Ukrainians of Portugal;  Christian Association of Ukrainians in Italy.

Reported by Svitlana Odynets