On Thursday, July 25th, 2024, Taras Kulish, Counsel to the Business and Not-For-Profit Groups at Mills & Mills LLP, will be speaking at the IALMH XXXVIIIth Congress in Barcelona, Spain at a conference hosted by the International Academy of Law and Mental Health.
Taras will present as part of the following panel: Moving to safety: Offering protection to Black and Brown migrants through Jurisprudence.
The topic Taras will be presenting is “Delivering Human Rights Protections to Fleeing African and Indian Students at the Ukraine Border”
On February 24th, 2022 Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine. Russian troops advanced toward the capital Kyiv before Ukraine launched its counter-offensive, leading Russia to withdraw from the North of Ukraine by October 2022. Currently, the fighting has stayed around the East and South of Ukraine. During the initial invasion period, fraught with uncertainty and fear, thousands of African and Indian international students were displaced from their university studies in Ukraine. Around 84,136 foreign students were reported to be enrolled in Ukrainian education institutions during the 2021-2022 academic year. A quarter came from Morocco, Nigeria, and Egypt, while nearly 20,000 came from India. Since the Soviet era, Ukraine has long been seen as a more affordable destination for Asian and African students (particularly in medicine) desiring to enter the European job market. Once the invasion began, there were claims of discrimination from a number of African, Arab, and Indian students during their attempt to flee Ukraine. Several videos on social media seemingly depict students being blocked from buses and trains bound for neighbouring countries. Other students have claimed that they were treated as second-class citizens and made to line up to leave while the police prioritized fleeing Ukrainian citizens. The presentation seeks to identify whether these students’ human rights were violated and whether there is institutional racism embedded in Ukraine’s domestic legislation or in the international treaties it has ratified.
Use this link to find out more and register for the event: International Academy of Law and Mental Health (ialmh.org) It is anticipated to be an informative and captivating event.
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