A/HRC/41/CRP.2 groups forcibly evicted the owners of the house in December 2014. The armed groups did not provide any protection to the owners, nor adequate housing. 3. Right to social security and social protection 37. OHCHR regrets the continued lack of Government action to guarantee the payment of a pension to all Ukrainian citizens irrespective of their place of residence and registration. Despite positive developments in the judicial system when the national courts continued to rule in favour of pensioners, restoring their right to a pension in the line with international human rights standards,29 the Government failed to implement the decisions in a comprehensive and non-discriminatory manner.30 As of December 2018, 562,000 pensioners with original residence registration in territory controlled by ‘Donetsk people’s republic’ and ‘Luhansk people’s republic’ continued to receive pensions – out of an estimated 1,278,200 pensioners registered there as of August 2014.31 This continued non-inclusive access to social rights entrenches community divides and limits the space for peace and reconciliation efforts in eastern Ukraine. 38. OHCHR commends the Pension Fund of Ukraine initiative to develop draft amendments to resolutions32 regulating the payment of pensions to internally displaced persons (IDPs) which annul the residency verification requirement for pensioners. Nevertheless, OHCHR reiterates key concerns submitted jointly with UNCHR to the Pension Fund: current draft amendments do not protect IDPs from arbitrary suspension of their pensions.33 Moreover, the amendments do not resolve the main problem – that IDP registration is a requirement for pension payments. In addition, the draft amendments refer to a document regulating the payment of accumulated arrears, but such a document does not yet exist. 39. On 24 April 2019, the President of the Russian Federation signed an executive order ‘On Identifying Groups of Persons Entitled to a Fast-Track Procedure when Applying for Russian Citizenship on Humanitarian Grounds, which applies for individuals permanently residing in ‘certain areas’ of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in Ukraine.34 The preamble states that its aim is to “to protect the rights and freedoms of a person and a citizen”. On 8 May 2019, the Government of Ukraine approved its official position 35 that obtaining a Russian Federation passport under the aforementioned simplified procedure will not lead to a loss of Ukrainian citizenship. Recognising that it remains within the State’s sovereign power to determine retaliatory measures against other States, OHCHR notes that such measures must not be contrary to the State’s human rights obligations. OHCHR will continue monitoring the impact of the implementation of the order on Ukrainians’ citizens. 4. Freedom of movement 40. Crossing conditions between Government-controlled and territory controlled by ‘Donetsk people’s republic’ and ‘Luhansk people’s republic’ remained harrowing over the 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 Supreme Court decision of 22 October 2018 with a reference to the Namibian exception, recognised the document issued in armed group-controlled territory to count towards the time a person had contributed to the pension fund and, hence, afford the gained pension , available at http://reyestr.court.gov.ua/Review/77310529. See OHCHR Report on the human rights situation in Ukraine, 16 August to 15 November 2018, para. 37. United Nations Briefing Note on Pensions for IDPs and persons living in the areas not controlled by the Government in the east of Ukraine, available at https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/en/operations/ukraine/document/briefing-note-pensionsunited-nations-ukraine-february-2019. Resolutions Nos. 365, 637 and 649. For instance, the procedure of informing an IDP about the suspension of his or her pension and the grounds for this decision. Executive Order of the President of the Russian Federation No. 183, dated 24 April 2019. According to the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 362-p of 8 May 2019, as of 31 May 2019 passports issued in Novoshahtynsk and Pokrovske (Rostov region of the Russian Federation) after 29 and 30 April 2019 respectively will not be recognised as valid documents and cannot be used in the territory of Ukraine. 13