Ukrainian officials study Danish system of population registration

KYIV, 2 April 2001 - From 28 March to 2 April 2001, a group of Ukrainian officials visited Denmark to study Danish experiences in maintaining population registers and the human rights safeguards involved, especially personal data protection measures. The visit was organized as part of the OSCE project on reform of the Ukrainian registration system.

The delegation visited the National Association of Local Authorities in Denmark, the Registration Office of the Municipality of Copenhagen, Copenhagen Metropolitan Police, the Danish Data-Protections Agency, the Ministry of Social Affairs, the National Social Appeals Board, and the Danish Immigration Service. During these meetings the members of the delegation became familiar with the Danish national personal registration system and other registers kept by public authorities in Denmark and their use in different spheres of public life.

The OSCE is assisting Ukrainian authorities in the process of reforming the population registration system in Ukraine and bringing it into compliance with European standards. Currently, the registration of population is conducted through the old Soviet system of propiska, which is a permit given by the state authorities for a person to reside in a particular dwelling in a certain town or village.

Several Newly Independent States already have changed the system, but in different ways. In order to help Ukrainian authorities in finding the best possible solution to ensuring free choice of place of residence - as guaranteed by the Ukrainian Constitution and international commitments - the OSCE assists in the exchange of information on best practices in keeping population registers in Western Europe and Newly Independent States.

The project is organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and is funded by a voluntary contribution of the United Kingdom. It is being implemented by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine and the Citizenship Department of the Presidential Administration of Ukraine, the head of which headed the delegation to Denmark.

For more information, please contact: Mr. Folkert Milch, Program Director, 8/24 Dimitrivska St., 01054, Kyiv, Ukraine, tel.: (+380-44) 251 21 56, fax: (+380-44) 246 88 26, e-mail: osce@osce.kiev.ua