Mejlis Head Mustafa Jemilev Takes Part in Opening of Photo ExhibitionTitled: «New Home – Ukraine» Dedicated to World Refugee Day

21 June 2013

The Head of the Mejlis of Crimean Tatar People, MP of Ukraine Mustafa Jemilev took part in the opening of the photo exhibition, titled “New Home – Ukraine” dedicated to the World Refugee Day that was organized by the Committee on Human Rights, National Minorities and International Relations along with the UN Refugee Agency.

The opening of the exhibition dedicated to the successful integration of the refugees in Ukraine took place on June 20, 2013 in Kyiv.

It is remarkable that a part of the exhibition was dedicated to Fridtjof Nansen, a Norwegian figure and diplomat, a Nobel Prize Winner and First Commissioner for Refugees at the League of Nations. As is known, the Mejlis Head Mustafa Jemilev is a single representative of Ukraine who was awarded the Nansen’s Prize by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in 1998 for his extraordinary efforts and “adherence to the Crimean Tatars’ right to return” to their homeland.

Speaking at the opening of the photo exhibition the Head of the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Human Rights, National Minorities and International Relations Mr Valery Patskan stated that the Committee will do its best to prepare the draft laws settling the legal status of refugees.

“As lawmakers, we face many problems in settling the legal status of refugees. That is why in the nearest future our Committee along with the Office of the UN High Commissioner is going to develop the corresponding legislative acts and we will submit them to the consideration of the Verkhovna Rada,”- Mr Paskan stated.

Mr Oldrich Andrysek, UNHCR Regional Representative for Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine, Mr Yon Elvedal, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Norway to Ukraine, Mrs Maria Yurkova, Deputy Head of the EU Mission in Ukraine and Mr Valery Paskan, Head of the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Human Rights, National Minorities and International Relations also attended the opening of the photo exhibition.