Declaring a person missing under special circumstances, granting a survivor's pension

Ms. Natalia is a pensioner with the status of a person with a disability and is dependent on her children. The woman turned to a DRC lawyer during one of the specialists' visits to war-affected communities in Chernihiv Oblast. She said that her son went missing during the escalation of hostilities in the region. Natalia asked for help because she did not understand the algorithm of her actions at all, having found herself without financial support and without official confirmation of her son's disappearance.

The lawyer analyzed the documents provided by the pensioner, prepared an application to the National Police to enter information into the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations, providing information about the circumstances of the disappearance, information about the missing person, signs and other information.

Having received information from law enforcement agencies on entering data on the disappearance into the Unified Register of Persons Missing in Special Circumstances and obtaining an extract from the said register, since it is from this moment that a person is considered missing in special circumstances, the lawyer, together with Natalia, prepared an appeal for a survivor's pension to the Pension Fund of Ukraine. The appeal included the documents and extracts received, information about the woman's son's work experience and salary, birth certificate, and pension documents of the pensioner.

A month after her appeal, Ms. Natalia was granted and began receiving a survivor's pension. In addition, the woman was coordinated with a representative of the Red Cross, which operates in Chernihiv region and is responsible for assisting in the search for missing persons and prisoners of war.

DRC provides free legal aid to the war-affected population in Chernihiv Oblast with funding from the European Union's civil protection and humanitarian assistance.