For instance, residents of Popasne neuropsychiatric residence were transferred to Dmytrivka neuropsychiatric residence (Novoaydar district, Luhansk region) located less than 30km away from Shchastya where active hostilities take place periodically. Residence of Slovyansk neuropsychiatric residence were evacuated to seven other residential facilities in Donetsk region. Later, some of them returned, however, part of residents stayed in residences in Snizhne and Makiyivka that had been targeted by shootings. Transfer of residents within one region also leads to overload of institutions’ capacity. For instance, the number of children residents in Druzhkiv childcare residence almost doubled after the transfer of children from Shakhtarsk childcare residence. During the visit of the monitoring group of the Secretariat of the Commissioner on 2 February 2015, there were 575 people with mental disabilities, including 365 temporarily transferred from Torez neuropsychiatric residence, in Slovyansk neuropsychiatric residence with a capacity to accommodate 320 people. As a result, living rooms are extremely overcrowded; beds are located back-to-back, which does not contribute to a proper therapeutic environment. In addition, the workload for the personnel has increased significantly. During interviews with directors of these facilities, it turned out that majority of personnel is ready to move to other regions with the care recipients. Results of surveys of relocated residents who got used to the staff and workers also support feasibility of such evacuation. There has been no discussion of evacuation of facilities under the jurisdiction of local governance. For instance, in Dzerzhynsk, which was under fire, residents of the center for social and psychological rehabilitation of children of Donetsk regional council were only evacuated upon the Commissioner’s intervention. Nobody is organizing evacuation of 70 elderly persons with disabilities in in-patient units of the territorial service center since they are under the jurisdiction of Dzerzhynsk city council, and the latter cannot provide for evacuation of these people outside the city. In addition, there has been no heat or water supply in the city since 27 January and, according to municipal authorities, it was impossible to restore supply due to shootings. The general education boarding school І–ІІІ tiers #1 is also under the same authority’s jurisdiction. At the time of the monitoring visit, the school was in a distance-learning mode due to direct hit to the neighboring building on 21 January 2014. The city council cancelled classes and thereby relieved itself of responsibility for the life of 327 children, majority of them coming from dysfunctional families. These children are left adrift and face constant danger. Throughout the year, the Commissioner for Human Rights has received multiple addresses from directors of children’s facilities and structural units of state regional administrations asking to prevent illegal transfer of children to Russian Federation, as well as provide support in relocating children to safe places on the territory of Ukraine. Since June 2014, representatives of the so-called DPR (Donetsk People’s Republic) and LPR (Luhansk People’s Republic) demanded that local authorities provide information about orphaned children and children without parental care, their health certificates and written consent of directors for the children’s transfer to Russian Federation. For example, state authorities and directors of children’s facilities of Donetsk regions received an order from the so-called DPR Council of Ministers #17 dated 25 June 2014 (see 19

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