FAST FACTS United Nations Development Programme UKRAINE is facing its most serious challenges since achieving independence in 1991, and the United Nations development system is uniquely placed to address both the immediate and longer-term needs in the country. The UN's work in Ukraine goes well beyond the immediate relief issues connected with the conflicts in the East and the need for post-conflict stabilization, recovery, and reconstruction there, and addressing the difficulties that have arisen per events regarding the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. The work also encompasses the longer-term objectives of ensuring good governance, national reconciliation efforts, and economic recovery. The restoration of peace and stability in Ukraine is of paramount importance for the entire region and for international relations generally. Building on the well-established UN’s presence in Ukraine and strong partnerships with national institutions and local communities across the country, the UN has scaled up a range of activities to ensure that it not only brings added value to the Government but also makes a difference in the lives of the people affected by the crisis.
One of the key elements of stabilizing the situation in the east of Ukraine will be though engagement in recovery and rehabilitation programs in the areas affected by the conflict with particular focus on communities and towns receiving Internally Displaced Persons.
Empowered lives. Resilient nations.
Responding to the current situation, the UN in Ukraine has identified three priority assistance areas where the system can play an important role:
1 HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE, including for conflict-affected regions and for internally-displaced persons (IDPs).
2 RECOVERY, STABILIZATION AND REHABILITATION for the east and other regions
3 SUPPORTING longer-term country-wide governance reforms to promote the rule of law and strengthen social stability and democratic governance.
FAST FACTS
To assess the immediate recovery needs, the UN together with the European Union and the World Bank has undertaken a joint Recovery and Peacebuilding Assessment (RPA) exercise that analyses the needs in terms of infrastructure rehabilitation. The RPA responds to the request of the Government of Ukraine to articulate the immediate interventions required to restore basic social services, rehabilitate key infrastructure, create an enabling environment for IDP management, and to lay the basis for socioeconomic recovery in the Governmentcontrolled territory of Donbas and adjoining conflict-affected areas. The UN has the experience, the knowledge and the support of the government necessary to effectively respond both to the new situation and ongoing reform processes in Ukraine. All UN agencies in Ukraine are united by one collective vision and a human-rights-based approach which aims to help the Government better meet the needs of the population and establish effective institutions that can ensure stability and long-term development of the country.
ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND ENERGY SECURITY have been important areas of UNDP programming. By supporting local energy efficiency initiatives and providing grants to community organisations, also by promoting the use of bio-energy UNDP is helping to address energy security issues and address broader climate change priorities.
United Nations Development Programme
UNDP has been active in Ukraine since 1992. The Country Office is led by UNDP Resident Representative who acts also as coordinator of all UN system activities in the country. UNDP office employs 50 local and international staff and about 200 project experts who provide day-to-day support to the Government and civil society initiatives. While UNDP contributes to all three priority assistance areas defined by the UN, considering its sustainable human development mandate, UNDP advocates in particular for a participatory and transparent governance agenda and an inclusive and sustainable growth. Working closely with national counterparts, NGOs, UN system and international partners, UNDP in Ukraine is currently involved in a number of specific initiatives and sectors, in particular: HUMAN RIGHTS UNDP works with NGOs promoting democracy and human rights agenda and assists national stakeholders in preparation of national human rights strategy and action plan. UNDP focuses also on the specific rights and needs of persons with disabilities.
DECENTRALIZATION OF STATE SERVICES TO THE LOCAL LEVEL UNDP experts helped prepare the strategy and new law on decentralisation which was later passed in September 2014. To support implementation of the law, UNDP focuses on capacity development at the local level and promotion of innovative local governance practices that improve transparency, accountability and quality of local services. In this area UNDP works closely with the EU and implements the EU funded project Community Based Approach to Local Development in Ukraine which has reached thousands of local communities and has already provided grants to local self-help initiatives.
FAST FACTS
United Nations Development Programme
LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT is one of the most important drivers of stability and prosperity of any country. In Ukraine, UNDP provides support to SMEs and grants to agricultural cooperatives in rural areas. This initiative is funded by the EU.
ANTICORRUPTION agenda is one of the top priorities of the Government and international community supporting Ukraine. UNDP is actively involved in this area. Building on a project that supported NGO anticorruption initiatives, UNDP is currently working with the Ministry of Justice on a new project focusing on prevention of corruption. UNDP will also support development of the capacity of the newly established anti-corruption prevention agency that will start functioning in 2015. Within the EU funded project “Smart Practices for Oversight of the Administrative Service Provision”, UNDP contributes to the decentralisation of public service provision by supporting the initiatives aimed at raising transparency of the service provision due to the feedback loops with the civil society.
E-GOVERNANCE UNDP has provided expert support to the newly created E-Governance Agency as well as civic expert group around it regarding the national digital policies of European countries. A number of learning and experience-sharing initiatives (e.g. study tours to Georgia, Moldova and Estonia) to expose national stakeholders to e-governance best practices were conducted which later led to the development of a green paper on e-governance. At the local level, initiatives like open municipal budgets, mobile apps to increase social accountability of local governments, crowdsourcing and design thinking have been promoted. Special attention was paid to the open data development. In 2015, UNDP will support Ukraine’s open data readiness assessment and will continue supporting a policy dialogue on a more conducive legislative environment to open data in the country.
Looking into the future and building on the experience in other countries of the region, UNDP will be expanding its programmatic interventions to include also initiatives aiming at RECONCILIATION, CONFIDENCE BUILDING AND PEACE-BUILDING as the country emerges from the conflict in the east.
CONTACT: Neal Walker, UNDP Resident Representative in Ukraine, neal.walker@undp.org Inita Paulovica, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Ukraine, inita.paulovica@undp.org GENERAL ENQUIRES: registry.ua@undp.org
ADDRESS: Klovski Uzviz 1, tel. (380 44) 2539363 http://www.ua.undp.org
UKRAINE Situation report No.20 as of 28 November 2014
This report is produced by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in collaboration with humanitarian partners. It covers the period from 15 – 28 November 2014, unless otherwise noted. The next report will be published on 12 December.
IDP influx in 2014 (as of 27 November 2014)
Affected areas
Circle diameter represents size of IDP influx. Numbers below oblast names are all IDPs.
area currently not under government control
women
area previously not under government control
men Vo lyn 1,938
children
Rivne 2,581
elderly and disabled
Sumy 9,560
Kyiv 39,047
not disaggregated
Chernih iv 7,962
Zh ytomyr 5,507
Poltava 15,373
Kharkiv 117,188
L'viv 9,032 Ivano-Frankivs'k 2,655
Za karpatska 2,652
Ternopil' 1,848
Khmel'nyts'kyy 4,036
Cherka sy 8,068 Vinnytsya 6,927
Kirovohrad 8,666
Chernivtsi 2,143
Luhans'k 30,120
Dnipropetrovs'k 41, 922
Mykolayiv 7,214 Zaporizhzhia 48,527
Donets'k 72,887
Odesa 19,783
Colour tone represents ratio of IDPs to local population
Kherson 7,439
0 to 2 per thousand 3 to 4 per thousand 5 to 6 per thousand 7 to 8 per thousand 9 to 10 per thousand 11 to 20 per thousand 21 to 50 per thousand
Highlights •
The President signed the new IDP law into force on 19 November. The humanitarian community welcomes this move and continues to advocate for harmonization with Governmental Decrees 505, 509, and 595 to ensure comprehensive protection and support for IDPs.
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The humanitarian community is deeply concerned by the Government of Ukraine announcement calling for the closure and withdrawal of all governmental services and personnel from areas controlled by armed groups by 1 December. The human rights and humanitarian implications of this move are serious and will deepen the vulnerability of those populations most in need of assistance, particularly as the onset of winter deepens making these essential services more life-saving in nature.
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The Humanitarian Response website for Ukraine was launched on 27 November and can be found here. The website is easy to navigate and provides easy access to contacts, events/meetings, key documents, maps and infographics, statistics and other operational data.
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The Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) is preparing for the launch of the 2015 Strategic Response Plan on 8 December in Geneva and 12 December in Kyiv, Ukraine.
5.2 m
490,046 Internally
545,613 Fled to neighboring
Estimated number of people living in conflict-affected areas as of 28 November
displaced people as of 28 November (source: SES)
countries as of 28 November
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Coordination Saves Lives | www.unocha.org