Civil society organisations aiding refugees from Ukraine must be supported

Written declaration No. 746 | Doc. 15576 | 27 June 2022

Signatories:

Mr Paul GALLES, Luxembourg, EPP/CD ; Lord Andrew ADONIS, United Kingdom, SOC ; Ms Tonia ANTONIAZZI, United Kingdom, SOC ; Mr Duncan BAKER, United Kingdom, EC/DA ; Mr Caspar Van den BERG, Netherlands, ALDE ; Ms Margreet De BOER, Netherlands, SOC ; Ms Laura CASTEL, Spain, UEL ; Mr Boriss CILEVIČS, Latvia, SOC ; Ms Tarja FILATOV, Finland, SOC ; Mr Pierre-Alain FRIDEZ, Switzerland, SOC ; Mr Paul GAVAN, Ireland, UEL ; Mr Gerardo GIOVAGNOLI, San Marino, SOC ; Ms Inka HOPSU, Finland, SOC ; Ms Ruth JONES, United Kingdom, SOC ; Ms Maria JUFEREVA-SKURATOVSKI, Estonia, ALDE ; Mr Christophe LACROIX, Belgium, SOC ; Mr Jacques MAIRE, France, ALDE ; Ms Octavie MODERT, Luxembourg, EPP/CD ; Ms Marica MONTEMAGGI, San Marino, SOC ; Mr Simon MOUTQUIN, Belgium, SOC ; Ms Fiona O'LOUGHLIN, Ireland, ALDE ; Mr Paulo PISCO, Portugal, SOC ; Mr Roberto RAMPI, Italy, SOC ; Mr Stefan SCHENNACH, Austria, SOC ; Ms Lise SELNES, Norway, SOC ; Mr Tommy SHEPPARD, United Kingdom, NR ; Mr Andreas Sjalg UNNELAND, Norway, UEL

This written declaration commits only those who have signed it.

We, the undersigned, declare the following:

Parliamentary Assembly report “Humanitarian consequences and internal and external migration in connection of the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine” (Doc. 15547) highlights the role of civil society in responding to migration in connection with the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.

We are concerned by the actions of Poland, which received the bulk of the migration.

National funding there is directed towards organisations sympathetic to the authorities, such as the far-right “National Guard”, which previously conducted a hate campaign against refugees, or organisations linked to the Catholic Church. Groups with a track record of supporting migrants, such as Grupa Granica, Fundacja Ocalenie or the Open Dialogue Foundation receive no funding at all.

The immense support provided to refugees by civil society is furthermore used instrumentally by the government in its fight with EU institutions over its rule of law violations, pressuring the EU to release funds due to Poland’s handling of the migrant crisis.

At the same time a humanitarian crisis is looming, as the State does not provide financial support to citizens hosting refugees, with authorities presenting no plan to relocate the refugees abroad.

We demand Poland to recognise the role of civil society actors and provide transparent funding to those working to integrate and relocate refugees from Ukraine.