C Explanatory memorandum
1 The Assembly’s
call for urgent measures to protect the internally displaced children
of Ukraine
1. The Assembly, through its Committee
on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons, has considerable expertise
in the field of protecting the rights of internally displaced persons.
In its
Resolution 2214
(2018) and
Recommendation
2126 (2018) “Humanitarian needs and rights of internally displaced
persons in Europe”, the Assembly “welcoming the enormous efforts
in favour of internally displaced persons undertaken by the member States
affected by armed conflicts or other causes of forced displacement,
[...] invites those States to regularly assess and make public the
humanitarian needs of their internally displaced persons, possibly
together with the United Nations, the European Union and the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), in particular regarding the needs
of internally displaced persons in terms of housing, education,
health care…”.
2. When Ukraine was brutally aggressed by the Russian Federation,
it rapidly became clear that the fate of millions of people in Ukraine,
including children, was at stake. The Assembly is deeply saddened
by the tragic deaths of over 500 children and the 1195 wounded.
Note Nearly 20 000 children have been
deported or forcibly displaced by the Russian Federation to Russia
or to the occupied territories in Ukraine, as underscored by the
Assembly in its
Resolution
2495 (2023) and
Recommendation
2253 (2023) “Deportations and forcible transfers of Ukrainian children
and other civilians to the Russian Federation or to temporarily
occupied Ukrainian territories: create conditions for their safe
return, stop these crimes and punish the perpetrators”.
3. Some children have today found refuge in Europe, but many
others are still in Ukraine, some of which have been internally
displaced. Ukraine needs urgent and sufficient support to be able
to meet their needs. The United Nations underscored that more than
14,6 million people – 40% of the population in Ukraine – will need humanitarian
assistance this year.
Note
4. The situation of the children currently in those parts of
Ukraine still under the control of the Ukrainian authorities, is
dramatic. According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), in front-line
towns and villages, people have exhausted their meagre resources
and rely on aid to survive. In the Donetsk and Kharkiv regions,
families shelter in damaged houses with no piped water, gas or electricity.
Constant bombardments force people to spend their days in basements.
Children cannot play outside, let alone attend school. As stressed
by Denise Brown, the Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, “children
have endured the loss of their closest family members, their homes,
and schools. Scars that may last a lifetime”.
Note The internally
displaced children find themselves in even harsher conditions, especially
when they are separated from their parents or caregivers. They are
particularly vulnerable and in need of special protection.
5. Internal displacement puts additional pressure on parents
with children. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) has stressed the hardship of those
internally displaced persons who reside outside collective accommodation
sites, particularly in rural areas across Ukraine, and who are facing
problems in accessing services and assistance. Displaced people
may have been forced to move multiple times, losing their houses
and livelihoods, and relying solely on humanitarian assistance.
As displacement becomes prolonged, most needs have become more prevalent
over time. Displaced people have identified financial support and
reconstruction materials as the most prominent needs. The findings
from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) (Displacement
Tracking Matrix (DTM’s), General Population Surveys) indicate that
women reported higher needs across all sectors after being displaced
for over a year. People living in collective sites do not have access
to alternative adequate housing solutions and continue to face significant
protection risks, notably due to overcrowding, eviction risks, as
well as sexual abuse and exploitation, and other forms of gender-based
violence. Other risks include limited access to essential services, socio-economic
vulnerability, and different types of physical and mental harm.
Risks in collective sites are driven by inadequate living conditions
and/or sub-standard site management, with most sites not meeting intersectoral
minimum guidelines. This situation is exacerbated by the dispersed
nature of the more than 2 500 sites across the country, bringing
significant challenges for humanitarian relief organisations in
terms of logistical capacity and allocation of resources. Given
the short-term nature of assistance and that financial support for
such initiatives is gradually decreasing as the crisis becomes protracted,
the most vulnerable people are at risk of resorting to negative
coping mechanisms should their daily needs not be met in collective sites.
Note
6. On top of the increased violence of attacks in recent weeks,
Ukraine is now in the grip of a deep winter. A continued, large-scale
humanitarian operation is as urgent today as it ever was. In that
regard, increased humanitarian support to internally displaced children
in Ukraine should be an absolute priority.
7. In its
Resolution
2448 (2022) “Humanitarian consequences and internal and external
displacement in connection with the aggression of the Russian Federation
against Ukraine”, the Assembly recalled that the situation of children
required specific measures, based on the principle of the best interests
of the child. This concerned
inter alia internally
displaced children affected by the war (
amendment
A).
2 A stronger support
needed for the humanitarian response for Ukraine
8. Council of Europe member States
should do their utmost to contribute to the provision of the support needed.
According to the November 2023 UN data, the humanitarian response
plan is only funded at 53% so far. On 15 January 2024, the United
Nations and partners asked donors for a combined US$4.2 billion
to support war-affected communities in Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees
and their host communities in the region throughout 2024 (amendment B).
9. More precisely, UN OCHA co-ordinates the response inside Ukraine.
This Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan requests US$3.1 billion
for 2024 and targets 8.5 million people. The UNHCR co-ordinates
the Regional Refugee Response Plan (RRP), which requests US$1.1
billion and targets 2.3 million refugees and host communities. In
total, the two highly prioritised UN plans aim to support some 10.8
million people in Ukraine and the region.
10. “Hundreds of thousands of children live in communities on
the front lines of the war, terrified, traumatized and deprived
of their basic needs. That fact alone should compel us to do everything
we can to bring more humanitarian assistance to Ukraine” said the
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief
Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, who is also the head of UN OCHA.
Note
11. As underscored by UN OCHA, despite extreme access challenges,
especially to areas occupied by the Russian Federation, aid workers
reached nearly 11 million people in Ukraine in 2023, with the support
of the international donor community. It is estimated that 1,5 million
girls and 1,4 million boys are still in need of humanitarian support
in Ukraine right now.
Note Humanitarian
organisations made every effort to increase assistance in the front-line
communities, including through 105 inter-agency convoys, complementing
the government’s response and the efforts of volunteers, civil-society
organisations and other local groups.
Note Their efforts must be acknowledged and further
help to enable their operations is needed (
amendment C).
12. Overall, UN OCHA estimates that over 4 million people are
still internally displaced across Ukraine, and this prolonged displacement
has pushed many to the brink, as they have depleted their resources
and capacity to cope with the loss of job or income. There is a
clear economic burden of displacement, which hits vulnerable people,
including children, the most.
13. The Assembly should therefore raise its voice in calling for
the rapid provision of sufficient humanitarian support to ensure
that internally displaced children in Ukraine are safe and protected.
3 Next steps
14. The Assembly should act resolutely
to contribute to the protection of internally displaced children
in Ukraine. A focused debate on internally displaced children will
allow for the building of new alliances to meet the needs of these
children and of their families. The Committee on Migration, Refugees
and Displaced Persons stands ready to address the situation of internally
displaced children of Ukraine as soon as it is seized for a report
(amendment D).
15. Moreover, a strong parliamentary alliance at European level,
on the basis of an ad hoc committee of the Parliamentary
Assembly Bureau, would allow parliamentarians with diverse political
backgrounds and professional expertise to contribute to protecting
all children of Ukraine, in all their diverse situations, from the tragedy
unfolding on our continent (amendment
E).
