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Current Requirements (US$)$1.69 billion
Analysis of the context, crisis and needs
Since the hostilities began in February 2022, nearly one third of Ukrainians have been forced from their homes. Within Ukraine, over 6.2 million people remain displaced by the war, and some 7.7 million refugees from Ukraine have been recorded across Europe, with the majority being hosted in the countries covered by the Regional Refugee Response Plan (RRP) for the Ukraine Situation.
Sectoral assessments conducted across the region in 2022 indicate that significant numbers of refugees face difficulties in meeting basic needs, including food and shelter. With the majority of the refugee population from Ukraine comprising women and children (85-90 per cent), risks of gender-based violence (GBV), trafficking, and sexual exploitation and abuse have been noted as a concern since the crisis began. Family separation impacts 78 per cent of refugees surveyed, while 24 per cent of refugee families include at least one person with specific needs (including people with disabilities, older people, people with serious medical needs, or unaccompanied or separated children). Access to education and decent work opportunities constitute a critical consideration in ensuring the inclusion of the refugee population and, over time, increasing their self-reliance.
Palanca, Moldova
Refugees from Ukraine wait to board busses at the Palanca border crossing in Moldova, where they will be transferred to Romania.
UNHCR/Mihai von EremiaProjected situation 2023 and beyond
According to intentions surveys conducted between May and September 2022, over 80 per cent of refugees do not plan to return to Ukraine in the near future. It is expected that refugee flows from Ukraine into neighbouring countries will continue in 2023, due to the ongoing conflict and the onset of winter, coupled with a lack of access to fuel and adequate shelter. In addition, there may be an increased number of new arrivals if there is a significant escalation of hostilities. Therefore, it should be noted that the mid-term response in 2023 will take place alongside a continuing, scaled-down emergency response in most front-line States.
The Regional RRP for the Ukraine Situation is in support of governments, and it cannot substitute for State or European Union action in the mid to long term. However, continued solidarity from the international community and practical support from humanitarian and development organizations remain key to meet these needs, with RRP partners playing a catalytic role.
Ukraine regional
Strategic objectives and sectoral priorities
Building on the 2022 RRP, the 2023 RRP will bring together some 150 partners to support and complement refugee-hosting countries’ national response, with a focus on four regional strategic objectives:
- Ensure refugees’ access to protection and assistance on a non-discriminatory basis, including the rights associated with temporary protection or similar legal statuses in host countries.
- Pave the way towards solutions, and expand access to social and economic opportunities to facilitate social inclusion through a whole-of-society approach and in line with the Global Compact on Refugees, particularly recognizing the critical role played by national and local actors, including government ministries, municipal authorities, NGOs and refugee-led organizations.
- Ensure that refugees with specific needs continue to have access to targeted support and assistance, while also engaging with and strengthening community-level protective mechanisms.
- Advance social cohesion between refugee and host communities through targeted interventions.
Chisinau, Moldova
Ukrainian refugee Svetlana, 83, is partially sighted and requires a wheelchair. She will go to Germany to live with her son, and she does not know if she will ever return to Ukraine.
UNHCR/Andrew McConnellThe RRP population figures include refugees, third-country nationals in need of international protection, and people who are stateless or at risk of statelessness. Host communities are included in the target population figures only for Moldova. Within the EU, host-community members are not included in the RRP as individuals targeted for assistance, but the Plan does address the needs of impacted host populations at the community level, with an eye to expanding community resources and services that may be under strain due to the arrival of the refugee population.
The protection response in 2023 is focused on ensuring that all refugees from Ukraine continue to have access to territory, legal status and rights in host countries without discrimination, in line with the provisions of the Temporary Protection Directive or relevant national legal protection provisions, and in line with international, regional and national refugee and human rights law. At the same time, identifying and supporting people at heightened risk will be a priority in 2023, with a particular focus on the prevention of and response to GBV, and the protection of children and other refugees with specific needs and characteristics that may expose them to protection risks. Protection partners will also aim to reinforce accountability to affected people by strengthening two-way communication mechanisms and increasing access to information, particularly in terms of awareness of rights and access to assistance and services.
Protection from sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA) is an integral and cross-cutting component of the RRP and is mainstreamed across the response. Dedicated and proactive collective efforts to mitigate and prevent risks will continue in 2023, including joint PSEA risk assessments, partner capacity assessments, capacity-building and training, as well as community outreach and awareness-raising with the refugee community. Dedicated PSEA Networks are coordinating this work at the country level in all neighbouring countries, co-chaired by UNHCR and NGO partners.
Sofia, Bulgaria
Sergei, from Odesa, is reunited with his family at Sofia’s Central Railway Station.
UNHCR/Dobrin KashavelovRegarding education, regional RRP partners will continue to engage with States to develop advocacy and support programmes to facilitate access by refugee children from Ukraine to national school systems, and to ensure access to pre-school and tertiary education. Understanding education’s critical role in providing children with a sense of normalcy and establishing social networks essential to children’s well-being, regional RRP partners will seek to address language barriers and differences in educational curricula, and take into account the needs of all relevant stakeholders to ensure the best quality education possible, however long displacement may last.
Support to basic needs, which was a significant component of the response at the outset of the emergency, will be more targeted in 2023, focusing primarily on temporary accommodation, winterization and renovation of reception facilities, limited cash for assistance to complement existing governmental schemes, and food security assistance in non-EU countries.
The 2023 RRP also prioritizes the effective inclusion of refugees into national systems, including health, social protection, labour markets and others. Priority areas will include decent work, recognition of skills and qualifications to reduce unemployment, access to intensive and targeted language training, safe and affordable childcare, stable and affordable housing, and effective access to social protection schemes.
At the same time, to support the extraordinary generosity of host communities that has characterized the response to date, the RRP places a particular emphasis on fostering social cohesion and peaceful coexistence between refugees and host communities, including by strengthening community resources and services that may be under pressure in some areas following the arrival of refugees.
Localization: The RRP for the Ukraine Situation aims to support a whole-of-society and inter-agency response – zoom in on localization.
Going into 2023, the number of national and local NGOs participating in the Ukraine RRP has increased, reflecting growing local ownership.
In line with the Global Compact on Refugees and the Localization Agenda, the role of national and local NGOs, including refugee-led organizations (RLOs), has been particularly important in the response, given their understanding of the challenges and opportunities due to operating in the countries and regions receiving refugees long before the crisis began.
Partnerships with RLOs constitute an important component of the humanitarian response in the RRP, strengthening accountability to affected populations while also empowering these organizations to realize their projects and have an impact on the refugees from Ukraine and their host communities.
References
- UNHCR, ‘Displacement Patterns, Protection Risks, and Needs of Refugees from Ukraine, 26 October 2022, https://data.unhcr.org/en/documents/details/96447
- Persons who have fled Ukraine but for whom Ukraine is not their country of origin, and who may be in need of international protection.