Ukraine

Due to the full-scale war in Ukraine caused by the Russian military invasion as of 24 February 2022, over 8 million people left the country seeking protection abroad, and more than 7.1 million moved internally. Such forced displacement overburdened local and regional service providers, including centres for free secondary legal aid provision. To address these challenges, UNDP focused on improving the efficiency and accessibility of justice services for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and residents of frontline, transit and host communities.

Leave No One Behind

In 2022, the state-guaranteed Free Legal Aid System was barely coping with the workload created by the unprecedented scale of displacement. In partnership with the NGO Charitable Fund “Gorenie”, UNDP established a network of professional lawyers nationwide, availing opportunities for thousands of men and women to protect and exercise their rights when fleeing the war and settling in their new homes: 13,583 legal consultations were provided to 5,502 people affected by the escalated conflict (78 percent of whom are women). The network enhanced cooperation with the Coordinating Centre for Legal Aid Provision and launched legal education campaigns.

Human rights

In 2022, UNDP continued working with national partners to promote principles of human rights, accessibility and respect. Specifically, an educational course for public officials on building a barrier-free state was launched on the national educational platform Diia. Digital Education. In 2022, 34,325 people benefited from the educational course for public officials "State without barriers".

The war increased the burden on the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights (Ukraine’s national human rights institution (NHRI)) while its effectiveness and sustainability became ever more important with the significant increase in the number and scale of human rights violations. In 2022, UNDP provided extensive support to the institution, enhancing its expertise for the effective implementation of its mandate and human rights advocacy at the international level. With UNDP support, the NHRI’s regional network continued operating in all the oblasts despite challenges caused by the war.

Timely access to reliable information is critical in a crisis context. In 2022, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, in partnership with UNDP, conducted a monitoring of access to information during martial law. Based on its findings, UNDP experts on access to information developed and delivered holistic training for public officials and information holders at national, regional and local levels. More than 1,000 public officials (82 percent women) from across Ukraine have enhanced their understanding of how to ensure the right to information in crisis conditions.

To ensure that people affected by the war have access to information and know how to exercise their rights, UNDP supported the “Important Questions” communications campaign launched by the President Adviser Commissioner on Barrier-free Issues in partnership with civil society.

In May-July 2022, this social media campaign reached over 360,000 men and women with the information on social services, medical assistance, new procedures and legislative changes relevant for IDPs and other groups.

Military escalation has posed a wide range of security risks. Police stations and rescue facilities remained among the primary targets for shelling and missile attacks, and their infrastructure in many oblasts suffered severe damage forcing police and rescue units to relocate. In war-affected Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, UNDP’s support to the police and the State Emergency Service ensured their ability to provide essential and often life-saving services. To further strengthen community security, UNDP supported Donetsk and Luhansk Universities of Internal Affairs. These institutions were relocated and could resume the educational process due to the household appliances and IT equipment provided by UNDP.

Business and Human Rights

Following the outbreak of the full-scale war, the business sector was caught off guard and largely unprepared to operate in the new conflict-afflicted business environment. To provide national partners, including government officials, business communities and others with critical support in implementing the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), UNDP conducted first-hand research that highlighted legislative gaps and other pressing issues in the area of business and human rights. Based on the analysis of the national strategic documents, UNDP Ukraine, in partnership with the Government of Japan, provided specific recommendations to improve the legislative and regulatory framework. These recommendations were presented to the government as data-based suggestions for the development of the national Recovery Plan and were reflected in the latest draft of the updated National Human Rights Strategy to address war-related challenges.

UNDP also partnered with national academic institutions to incentivize young scholars to study the war’s impact on business and human rights and explore innovative solutions that could be applied by authorities and businesses. The all-Ukrainian competition of research papers on business and human rights in the context of war involved over 13 educational institutions from 17 out of 24 oblasts in Ukraine and 112 young scholars.

Going forward, UNDP will continue working with the Coordination Centre for Legal Aid Provision, civil society organizations, private sector, development and humanitarian actors to enhance access to justice for all in Ukraine. UNDP will further support the activities of the regional NHRI network, improve the capacity of local actors to address business and human rights challenges and expand the capacity development of the Free Legal Aid System, prioritizing the integration of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms and digitalization of the legal services for their higher efficiency and outreach.