2 March 2023 | UNDSS Comms
A year ago, the reality of war dawned, the world hoped for a swift end to the fighting, but the hours, days, and weeks that followed rapidly turned into months, and now it has been one year and counting. The conflict, which is now entering its second year, has resulted in millions of people being displaced along with thousands of deaths. Figures confirmed by the United Nations indicate that more than 7,000 civilians have been killed.
To alleviate the suffering of the Ukrainian people, the United Nations and the humanitarian community have been scaling up the provision of humanitarian assistance to nearly 16 million people. Since the onset of the conflict, the United Nations Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) has been supporting the delivery of lifesaving assistance through security risk management advice and expertise.
During a visit to Ukraine, the USG reaffirmed the department’s commitment to assisting with the emergency response: "From civilian evacuation at Azovstal Steel Plant in Mariupol to supporting an assistance mission to the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Plant, our team on the ground has been at the frontline." UNDSS has been leveraging the Saving Lives Together Framework, which enhances security collaboration between the United Nations, International Non-Governmental Organizations, and international organizations to ensure the safe delivery of humanitarian assistance. The framework has underpinned the planning of joint humanitarian missions and assessments across all of Ukraine’s 24 oblasts.
Partners like the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) have also bolstered UNDSS’ response capacity in Ukraine. “Thanks to a USD 7.1 million grant from USAID, UNDSS managed to reinforce its operational capacities to facilitate the safe passage of personnel and humanitarian aid to the affected areas.” “We have also strengthened our security analysis to better anticipate the future, by not over relying on past incidents, that is how we have increased the number of missions to very high-risk areas in Ukraine,” the USG added.
As we mark, one year since the start of the invasion, UNDSS continues to support over 1,400 UN personnel on the ground to stay and deliver. It is also a period of self-reflection on best practices that can strengthen the department’s support for humanitarian partners elsewhere across the globe. According to the USG, the department is also working towards being able to mount an effective response by surging the right people at the right time in future. “To actualize this, we have developed a funding appeal that aims to raise USD 14 million. Part of the funds will enable the department to establish an emergency response team to provide quickly deployable and effective security support for UN field programmes and operations during sudden onset emergencies.”
Meanwhile in Ukraine, humanitarian needs remain acute. UNDSS continues to be present in the country to enable the delivery of aid to the affected population while taking care of United Nations personnel to deal with critical incident stress and recover from trauma.