UN Women shares the UN Secretary-General’s concern for the safety and well-being of all those who have suffered and continue to suffer in the developing situation in Ukraine, working closely with UN agencies, the UN Resident Coordinator and UN Country Team to monitor the situation, and ensure continued to support on the ground.
Safety and security are the immediate priorities and UN Women have deployed a security adviser to assess the situation on the ground.
UN Women personnel based in Kyiv are currently relocating to safe areas, along with thousands of others displaced and affected in conflict affected areas in Eastern Ukraine.
Simone Clarke, CEO of UN Women Australia said that UN Women is committed to delivering on the ground as an active member of the UN Country Team and will be monitoring the situation for women and children closely.
“The conflict has severely impacted the safety, security and resilience of local communities, especially women and girls. We know too well the devastating impact that conflict has on the needs and rights of women and girls, and the increasing risk of violence against women and girls in these situations” she said.
“Evidence from Ukraine inarguably demonstrates women and girls are disproportionately affected by conflict and we know that state authorities and civil society organizations have limited capacity to mitigate these aggravated levels of immediate risks.”
“It is also important to look at the spillover-effects in the region. People are on the move and already taking refuge in neighbouring countries such as Moldova. UN Women are monitoring the situation closely and assessing emerging needs in this context,” said Ms Clarke.
UN Women, along with our development and humanitarian partners, continue to focus on scaling up our programming and financing for women and girls to ensure that the needs of women and girls continue to be addressed as the situation evolves. It is now critical to scale up such funding.
UN Women is currently working to ensure the safety and security of women and girls in Ukraine, scaling up their efforts, together with our partners, to assess the situation and respond as required.
UN Women has today launched an emergency appeal for the women and girls in Ukraine.
CURRENT SITUATION
– The UN estimates that 54 percent of people in need of assistance from the ongoing crisis are women, 30 percent elderly, 13 percent children, and 13 percent have disabilities.
– Women and girls continue to be a high-risk group, exposed to heightened risks of their rights. This means an increased number of (predominantly) women and girls caught in the conflicts will experience exacerbated forms of violence.
– Current estimates indicate continued hostilities pose an immediate threat to the well-being of 7.5 million children in Ukraine, with 400,000 children living in conflict affected areas will be affected by the military operations.
– More than 1.5 million people – two-thirds women and children – have been internally displaced since the start of the conflict in 2014 and suffer from impeded access to healthcare, housing, and employment.
