Aditya Zanane(14203076)
Word Count:2989
INTRODUCTION
Ukraine is going through its most deadly crisis since its independence after the
post-Soviet era. The protests began as an uprising against the pro-Russian
government dropping plans to sign the Association Agreement which was
aimed to forge closer trade ties with the European Union, and has since spurred
escalating tensions between Russia and Western powers. The crisis originates
from two decades of weak and corrupt governance, a lopsided economy
dominated by oligarchs, heavy reliance on Russia, and primarily a sharp
difference between Ukraine's linguistically, religiously, ideologically and
ethnically distinct eastern and western regions.
BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE CONFLICT IN UKRAINE
On 21 November 2013, President Viktor Yanukovychs cabinet abandons the
association agreement on closer trade ties with EU and instead seeks closer cooperation with Russia by agreeing to Valdimir Putins offer to buy 15 Billion
dollars of Ukraines debt and reduce the price of Russian gas supplies by about
a third. This sparked protests by the pro-western population, who carried out
demonstrations in Kiev and virtually chased Mr Yanukovych out of office.
Subsequently the parliament votes to oust president Yanukovych from power
and votes to ban Russian as the second official language, causing a wave of
anger in Russian-speaking regions of Crimea and eastern Ukraine, which is
later overturned. Following the political developments in Kiev, pro-Russian
gunmen seize key buildings in the Crimean capital, Simferopol. Unidentified
heavily armed gunmen in combat uniforms appear outside Crimea's main
airports and military installations. In March 2014 President Putin signs a bill to
absorb Crimea into the Russian Federation and finally a referendum on joining
Russia is backed by 97% votes leading to Crimea's secession. In April 2014,
proRussian separatists occupy government buildings in the east Ukrainian
cities of Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv, calling for a referendum on
independence. Ukraine's acting President, Olexander Turchynov, announces
the start of an "anti-terrorist operation" against pro-Russian separatists leading
to intense fighting in the region, which continues till today. In May 2014 ProRussian separatists in Donetsk and Luhansk declare independence after
unrecognized referendums. 25th may 2014, Ukraine elects Petro Poroshenko as
president in an election not held in much of the east. In June 2014, The EU
signs a landmark association agreement with Ukraine. The actions of Russia in
annexation of Crimea and eastern region trigger a new sanctions war between
the west and east to which Russia's smartly reacts by stoppage of gas supplies
to Ukraine and reduced supplies to other European countries which is finally
resolved through a EU brokered deal. (BBC, 2014). The above timeline of
events highlights mainly the geopolitical reasons for the power struggle within
Ukraine and between the superpowers. However there exists a serious divide
within Ukraine which comes from its turbulent history resulting into a cultural,
ethnic and religious divide; which has seeped into its mainstream politics and
is one of the main reasons behind the crisis in Ukraine. During the course of
the essay, we will look into how several events in Ukraines past contribute to
this current crisis.
accounts for the bulk of its GDP and has almost half of Ukraines population
had only two representatives in the 22 ministerial positions. The Ukrainian
parliament also voted on several very controversial bills, to ban Ukrainian
Communist Party activity, to repeal law penalizing Nazi propaganda and to
repeal the use of their native language by minoritie. Although the bill to repeal
native languages was vetoed but the idea behind these bills was again to
marginalize the ethnic Russian community in the east. Therefore, the new
interim government in Kiev failed to establish its legitimacy across all regions.
UN Assistant SecretaryGeneral for Human Rights Ivan Simonovic raised
issues of intolerance in a statement to Security Council, where he voiced his
concerns of an increased hatred between ethnic Ukrainians and Russians. He
called for the new Ukrainian government to adopt all reforms and new policy
measures to address these issues without any spirit of revenge and in a
consultative and inclusive manner with all groups. However the new
government of Ukraine has failed to follow these recommendations. (Gulamov,
2014)
HOW RELIGION DIVIDES UKRAINE AND RUSSIA
Using the geopolitical context of the situation in Ukraine often ignore factors
like religion and culture, which have played a powerful role in shaping the
recent events. Indeed, religion has emerged as a powerful mobilizing
instrument in recent months. Ukraines religious groups actively participate in
civil society and their movements. In case of the Euromaidan protests,
religious leaders were actively present standing shoulder to shoulder with the
protesters holding up icons, conducting funeral ceremonies for those killed in
the protests. Religion is the source of the Ukrainian nationalism and no church
better than Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) attests this. Since its
formation it has been the unofficial protector of Ukrainian traditions like,
language and culture. Recently they have played an instrumental role in
organized protests and in rooting out corruption. Their similar actions in the
past lead to the Soviets forcing them underground which made them the largest
underground church in the history of Christianity. Other religious communities
experienced similar persecution, including Protestants, Jehovahs Witnesses,
and Jews. Simultaneously, the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) has
strengthened its ties with the Kremlin, reinforcing the potent state-church
alliance that exhibits shades of Russia foreign policy for ages. According to
Russians, Ukraine is the historical capital of Orthodoxy and the Kievan Rus
Empire, Ukraine is part of New Russia and no revolution can undermine the
ROCs authority in this region. (Fedyk, 2014)
This division within the Orthodox Church community was clearly visible
during the elections after the 2004 orange revolution. There is the pro Russian
Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), which tacitly
supported Victor Yanukovych throughout the elections and Viktor
Yushchenko his opponent who also is an Orthodox, was backed by the
Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC-KP), which split from
the Moscow ecclesiastical authorities in 1991. (Whitmore, 2014).The ongoing
violence in eastern Ukraine cannot be looked in isolated aspects like, access to
European markets, energy prices, or the right to vote; but it can also be
attributed to the deep religious and cultural divide between the warring
factions.
show how aid is being manipulated to win hearts and minds of the people. The
games continue as, In Nov 2014 Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko ordered
the withdrawal of all state services from rebel-held eastern regions. The
order includes closure of schools, hospitals, financial and emergency services
to the rebel held region. This comes as a blow to the civilian population which
leaves them helpless with no access to basic services especially during the
harsh winters. (AL JAZEERA, 2014)
There has been a growing need for shelter, food and sanitation. Healthcare
services, medical supplies, education are also affected due to the fighting and
the blockade imposed by Ukraine. Access becomes a key factor especially to
Donetsk and Luhansk especially for non-state humanitarian organizations.
There have been reports on several human rights abuses taking place in the
occupied Crimea region at the hands of Russian authorities and self- defense
units. The main targets are the minorities of Tatars and the activist community,
who are subjects to illegal prosecutions, detentions, kidnappings and attacks .
(HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH, 2014)
HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE TO DATE
The main humanitarian actors have been, the Ukrainian Red Cross Society
(URCS), IFRC and the ICRC who have been active since the mass protests
began in Kiev in December. Their efforts have involved, providing first aid to
several hundred people on both sides of the conflict. The ICRC is the major
neutral player which has staff on the ground who are in dialogue with
representatives of the government and the rebels. The European Community
Humanitarian Office (ECHO) and some international NGOs have increased
their presence in Ukraine. UNICEF is providing crisis counseling to children in
Crimea and, together with the WHO, have stepped up immunization efforts,
particularly against polio. (Bennett, 2014)
APPROACH AS A HUMANITARIAN COORDINATOR
Looking at the context of the situation, it is very important for a humanitarian
organization to define its approach before intervening with aid in the conflict.
This situation in Ukraine suggests that the conflict is highly politicized not just
locally but internationally as well. Thus every action taken can have huge
international ramifications if the approach is inappropriate. The current
humanitarian situation in the previous paragraph highlights the presence of big
players like the UN and its cluster partners acting in the humanitarian space.
There is always a possibility of seeking their cooperation in the
implementation of the aid assistance, but the same time one has to be in line
with the humanitarian principles especially impartiality, neutrality and
independence. Aligning with the cluster can be advantageous in terms of boost
to the logistical capacity, but it can also hamper access to the affected because
of the political nature of the crisis.
Another aspect that is important to be considered before the humanitarian
effort begins is, to understand the role of the government in the aid process.
The context analysis above suggests that the state machinery is functional and
is assisting the aid process. It is important to seek their cooperation for
ensuring access to the affected, especially in fighting regions of the east but at
the same time, it is important for the organization to maintain its independence
from the state actors by presenting itself in such a way that they are only here
to help.
An important mantra to success in Ukraine could be identifying the local Civil
Society Organizations (CSOs) and Local NGOs and to empower them by
increasing their capacities in terms of resources and capabilities. The current
state of CSOs is such that either they seen by the population as doing the work
of the government and thus lack the trust of the people. They also lack funding
capacity to have a real impact. (Ritvo, 2014).CSOs and Local NGOs have an
impartial access to the communities and can have a real impact on improving
the state of the affected.
Ukraines economy is currently in a fragile state and was on the path to
recovery after the global financial crisis, when it again went back into the
slump due to the present crisis. It is important to recognize that people of
Ukraine are in a position to help themselves and have done so in the past as
well. A few indicators are that Ukraine is the largest producer of wheat in the
world and many agricultural products that contribute significantly to its GDP.
Any humanitarian response must include efforts to shore up basic services and
lay the foundation for longer-term income generation, asset replenishment,
skills training and other forms of livelihoods support.
STEPS TO ADDRESS THE HUMANITARIAN CRISIS
The First step in addressing the humanitarian crisis as a coordinator would be
to carry out a rapid needs assessment. This process will involve understanding
the context of the crisis from cultural, ethnic, political and geopolitical
perspectives to have a clear understanding of the power dynamics of the
conflict. This would also include the identification of the vulnerable groups
like women, children, elderly and the minorities who are the most affected.
Once the vulnerable groups have been identified, one needs to define their
needs. This can be achieved by doing a random survey within the IDP camps
or host communities as to what their actual needs are.
Once the needs have been identified the next step would be to formulate a
comprehensive plan based on those needs. The plan has to be flexible enough
to incorporate mid course corrections in order to meet the dynamic nature of
the conflict. A fix formulated plan can do more harm than good if it is not
flexible in nature. In the context of this crisis and the affected population, plans
need to focus on the basic needs of food, shelter, water, healthcare, hygiene
and sanitation. These aspects are critical especially in the eastern region, as the
Ukraine government has stopped all state run services for this region.
Once the plans have been made, the next step would involve sourcing and
allocation of funds. This process is again crucial to the whole event as the
funds need to come from non political sources so that the organization enjoys
its independence of action from the donors. Once funds allocated the same
should be used to implement project plans and also to increase capacities of the
local CSOs and NGOs.
To ensure that the plans are effective and meeting their ends, it is very
important to have a good functional team to implement them. As the context
suggests that the society is fractioned with religious, cultural and ethnic
divisions, having a homogeneous mix of people and working with them
towards a common goal can be a real challenge to start off. However managing
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