Ukraine refugee response: The EU and Member States Must Now Work Together to Put Commitments into Practice

Share and twenty-two NGOs are jointly urging the EU and European countries to work together to put into action their refugee response commitments in light of the crisis in Ukraine. This call comes ahead of EU justice and home affairs ministers meeting today to discuss the EU’s support for people fleeing the crisis in Ukraine.  

The statement calls on the EU and EU countries to coordinate effective responsibility-sharing which incorporates lessons learned from the EU’s previous migration response. This comes against the backdrop of more than 3.7 million people fleeing Ukraine as of Friday 25 March, most of whom are in neighboring countries such as Poland, Moldova, and Romania. Many of these countries are reaching their limit in how many people they can receive. EU countries now need to rapidly increase their resources and step up swift, safe and orderly transfers across the EU to make sure we do not see a repeat of people spending prolonged periods in refugee camps, unable to access their rights such as going to a doctor and vulnerable to many risks such as trafficking.