Our Clarifying Moment: A Global Call To Action
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND Topline Recommendations
executive summary
As the war in Ukraine enters its third year, the Alliance for Peacebuilding (AfP), the leading nonpartisan global peacebuilding network of 190+ members operating in 181 countries working to end violent conflict and build sustainable peace, urges the U.S. and international community to provide sustained support for the Ukrainian people—especially through conflict and atrocity prevention efforts—to address the conflict’s existential threats to global peace, security, and democracy. The war continues to bring immense suffering and humanitarian need, destruction, and devastating atrocities. The landscape of international conflict has changed greatly since the Russian invasion of 2022, with new crises in Sudan, Israel-Palestine, and other contexts requiring the attention of donors and policymakers. Yet, this multitude of crises does not erase the severity of the situation in Ukraine, nor should it undermine concerted efforts to build peace and preserve democracy in Ukraine, which fundamentally connect to peace and democracy in the world writ large.
The war in Ukraine has wreaked havoc on all fronts, ravaging the country’s population and surrounding communities. Over two years, the war has caused more than 30,000 civilian casualties and will require almost $500 billion in reconstruction over the next decade. 17.6 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance. The conflict continues to disproportionately harm women, children, the elderly, the disabled, and other vulnerable communities. Evidence of atrocities, including wilful killing, torture, rape and other sexual violence, and the deportation of children, continues to emerge.
The conflict remains a major battle in the global fight for democracy, as democratic backsliding is underway in every region of the world. Russia’s economy has shown impressive resilience to Western sanctions, and Russian leaders have been emboldened by recent military gains and wavering support for Ukraine from the U.S. The recent death of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny underscores the dangers facing Russian citizens who speak out against the Russian government’s authoritarian practices.
The world is a different place compared to February 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine. The war in Sudan is now the world’s largest displacement crisis, more than 1% of Gaza’s child population has been killed in the Israel-Hamas war, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo now has more people in humanitarian need than any other country in the world. However, new and future crises must not divert attention or resources away from or undermine prevention efforts in Ukraine. Conflict and atrocity prevention occur on a continuum and are possible at any phase of a conflict—and it is not too late for the U.S. and international community to take concerted action to prevent more violence.
Today, the world must reaffirm its commitment to conflict and atrocity prevention in Ukraine. This commitment must come in the form of robust gender- and conflict-sensitive assistance that supports civilian protection and peacebuilding efforts, as well as diplomacy that centers conflict and atrocity prevention. The U.S. and its allies must use all available diplomatic and financial means to prevent further harm to civilians and reduce humanitarian needs in Ukraine and the region.
AfP issues this call to action for all donors and policymakers to maintain and expand resources and solidarity with the Ukrainian people in their struggle to build peace and protect democracy. The world must not become distracted by other crises, or lose faith in Ukraine’s efforts to stand for peace, prosperity, and freedom. The international community should use this moment of multiple and compounding global crises to undertake a fundamental shift in international development, peace and security, and diplomacy efforts away from crisis response and pivot toward prevention. By addressing the drivers of violent conflict and atrocities, multilateral institutions, governments, diverse sectors, and individuals can promote peace, protect civilians, seek accountability for violations of human rights and international law, and provide relief to all those in need. With a unified voice, we must call for de-escalation, an immediate cessation of hostilities, inclusive diplomacy, and unimpeded humanitarian and peacebuilding assistance. We urge the global community to act urgently and in concert in support of the Ukrainian people and center their voices in building a future of sustainable peace and democracy.
Topline Recommendations
Provide Robust Resources to Support the Ukrainian People
To meet the urgent and long-term needs of the Ukrainian people and those affected by the Russian invasion, the United Nations, European Union (EU), and other multilateral and bilateral donors must continue to: (1) provide life-saving multisectoral assistance to people affected by the war, especially by increasing and sustaining contributions to the UN’s 2024 humanitarian response plan for Ukraine; (2) protect conflict-affected people and civilian infrastructure; (3) promote adherence to international law; (4) support provision of essential, survivor-centered, gender-responsive, and trauma-informed programs and services designed to respond to the expressed needs of impacted communities; and (5) advance sustained recovery, reconstruction, and resilience efforts in Ukraine.
A significant portion of international assistance must support peacebuilding; nonviolent civil resistors; human rights monitoring; atrocities prevention, documentation, evidence-protection, and prosecution; combatting mis/disinformation, particularly mis/disinformation generated and spread by artificial intelligence; enhancing cybersecurity capacity and resilience; democracy and governance; and inclusive education; as well as mental health and psychosocial, gender-responsive, and trauma-informed programming—not just security and humanitarian needs.
Donors must provide rapid and flexible funding for local organizations, activists, movements, formal and informal networks, and volunteers working in Ukraine and in the region, especially organizations that are led by and work on issues affecting women and youth, who are disproportionately impacted by violent conflict. Donors must also elevate the decision-making role of women, as gender analysis of the conflict shows that it is exacerbating gender inequalities, gendered displacement, and gender-based violence (GBV), and that women remain marginalized from leadership roles.
Donors and international peacebuilding organizations must ensure that all support to Ukrainian civil society is locally owned and led. They should consider departing from conventional assistance mechanisms and direct funds as requested and needed by local activists, such as for salaries and operational costs, and allow for adaptation as dynamics shift.
Donors, governments, multilateral institutions, and civil society must support unarmed civilian protection to nonviolently protect civilians and enhance the safety and security of frontline humanitarian and peacebuilding actors. Governments and civil society organizations should establish coordination hubs to provide unarmed activists, human rights defenders, and civic leaders from Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, and elsewhere in the region engaged in internationally-protected nonviolent action and civil resistance with diplomatic, legal, and material assistance, in line with international best practices. Donors must ensure the inclusion of women, youth, LGBTQI+ persons, faith actors, and other marginalized communities in all peacebuilding initiatives and peace processes, in accordance with the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) and Youth, Peace, and Security Agendas.
Donors should require close coordination between international non-governmental organizations and local organizations/partners to facilitate flexible program implementation/aid delivery and close gaps in risk sharing to ensure local staff/volunteer security, enhance their capacity, and address local needs.
Social cohesion assistance—such as language training, facilitating engagement of refugee and displaced populations with local and municipal government structures, employment training, and refugee/displacement-focused government agencies—must also be integrated to support both refugees/displaced persons and host communities to relieve the impact on host communities, prevent tensions, and promote social cohesion.
Donors should also support countries grappling with a mass influx of Ukrainian and Russian refugees, and fund initiatives of dialogue, peacebuilding, and social cohesion to address tensions that could result in increased violence (including gender-based violence) and political, social, and economic instability.
Donors should also support anti-corruption efforts to safeguard the large influx of foreign assistance flowing to Ukraine and address potential post-conflict social, economic, and political challenges.
Leverage Multilateral Institutions and Diplomatic Coordination to Support the Ukrainian People
The UN must continue to take sustained action to reduce and prevent violence as long as Russian aggression persists, including through: rejecting future veto attempts by Russia on UN action pursuant to Art. 27(3) of the UN Charter, which requires parties to a dispute to abstain from voting; continuing to meticulously investigate and document alleged human rights abuses by Russia through the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine and the Independent International Commission of Inquiry; a strengthened UN Peacebuilding Commission and Support Office, increased contributions to the Peacebuilding Fund, and better-equipped conflict resolution programs in the UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs; and ensuring that other ongoing crises, such as in Israel-Palestine and Sudan, do not reduce attention and resources for the crisis in Ukraine, but rather re-emphasize the need for assistance that prioritizes protection and prevention of further violence and atrocities around the world.
The EU should utilize all diplomatic and economic tools to ensure member agreement to urgently phase out imports of Russian oil, natural gas, and uranium while maintaining energy security and protecting civilians from rising energy costs; ensure sustained implementation of the Temporary Protection Directive by EU member states to assist refugees fleeing the conflict in Ukraine, including working with local governments to increase public accommodation capacity, bolster school capacity, and reduce burdensome employment and healthcare procedures for displaced populations; and expediting the delivery of the recently approved €50 billion in assistance for Ukraine and provide sustained support to advance Ukraine’s reconstruction and EU accession through the Ukraine Facility for 2024 - 2027.
NATO must leverage the recent additions of Finland and Sweden to NATO as diplomatic tools to modify Russia’s behavior and advance a nonviolent solution to the conflict.
The international community, legal institutions, and Ukrainians must thoroughly investigate, document, coordinate, and adjudicate all alleged violations of international law perpetrated throughout the course of the conflict and bring those responsible to justice. They must ensure coordination and complementarity between the International Criminal Court, Ukrainian courts, and other national courts exercising universal jurisdiction over the international crimes committed in Ukraine. The U.S. should scale up and adequately resource its efforts to prosecute Russian forces for war crimes against U.S. citizens via the war crimes statute.
The international community must provide technical and financial support to the Ukrainian legal system, including training investigators, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, law enforcement, and civil society to effectively collect and preserve evidence, coordinate, and conduct proceedings for war crimes and other international crimes in line with international law and best practices. Specific support, training, and advice should be given to law enforcement to enhance their forensic capacities relating to the collection of evidence of atrocities and mass graves.
Mobilize the Private Sector to Support the Ukrainian People
Governments and the private sector must utilize all diplomatic and economic tools to urgently phase out imports of Russian oil and gas while maintaining energy security and protecting civilians from rising energy costs, including providing resources and assistance for countries particularly reliant on Russian fossil fuels. The EU must work to promote energy independence and security, particularly from Russian oil that arrives via pipeline. The EU and wider international community should use this situation, which highlights the interconnected and compounding nature of climate change and conflict, to accelerate planned transitions to renewable and climate-neutral energy to prevent a repeat situation that benefits bad actors in fossil fuel-rich states.
Furthermore, governments and the private sector should completely end business activity with Russia and rescind any efforts to re-enter the Russian economy, including halting purchases of Russian products and divesting from stock, pension plans, and mutual funds in Russia, and urge other major multinational companies to follow suit through collective corporate social responsibility.