UNHCR 89^th Standing Committee

13-15 March 2024

Agenda item 3 a) Regional updates: Europe

Statement by the EU and its Member States

Chair,

I am speaking on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.

The candidate countries North Macedonia, Montenegro^[*] and Georgia, and the EFTA country Norway, member of the European Economic Area, align themselves with this statement.

The EU and its Member States would like to thank UNHCR for the organisation of the second Global Refugee Forum. With our pledges, as well as through our continued activities, we reconfirmed our commitments to burden- and responsibility sharing, demonstrating that the EU and its Member States remain a leading humanitarian and development donor, as well as a major refugee hosting and supporting entity.  

More than two years have passed since Russia started its brutal, unprovoked, unjustified and illegal war of aggression against Ukraine, which has forced millions of persons from Ukraine to flee their homes and disrupted global food and energy markets. The EU and its Member States reiterate our resolute condemnation of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. It constitutes an unacceptable violation of the UN Charter, as recalled by several UN General Assembly resolutions. Russia and its leadership must be held fully accountable for waging this war and for other most serious crimes under international law. So far, around 4.2 million persons fleeing the war have been granted temporary protection in the EU, mostly women and children, and benefit, among others, from access to accommodation or means to obtain housing, health care, education and access to the labour market. In Autumn 2023, temporary protection was further extended until 4 March 2025.

The European Union and its Member States reaffirm their unwavering support for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders and its inherent right of self-defence against the Russian aggression. We will continue to do what it takes to support Ukraine and its people. On 1 February, all EU leaders agreed on setting up a new dedicated instrument, the Ukraine Facility, to support Ukraine's recovery, a clear sign of our unwavering support.

We remain extremely concerned about the reports of children from Ukraine being forcibly deported to the Russian Federation and Belarus, and support initiatives aimed at seeking to clarify the fate of all missing persons. These practices, as noted by the ICC, may constitute war crimes. They should stop and children abducted must be returned and reunited with their families without delay. We call on the Russian Federation to ensure immediate and unimpeded access for UNHCR and other mandated agencies to all Ukrainian refugees, in particular children.

In Ukraine, the terrible impact of Russia’s war of aggression on civilians continues unabated, with a surge of aerial attacks on densely populated areas heavily affecting essential services such as water, heating and electricity. In this context, we welcome the adoption of the 2024 Regional Response Plan for Ukraine.  The EU and its Member States thank UNHCR for its vital work in delivering protection, shelter, multi-purpose cash assistance and winterisation assistance to the population most in need, including in hard-to-reach areas. Protection is one of the sectors where humanitarian needs are the highest. We therefore call on UNHCR to continue providing adequate support, particularly to persons in vulnerable situations, such as persons with disabilities, children, older persons, and survivors of gender-based violence. In the Republic of Moldova, UNHCR should continue addressing the most pressing needs of Ukrainian refugees and host communities while working towards their inclusion.

Regarding the situation of displaced Karabakh Armenians, the EU and its member States recall our concerns on the extremely difficult situation arising from the mass exodus of Karabakh Armenians to Armenia following  the military operation on 19 and 20 September and the nine month blockade of the Lachin corridor. We commend UNHCR’s rapid humanitarian operation, as well as positive steps by the Armenian authorities with regard to both temporary protection measures, and longer term solutions to ensure the continued safeguarding of their rights. We emphasize the importance to create the conditions for the voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return of refugees as well as to preserve cultural, religious heritage and property rights. The EU continues to support all efforts towards sustainable peace and security in the region.

The EU and its Member States reconfirm their commitment to continue providing international protection to those in need, to the principle of non-refoulement and to providing a high-quality asylum space within the EU. We recall the new Pact on Migration and Asylum which, once fully implemented, will strengthen the EU’s migration and asylum system.  

This is crucial in view of the continued high level migratory pressure we face at our borders. In 2023, EU Member States received more than 1.1 million asylum applications, 16% more than in 2022. We are concerned about migrant smuggling and human trafficking abusing persons on the move and putting their lives in danger. We reiterate our commitment to saving lives, and call on partner countries to step-up efforts to counter human trafficking and migrant smuggling in line with our Call to Action for a Global Alliance to Counter Migrant Smuggling launched in November 2023. In recent months we have also seen at the EU’s external borders, attempts by States to exploit the vulnerability of human beings for political purposes. The EU and its Member States condemn any attempts to instrumentalise migrants and refugees by orchestrating their movement across borders.

The EU and its Member States confirm our continued commitment to providing safe and legal pathways to protection. At the Global Refugee Forum, we pledged 61 000 places for resettlement and humanitarian admission for 2024-2025. As we acknowledge that global resettlement needs are extremely high and keep rising, we commit to work more closely with international like-minded partners,. We also commit to dedicating more efforts to promote refugee labour, education pathways and other innovative tools, including community sponsorship schemes, with the support of EU funds.

Thank you.

[*] North Macedonia and Montenegro continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.