Ukraine

 The UN Security Council (UNSC) is failing people living in conflict, with Russia and the United States particularly responsible for abusing their veto power which is blocking progress toward peace in Ukraine, Syria, and the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel. Ahead of the UN Summit for the Future, Oxfam calls for reform of the UN Security Council to stop the “Permanent Five” from being their own “judge and jury”.

In response to Russia pulling out of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, Hanna Saarinen, Oxfam food expert, said: “While this grain deal has played a part in calming skyrocketing food prices, it is not the cure-all for world hunger.

In response to reports that the first shipment of grain left Ukraine today, Eric Munoz, Oxfam America Food and Agriculture expert said:  “Oxfam welcomes this news but warns that lifting the grains blockade alone will not solve the global hunger crisis.”

Today, EU leaders met in Brussels to discuss the implications of the Ukraine war on food security. In response, Hanna Saarinen, Oxfam EU food expert said:  “EU leaders must learn from this moment. Only by taking a step back and looking at the bigger picture, can they avoid copy-pasting the same policies which led to the food price crisis of 2007-2008, and which have led to the one the world faces today.  

The Greek government is operating “a two-tier refugee response” - one for Ukrainians and one for all other refugees according to a new briefing by the Greek Council for Refugees, Oxfam and Save the Children. 

Today, the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD DAC) published its preliminary figures on the amount of development aid provided in 2021. 

Twenty-three 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.

Oxfam and other NGOs condemn the attack on the children's hospital in Kyiv.

In reaction to Russia’s attack on Kharkiv today which severely damaged a community centre operated by Oxfam’s partner “Peaceful Heaven of Kharkiv”, Nicola Bay, Oxfam’s Organisational Lead for Ukraine, said: 

More than two years on from the escalation of the war in Ukraine, women and girls’ humanitarian needs remain unmet. The gendered impacts of the war are being overlooked, pre-existing gender-based inequalities are being exacerbated and Women’s Rights and Women-Led Organizations (WROs/WLOs) are being largely excluded from the humanitarian coordination, decision making and funding systems in Ukraine.