Weekly Update #15
June 6

Distribution of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and refugees in Ukraine and in refugee-hosting countries as of 29 May 2022

Individual refugees from Ukraine recorded across Europe

4,712,784

Last updated 01 Jun 2022

Refugees from Ukraine registered for Temporary Protection or similar national protection schemes in EuropeJSON

2,928,252

Last updated 01 Jun 2022

Border crossings from Ukraine (since 24 February 2022)*JSON

6,983,041

Last updated 01 Jun 2022

Border crossings to Ukraine (since 28 February 2022)**JSON

2,102,047

Last updated 01 Jun 2022

General security and humanitarian situation

Fighting during the reporting period remained especially devastating in eastern Ukraine, particularly in Luhanska oblast followed by Donetska and Kharkivska oblasts, and with more civilians being caught in the middle – civilians having to shelter, being killed and injured and often having to evacuate or trying unsuccessfully to do so. In Luhanska oblast, much of the fighting was focused on the Government-controlled areas (GCA) of Ukraine and the road links to the GCA of Donetska oblast, such as between Lysychansk (Luhanska oblast) and Bakhmut (Donetska oblast). And by 31 May the hostilities reportedly moved into Sievierodonetsk, the administrative centre of the GCA of Luhanska oblast.

Also, on 31 May, Luhanska Governor Serhii Haidai reported that, currently, it was possible to deliver aid only to the Lysychansk and Hirske communities – and then by 1 June, it was reported that even these deliveries were impossible. Moreover, a missile attack was reported in Dnipropetrovska oblast (centre) on 27 May, shelling was reported in Chernihivska oblast (north) on 29 May, an airstrike was recorded in Sumska oblast (north-east), heavy shelling was reported in Zaporizka oblast (south-east) on 31 May, and shelling was reported in Mykolaivska oblast (south) on 1 June.

Civilian casualties

There have been daily reports of civilian casualties in eastern Ukraine and beyond. On 27-29 May, 10 civilians were reported to have been killed and 12 injured, and more than 80 civilian houses and structures were damaged in the GCA of Donetska oblast. And then, on 29 and 30 May, there were reports of multiple districts of central Donetsk city, in non-Government-controlled areas (NGCA) of the oblast, having been shelled by rockets and mortars – resulting in at least eight people being killed and 26 injured as well as houses and a kindergarten having been damaged. There have also been reports of other communities in the NGCA of Donetska having been shelled, resulting in more civilian casualties and damage to civilian buildings. Through to the end of the reporting period, 1 June, there continued to be reports of the shelling of civilian areas and civilian casualties in the GCA of Donetska oblast and similar reports in NGCA. Elsewhere, Kharkiv (Kharkivska oblast) was reportedly shelled again on 26 May, with at least three people having been killed and five injured.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has verified more than 9,000 civilian causalities in Ukraine since 24 February. According to OHCHR, as of 1 June, the number of civilian casualties stands at 9,094 in the country: 4,149 killed and 4,945 injured, according to OHCHR. More than half (5,196) of all casualties so far verified have been recorded in GCA and NGCA of Donetska and Luhanska oblasts. The actual number of civilian casualties across Ukraine is likely considerably higher, as the receipt of information from some locations where intense hostilities have been going on has been delayed, and many reports are still pending corroboration.

Impacts on civilian infrastructure, environment

There have continued to be multiple reports of civilian infrastructure being damaged, especially in eastern Ukraine. On 29 May, Donetska oblast Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko reported that the fighting had left two districts without power and five communities with interrupted water supply, including Kramatorsk, and had also temporarily trapped 115 miners underground in two coal mines in Toretsk when the power supply was disrupted. Luhanska oblast Governor Serhiy Haidai reported on 30 May that about 90 per cent of the houses in Sievierodonetsk had been damaged by shelling and that damage to the supply system meant that a million people across the oblast were left without access to water. The Governor also reported that the gas supply was “completely” cut off and that repairs were impossible due to the ongoing fighting. He also reported multiple houses having been destroyed in at least five communities. Ukraine’s Energy Ministry reported that, as of 31 May, some 647,600 users across the country were without electricity and that the total has been increasing daily – especially in eastern oblasts.

There have also been several potentially dangerous incidents reported involving civilian infrastructure with possible environmental and health implications. The operator of the Slovianska thermal power plant in Donetska oblast on 27 May announced the suspension of operations due to constant shelling, the interruption of power and water supplies, and the inability to carry out repairs as well as the threat to personnel. On 30 May, Donetska authorities reported that a pipeline containing some 250 tons of ammonia had been damaged. And while the leakage – with a footprint of 4 km – was considered relatively small, not expected to affect nearby settlements, and the section of the pipeline has not been in active use since 2014, the incident still serves to remind of the potential environmental impacts of active hostilities in heavily industrialized areas. Then, on 31 May, Luhanska oblast Governor reported that, at a chemical plant in Sievierodonetsk, a tank containing nitric acid had been hit – warning remaining residents not to leave their shelters and of the dangers of contact with the acid. According to a 2017 environmental assessment by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), prior to the onset of conflict in 2014 there were some 4,500 potentially environmentally hazardous enterprises located in Donetska and Luhanska oblasts. So, unfortunately, the risk of more such incidents certainly remains.

Impacts on health care

Ukraine’s Chief State Sanitary Doctor Ihor Kuzin reported on 29 May that, while inoculations against COVID-19 continue in all of Ukraine’s oblasts except Donetska and Luhanska, the war has also drastically impacted the operation of many other vaccination centres and mobile vaccination teams. He said that while some 100,000 people could be vaccinated daily before the start of the war, currently, the rate is 50,000-60,000 people weekly, a more-than-ten-fold decrease. Dr. Kuzin added, however, that additional teams are working to vaccinate internally displaced persons (IDPs)and people living in remote areas in western Ukraine. Further, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), as of 29 May, the average seven-day number of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests performed decreased from 42,460 (pre-war) to 796, while the average number of new COVID-19 cases was 271 per day during the last seven days, compared to 24,629 as of 24 February. Meanwhile, according to WHO’s regional signal monitoring between 26 and 29 May, a 30 per cent increase in COVID-19 cases was reported in Dnipro (Dnipropetrovska oblast) week-over-week.

Food security

Media, citing Russia’s state-owned TASS news agency and a local source, reported on 30 May that NGCA of Khersonska oblast (south) has begun exporting grain to the Russian Federation. It was also said that sunflower seeds might also be supplied to processing plants in the NGCA of the oblast and the Russian Federation. Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on 30 May, reported that stored grain “was being stolen.” Ukraine reportedly has some 22 million tons of grain in storage that it cannot export, and the President said that some 500,000 tons had already “been stolen.” Mr. Zelenskyy said that is the amount that should already have been exported to foreign markets, that Ukraine’s inability to export its agricultural products is impacting food security on a global scale, that food prices are rising, and the threat of famine is growing – which in turn would provoke a new migration crisis. The World Food Programme (WFP) has voiced similar concerns, recently renewing its call to open Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea amid fears of global hunger as a result of the war.

Impacts on human rights

The European Union (EU) announced the European Council on 25 May adopted new rules allowing the EU Agency for Criminal Justice (Eurojust) to preserve, analyze and store evidence relating to core international crimes, including war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. The EU added that the text was due to be signed by the European Parliament and the Council on 30 May and promptly published in the Official Journal – and would enter into force the day after its publication.The announcement specifies that the new rules will allow Eurojust to store and preserve evidence relating to war crimes, including satellite images, photographs, videos, audio recordings, DNA profiles and fingerprints; and to process and analyze this evidence in close cooperation with Europol (the EU Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation) and share the information with the relevant national and international judicial authorities, including the International Criminal Court. The EU announcement makes specific reference to the war in Ukraine and that “numerous reports from Ukraine have sadly indicated that crimes against humanity and war crimes have been and are being committed in Ukraine.”

Separately, Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported on 25 May that four high-ranking United States (US) politicians had appealed in a letter to the social media companies YouTube, TikTok, Twitter, and Meta (formerly Facebook) to preserve and archive content on their platforms that might be evidence of war crimes in Ukraine. HRW said the possible evidence includes “a trove of uploaded photos and videos that show alleged laws-of-war violations […] – including unlawful killings, attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, and the use of banned cluster munitions.” HRW explained that the content forms “an essential part of human rights documentation and may play a role in war crimes cases in Ukraine, other countries, and the International Criminal Court.” HRW said that, along with other human rights groups, it has also called on social media companies to set up independent mechanisms that would preserve potential evidence of serious crimes – also in part because the companies can block or remove violent content and so, it can also be deleted – and “undermine efforts to expose or prosecute serious abuse.”

The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau, and Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid, in a 25 May statement, “reiterated their condemnation of persistent allegations against the Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) and called for the immediate release of four national mission members detained in Donetsk and Luhansk.” The statement describes the allegations, including of espionage, as having become “increasingly outrageous” and the reported detention of the four members in NGCA of Donetska and Luhanska oblasts as unjustified. The statement says that the SMM, between 2014 and 2022, “was always providing objective information on the security and humanitarian situation in Ukraine.” It says that, despite the closure of the mission earlier this year, the OSCE’s duty of care towards all of its employees continues and that it would “take steps to pursue all available channels to secure the privileges and immunities of current and former OSCE officials.”

Displacement

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) on 30 May announced the results of its latest rapid representative assessment (IOM_Gen Pop Report_R5_final ENG (1) (1).pdf) showing in part that almost 4.5 million displaced Ukrainians have returned home and that, as a result, the total number of IDPs has decreased by some 11 per cent (from 8 million as of 3 May to 7.1 million as of 23 May). Complementing the decrease in the total estimated number of IDPs, the number of estimated returns has grown significantly (by 65 per cent) between 3 May and 23 May. While return dynamics do remain unsteady, 77 per cent of returnees (equivalent to some 3.4 million individuals) state that they do not plan to leave their places of habitual residence again. The largest share of returnees has gone back to homes in the north of Ukraine (over 1.7 million estimated returnees). IOM’s fifth round of the assessment of the general population in Ukraine, conducted between 17 and 23 May, was intended to gather further insights into internal displacement and mobility flows and to assess local needs. Round 5 brings insights into previously not covered areas such as IDPs’ income and employment and continues to track changes in core indicators across time.Over 2,000 respondents within Ukraine participated in the assessment.

Meanwhile, more and more people have been attempting to evacuate from eastern Donetska and Luhanska oblasts and south-eastern Zaporizka oblast in dangerous conditions. There have continued to be reports of evacuation vehicles coming under fire. Zaporizka oblast officials reported that some people had to wait for days to cross into safer areas under the control of the Government of Ukraine. And on 30 May, following the reported attack on a vehicle that was supposed to evacuate 10 civilians from Luhanska oblast – resulting in the announced death of a French journalist – the authorities there informed that they were suspending official evacuation efforts. Such incidents again highlighted the need to open safe passages, ensured by the parties to the conflict, for the evacuation of civilians from the areas of active fighting.

Earlier in the reporting period, before the suspension of the official evacuation in Luhanska oblast, a total of just over 40 people were reported to have been evacuated specifically from GCA of the oblast – including on 27 May when 31 people, including 13 children, were reported to have been evacuated. Separately, the Ukrainian Government’s Joint Forces Task Force informed that a total of 1,367 people were evacuated from different areas on active fighting on the same day, 27 May. A total of 1,252 were reportedly evacuated, mainly in Donetska oblast, on 29 May, and 13,907 more people were evacuated from areas of active hostilities on 31 May. And the Kharkivska oblast Governor reported on 31 May that over 1,500 civilians – children, people with disabilities, older people and women – were evacuated from the NGCA of the oblast. Separately, the Russian Federation reported that, as of 1 June, 1,595,187people, including 259,819 children, had crossed to the Russian Federation from the territory of Ukraine after 24 February. Meanwhile, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) estimates that, as of 26 May, over 971,000 people crossed into the Russian Federation.

Protection

• 232,837 people received protection assistance, advice and referrals at border crossing points, transit and reception centres and through hotlines.

• This includes protection counselling and services, including psychosocial support and legal aid. The overall figure includes 96,151 people who received protection information, support or counselling; 79,872 people who received information and counselling through hotlines; 24,250 people who received legal counselling or assistance; 21,749 people who received psychosocial support or psychological first aid and 6,375 who received social support. This is in addition to 2,886 protection monitoring missions.

• UNHCR protection partners Proliska and R2P are providing protection information and legal advice to persons evacuated from Mariupol and the Azovstal Steel Plant currently accommodated in reception and transit centres in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. In the last week, Proliska also visited newly de-occupied settlements in Kharkiv oblast and provided community residents with individual and group psychological assistance, and counselling related to social benefits.

• UNHCR Partner NEHEMIA continues recreational activities including art classes and games for displaced children and youth in seven temporary accommodation centres in Uzhhorod, with some 140 to 320 displaced children and youth participating each week.

• UNHCR also provides counselling and protection information on issues including social services, access to state humanitarian assistance and referral to legal assistance, and replies to individual inquiries by email and telephone, responding to some 250 emails and 100 calls a day.

Multipurpose Cash Assistance

• Since the beginning of cash enrolment in Ukraine on 17 March, 406,045 people have been enrolled by UNHCR to receive cash assistance and 166,630 of them have received their first payments.

• UNHCR has scaled up the cash assistance programme in eastern and central Ukraine with higher numbers of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and new arrivals. Some 70 enrolment sites are operational across 12 oblasts, including Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts in the east.

• An interactive Cash Working Group dashboard showing overall progress can be accessed here. A cumulative of1.59 million people have been assisted through all 24 Cash Working Group partners.

Core Relief Items

• To date, 482,326 people have benefitted from core relief items and food assistance across eastern, central and western Ukraine. This includes some 99,716 people who received food assistance and 24,258 who received shelter kits; the remaining 358,352 people received core relief items, such as hygiene kits and clothes.

• UNHCR, as part of inter-agency humanitarian convoys, has reached some 73,401 people in the hardest hit areas with life-saving assistance since the beginning of the war. Access to the hardest hit areas remains extremely challenging with continuing security risks, both for affected civilians as well as humanitarian actors.

• Last week, UNHCR delivered relief items such as beds and blankets to 461 people in Lviv, Volyn and Khmelnytskyi oblasts. UNHCR partner NEEKA also delivered items including towels, kitchen sets and blankets to 18 collective centres in Chernivtsi.

• So far, UNHCR has supported 182 reception centres and collective centres run by the Government to increase their capacity to host IDPs. A total of 60,096 additional sleeping spaces at these centres have so far been created.

REGIONAL RESPONSE

Hungary

• Over 10,100 people provided with protection support by UNHCR and partners, including legal information provision, counselling and psychosocial support (since 21 March)

• 1 Blue Dot operational in Záhony

• 1,400 people trained on core humanitarian principles, GBV, safe disclosure and referrals, protection from sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA)

• Over 60,000 visits to the UNHCR Hungary Help page

Protection

• UNHCR and partners Cordelia, Hungarian Helsinki Committee (HHC), Menedék and Next Step have provided information, counselling, psychosocial support and protection referrals to 10,100 refugees at border crossing points, help/info points and temporary shelters across the country.

• This includes over 888 persons provided with legal counselling and information on temporary protection by UNHCR at Záhony train station from 28 April to 30 May. The main information requested is regarding available services (accommodation, meals, transport, health care), advice on temporary protection and other legal statuses, legal support for specific cases and onward travel to other EU countries.

• On 27 May, UNHCR visited Biherkereszt and Najlok Border Crossing Points with Romania, where it was agreed with the authorities that UNHCR information materials will be distributed to all persons fleeing Ukraine (a similar practice has been established along the border with Ukraine). This aims to address the lack of information points along the border with Romania and ensures that all refugees arriving in Hungary will have access to up-to-date information on temporary protection, shelter and other services.

• Since 25 February, some 1,400 persons have been reached through capacity development trainings and initiatives by UNHCR and partners focusing on protection, including volunteers, partner staff, humanitarian workers, caregivers and authorities. Dedicated protection training focused on temporary protection, child protection, GBV and PSEA.

• On 28 May UNHCR organized two events with partner Clowns without Borders for refugee children in Budapest, including at a traditional Ukrainian Folk Festival organized by the Foundation of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Chuch and the Real School, a Saturday school for refugee children. The events provided a social opportunity for Ukrainian refugee children— many of whom are exhibiting symptoms associated with trauma and distress as a result of their displacement and exposure to the war.

• The UNHCR Hungary Help page has received over 60,000 visits since the onset of the crisis. UNHCR continues to develop information materials to share at key locations and through existing partners and actors. The Help page is updated with the latest services and information on temporary protection, with links to the site shared via posters, leaflets and Facebook groups active throughout Hungary. A page with dedicated information on GBV has been published, while a second page dedicated to child protection will be published shortly.

• UNHCR is preparing to launch a WhatsApp chatbot for refugees in Ukrainian, Russian, Hungarian and English. The service will aim to answer the most common questions and signpost to available services.

• UNHCR has disseminated GBV referral pathways to all partners for their use and further dissemination, to improve awareness and access to relevant services for GBV survivors. Similar referral pathways for child protection will be finalized and circulated shortly.

• The dissemination of information on anti-trafficking awareness is ongoing by UNHCR and partners, with material from the ‘Stay Safe’ campaign currently being developed, translated and distributed.

• UNHCR Hungary continues to expand partnerships to enhance access to protection and support services for refugees. UNHCR now has a total of eight partners working on a range of protection issues including legal aid, housing and shelter support, social counselling, child protection, psychological first aid, employment and skills development, GBV, mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) and integration more broadly. Four additional partnerships are currently being finalized.

• UNHCR continues to monitor reception conditions across reception centres where refugees are arriving. To date, more than 67 monitoring visits and assessments have been carried out in order to inform planning for the provision of support.

Core Relief Items

• UNHCR currently has one warehouse in Budapest through the generous in-kind contribution by Kuehne + Nagel (K+N). The warehouse will hold stockpiles for delivery to neighbouring countries covered by UNHCR’s Representative for Central Europe in Hungary, as well inside Ukraine.

Moldova

• 56,625 people have received multipurpose cash assistance as of 30 May from a target of 150,000 people

• 1,616 refugees departed to Austria, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Spain and Switzerland as part of the EU Solidarity Platform

• 7 Blue Dots operational, 9,377 people have been supported at the Blue Dots between 14 March and 25 May, 4,675 of whom were children

• 27,500 refugees received information or counseling through UNHCR partners

• 113,401 people received protection support via UNHCr-managed Green Line helpline

• Over 160,00 visits to the Moldova helpline

Protection

• There are currently seven Blue Dots operational in Moldova. 9,377 people (more than 50 per cent children) received support provided by UNHCR, UNICEF and partners at Blue Dot centres. Operational Blue Dots include: one in Otaci in the north, one in Palanca in the south, one in Tirasapol, two at the MoldExpo Refugees Accommodation Centre in Chisinau, and two at the border with Romania, at Leuseni and Sculeni. Plans are underway for additional locations.

• To date, some 514 people have been trained on protection issues. This includes over 200 frontline partners, government and NGO staff who have been trained on GBV safe disclosure and referral, in order to support the operationalization of referral pathways, as well as some 150 people who have been trained on the identification and referral of children at risk.

• UNHCR has started the socio-economic profiling of the refugees staying in the country to serve as a basis for livelihoods programming. In parallel, UNHCR is working closely with the Government on the legal status of refugees beyond the emergency phase, which will impact the employment prospects of refugees as well.

• An Anti-Trafficking Taskforce, co-chaired by UNHCR and IOM, is being established under the Protection Working Group to coordinate anti-trafficking activities.

• UNHCR manages the Green Line – a free helpline (0800 800 11) to strengthen the two-way communication channel to address refugees’ and host community’s questions, needs and concerns. Since mid-April, some 13,401 calls were received

• UNHCR partners Law Centre for Advocates (LCA), ACTED and INTERSOS are stationed at border crossing points and refugee accommodation centres to provide transportation, protection monitoring, vulnerability screening and counselling. The strengthening of the referral mechanism is currently underway. LCA and INTERSOS are also rolling out protection monitoring activities that will inform a forthcoming protection monitoring dashboard to help guide the overall protection response in Moldova.

• UNHCR partners LCA and INTERSOS continue to roll out protection monitoring activities, with 243 surveys submitted so far. Related information materials including a protection monitoring dashboard and fact sheet will be developed this month for Moldova.

• Many people arriving are suffering from trauma and require mental health and psychosocial support. UNHCR partner Charity Refugee Centre has provided 2,512 people with emotional counselling and support.

• So far in the context of the Solidarity Platform, 12 Member States - including Austria, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain - as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland have made pledges to transfer 19,870 refugees from Moldova. So far, a total of 1,616 persons were transferred from Moldova, including to Austria, France, Germany, Latvia, Norway, Spain and Switzerland by air and to Lithuania by bus. UNHCR provided support to the vulnerability screening process and collaborated with IOM on assistance for departure procedures, including through counselling refugees.

Multipurpose Cash Assistance

• 56,625 refugees have been enrolled and issued bank cards for multipurpose cash assistance in Moldova since 25 March. Of these, 28,230 have already received a second payment and 946 have received a third payment. Eight enrolment centres are operational, with mobile teams covering other locations or reaching those with specific needs.

Poland

• 143,544 refugees enrolled for multipurpose cash assistance as of 31 May from a target of 360,000 people

• 12 Blue Dots operating with 13,000 people supported as of 31 May

• 1.8 million visits and over 4.2 million views of the UNHCR Poland Help Page

• More than 617 people trained on protection issues, including anti-trafficking, PSEA, protection principles

Protection

• There are now a total of 12 Blue Dots operating in Poland, including three in Warsaw and two in Krakow.

• Some 13,000 people have been counselled through the Blue Dots as of 31 May and protection teams provided over 2,250 referrals. The largest number of queries and referrals were related to transport, medical services, protection and social services, child protection services and MHPSS.

• UNHCR has been present at border crossing points, reception centres and transit points since the onset of the crisis. Field teams continue to carry out field monitoring visits to identify issues and provide support as needed.

• UNHCR continued to ensure daily presence at the Medyka pedestrian crossing point and regular monitoring at the Budomierz, Korczowa, Kroscienko and Przemysl train station border points.

• In the week to 27 May, UNHCR teams in Rzeszow, Krakow and Warsaw made 12 visits to official and unofficial reception and accommodation centres. The shelter team also visited Podkarpackie and Malopolskie areas and met with officials to discuss renovation and refurbishment works identified during technical assessments to increase the quality of reception and accommodation conditions.

• More than 617 people have so far been trained across the country on protection issues, including counter- trafficking, PSEA, code of conduct, and protection. principles. Those trained so far include volunteers, NGO staff, local authorities and army officers. Training plans for government officials at sub-offices are currently being rolled out to address GBV, MHPSS, child protection and PSEA.

• Trainings have taken place in Krakow, Medyka, Przemysl, Rzeszow and Warsaw as well as for volunteers at the TESCO reception facilities. Furthermore, an anti-trafficking session was also led by the Regional Police Trafficking Prevention and Crime response units in Rzeszow for 35 civil servants and 5 NGO staff.

• On 26 May, UNHCR held a Child Protection Workshop in Krakow attended by 22 people, including Blue Dot and NGO staff, psychologists, social workers, representatives of the Voivodship Office and legal aid lawyers. Participants were trained on Best Interest Assessments, implementing Best Interest Procedures and supporting the national child protection system.

• The UNHCR Poland Help page continues to be the most visited UNHCR country Help site globally. It has surpassed 1.8 million visits and has received over

• 4.2 million views. The Help site has been updated with additional health and MHPSS-related content and contacts and key GBV referral numbers and services. A child-friendly page is also available.

• To strengthen accountability to affected populations (AAP), UNHCR is rolling out a new feedback and response mechanism using a KoBoToolbox form that can be accessed through a QR code. Staff will help to collect feedback using the form for those without a smartphone. Posters with information on the form in multiple languages have been placed in cash enrolment centres and Blue Dots in Warsaw and will soon be in Krakow and Rzeszow.

• UNHCR Poland continues to expand its presence to reach those most in need, and to develop new partnerships to expand access to information and to services. Since the onset of the crisis, six new partnerships have been developed with NGOs in Poland. Three new UNHCR offices have also been established in Krakow, Lublin and Rzeszów, as well as two new warehouses in Grabica and Rzeszów.

Multipurpose Cash Assistance

• As of 31 May, 143,544 persons (69,164 families) have been enrolled for cash assistance in Poland (this represents some 40 per cent of the overall target of 360,000 people) through eight cash enrolment centres.

• Coordination with the Blue Dot teams continues to ensure protection presence at cash enrolment sites and integrated referral processes for identified persons with specific needs.

Romania

• Over 5,200 refugees enrolled for cash assistance as of 30 May from a target of 80,000 people

• Over 18,100 refugees provided with information and counselling in person or over the phone

• 7 Blue Dots operating in Romania, including three Light Blue Dots

• Around 11,000 people supported to travel to Romania from Moldova through fast-track transfers

• Over 170 officials and NGO personnel trained on refugee protection, GBV, Accountability to Affected Populations, Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse and child protection in May 2022

• GBV Referral pathways finalized with 33 NGOs, 7 governmental institutions and UN Agencies.

• Over 45,700 visits to the UNHCR Romania Help page

Protection

• IOM, in coordination with UNHCR, national authorities and the ProTect platform, have established an Anti- Trafficking Task Force in order to strengthen efforts to protect vulnerable refugees from the threat of trafficking and exploitation.

• UNHCR continues to provide protection information and counselling in person as well as through hotlines. As of 30 May, over 18,100 people have received protection support, advice, referrals and information in person or remotely through helplines. This includes over 8,600 people who were supported in person and more than 9,500 people who received support through helplines.

• Over 150 humanitarian workers, government officials and volunteers have been trained on refugee protection, GBV, Accountability to Affected Populations and Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in Romania in May 2022. In addition, from 24-25 May, UNHCR delivered a capacity-building session on child protection at the command centre of Sighet border crossing point, attended by 22 Border Police and Frontex officers. Topics included child appropriate communication, child specific risks and trafficking.

• The UNHCR Romania Help page has been visited over 45,700 times. Furthermore, UNHCR Romania has helped create and is consistently updating the national information platform available at www.dopomoha.ro. The platform is run in collaboration with the Romanian authorities, IOM and national NGOs and provides a space for reliable information on legal status, rights and access to services. UNHCR and partner CNRR are also distributing information leaflets at border crossing points.

• UNHCR and partners continue to be present and working at the eight border crossing points to provide information and counselling to new arrivals. Information requested largely focuses on legal status, notably temporary protection, cash assistance, transportation to other EU countries, long-term accommodation and food, employment, education and access to medical services.

• There are currently seven Blue Dots operating in Romania. This includes four Blue Dots at Brasov, Husi, Sighet and Siret, and three Light Blue Dots at Albita, Bucharest and Isaccea. An additional Blue Dot is being set up for Bucharest. Light Blue Dots and mobile Blue Dots are under discussion for Sculeni, Galleti and Constanta.

• UNHCR met with the social assistance and child protection authority (DGASPC) in Maramures (23 May) and Sucaeva (26 May) counties to discuss child protection response and capacity-building needs. DGASPC staff have been implementing child protection case management.

• GBV Referral pathways, including some 33 NGOs and seven governmental institutions, have been finalized and shared with all protection actors to enhance access to information and protection services including psychosocial support for those in need of GBV services and support. Additional services and actors working specifically on child protection are being identified by the Child Protection Sub-Working group for inclusion in child protection-specific referral pathways.

• UNHCR and IOM continue to jointly facilitate fast- track transfers from Palanca border crossing point with Ukraine in Moldova, to Huși, Romania. As of 29 May, around 11,000 people had been transported to Romania through this mechanism.

Multipurpose Cash Assistance

• Over 5,200 persons have been enrolled to receive multipurpose cash assistance, of whom over 90 per cent are women and children. More than 4,400 refugees have already received their first payment. The programme continues to be scaled up intending to reach a total of 80,000 people overall. In addition to existing locations in Bucharest and Brasov, UNHCR will open additional enrolment sites in Galati, Iasi and Suceava.

• UNHCR and partners continue to assess reception centres in order to prepare additional support to enhance reception capacities. To date, 51 locations have been assessed by UNHCR partner REACH during the Site Monitoring Exercise, which includes a needs assessment of sites and individuals accommodated there.

Slovakia

• 3,156 refugees enrolled for cash assistance as of 23 May from an enrolment target of 57,500 people, of which UNHCR will support 34,500 people

• 1 Blue Dot operating in Slovakia

• Over 330 people trained, including frontline humanitarian workers, cash enumerators, and police trained on protection, including GBV, safe disclosures, PSEA and AAP

• Over 54,000 visits to the UNHCR Slovakia Help page

Protection

• To date, UNHCR has trained more than 330 frontline humanitarian workers, partner staff, cash enumerators, staff members, police officers and government officials on protection-related topics. Training has focused on several areas including refugee protection, GBV and safe referrals, PSEA, child protection and AAP.

• UNHCR continues rolling out a Training of Trainers (ToTs) series for partner managers and key staff to improve the protection response at border crossing points and other locations. Some 35 people have benefitted from these ToTs so far, while efforts are ongoing to scale up trainings across the country.

• As of 27 May, 9,411 Ukrainians have entered the workforce after being registered with the authorities through their employers. Separately, 9,732 pupils from from Ukraine are educated in Slovak schools, of which 1,581 are in kindergartens, 7,287 in primary schools and 864 pupils in secondary schools.

• UNHCR continues protection monitoring at border crossing points and at registration centres, including Ubľa, Vyšné Nemecké and Velke Slemence border crossing points, at Košice railway station and at registration centres in Humenne and Michalovce. Key locations are visited three times per week to monitor access and reception conditions. To date, some

• monitoring visits and assessments have been conducted. UNHCR partners are present at all these key locations to provide assistance and information as well as for the identification of vulnerabilities and referral to relevant services.

• There is currently one Blue Dot operating at the registration centre at Bottova in Bratislava, with others planned including in Košice. Nitra and Zilini. UNHCR partners Slovak Humanitarian Council and Human Rights League are operating at the Blue Dot.

• As part of service-mapping and expansion of referral pathways, UNHCR collated national helplines relating to GBV/Child protection and related services. Ten national helplines were identified and included as part of referral pathways which are currently being expanded to included service providers across the country. Service providers identified to date include those providing services related to MHPSS, safety, legal counselling, and anti-trafficking.

• Lack of access to reliable information is a continuing challenge. The UNHCR Slovakia Help page has so far received over 54,000 visits. In an effort to strengthen access to GBV information and ensure further dissemination, UNHCR translated the anti-trafficking ‘Stay Safe’ messaging for the Help page. Additionally, through collaboration with the Ukraine Emergency Telecommunications Cluster, information for people arriving to Slovakia—including on temporary protection, asylum, and services offered by the authorities, UNHCR and other partners—was added to the vBezpetsi Telegram Bot used in Ukraine to disseminate information.

• UNHCR has partnered with three organizations in Slovakia, with an additional four partnerships under development, to scale up protection and other activities across the country.

FAITH AND INTERNATIONAL

COMMUNITY RESPONSE

Messaggio del Santo Padre ai partecipanti al Consiglio Plenario della Commissione Internazionale Cattolica per le Migrazioni, 30.05.2022

Message of the Holy Father to the participants in the Plenary Council Meeting of the International Catholic Migration Commission – 30 May 2022

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https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2022/05/30/0412/00849.html

Messaggio del Santo Padre

Dear brothers and sisters,

I am pleased to greet all of you taking part in the Plenary Council of the International Catholic Migration Commission.

In these days, you are called to carry out three very important tasks: to choose the Commission’s new governing committee, to approve its new statutes, and to determine its operational guidelines for the coming years. I readily take this opportunity to emphasize some points that I believe can help you in your discernment.

The Commission was founded in 1951 by Venerable Pope Pius XII in order to form a network among Bishops’ Conferences worldwide to assist them in their pastoral care of migrants and refugees. Its nature and ecclesial mission distinguish it from other organizations operating in civil society and in the Church. The Commission is a collegial expression of the pastoral activity in the area of migration on the part of the Bishops, who, in communion with the Pope, share in his concern for the universal Church “in a bond of peace, love and unity” (Lumen Gentium, 22). For this reason, in the Apostolic Constitution Praedicate Evangelium it is mentioned and included among the competences of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development (cf. Art. 174 § 2), so that its nature and mission can be safeguarded in accordance with its founding principles. In your Plenary Council, you officially represent the Bishops’ Conferences affiliated to the Commission. Their willingness to work together in order to welcome, protect, promote and integrate migrants and refugees is confirmed by your presence.

The ecclesial mission of the Commission is carried out on two tracks: ad intra and ad extra. It is primarily called to offer expert assistance to Bishops’ Conferences and Dioceses that find themselves needing to respond to today’s many complex challenges with regard to migration. It strives, then, to promote the development and implementation of projects of pastoral care for migrants and the specialized training of pastoral workers in the field of migration, at the service of the particular Churches and in accordance with its proper competences.

Ad extra, the Commission is called to respond to global challenges and migratory emergencies with focused programs, always in communion with the local Churches. As an organization of civil society on the international level, it is also engaged in advocacy. The Commission expresses the Church’s commitment and works for a broader international awareness on issues involving migration. In this way, it fosters respect for human rights and promotes human dignity in line with the Church’s social doctrine.

I offer you my heartfelt thanks for the Commission’s work over the past seventy years. Many of these activities have had a truly decisive impact. I thank you in particular for your committed efforts to help the Churches respond to the challenges associated with the vast displacement of persons caused by the conflict in Ukraine, which has seen the largest movement of refugees in Europe since the Second World War.

At the same time, we cannot forget the millions of asylum seekers, refugees and displaced persons in other parts of the world, who desperately need to be welcomed, protected and loved. As a Church, we wish to serve everyone and to work diligently to build a future of peace. You have the opportunity to give a face to the Church’s charitable activity on their behalf!

I offer all of you my prayerful good wishes for the fruitfulness of your work, and I assure you of my remembrance in prayer. And I ask you, please, to remember me in your own prayers.

From the Vatican, 20 May 2022

FRANCIS

[00849-EN.01] [Original text: Italian]

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CR4U NETWORK INFORMATION SHARING

1 June 2022

ICMC Appoints New President and Governing Committee

The Council of the International Catholic Migration Commission has elected Ms. Christine Nathan as the Commission's President. The Council also appointed a 14-member Governing Committee and ratified its Secretary General, Msgr. Robert J. Vitillo, for a second mandate.

The ICMC Council’s 67 voting members, who represent national Episcopal Conferences in as many countries, elected Ms. Christine Nathan as the Commission's new President. Ms. Nathan is an Indian trade unionist whose experience spans more than 40 years (see full bio below).

By region, the members of the newly-appointed Governing Committee are:

Africa

H.E. Bishop Lucio Muandula (Mozambique)

Rev. Fr. Paul Igweta (Kenya)

Asia

Rev. Fr. Jaison Joseph Vadassery (India)

Rev. Fr. Roger Manalo (Philippines)

Caribbean

Rev. Fr. Agler Cherizier (Haiti)

Europe

H.E. Archbishop Stefan Hesse (Germany)

Ms. Marie-Christine Ries (Luxembourg)

Latin America

H.E. Bishop Misael Vacca Ramirez (Colombia)

Msgr. J. Guadalupe Torres Campos (Mexico)

Middle East

Rev. Fr. Habib Kalakech (Lebanon)

North Africa

H.E. Bishop Giorgio Bertin (Somalia-Djibouti)

North America

H.E. Bishop Gerard Bergie (Canada)

Mr. William Canny (USA)

Oceania

Mr. Jason Siwat (Papua New Guinea & Solomon Islands)

The ICMC Council also ratified the ICMC Governing Committee’s May 2020 decision to appoint ICMC Secretary General Msgr. Robert J. Vitillo for a second mandate (2020 – 2024). A national of the U.S., Msgr. Vitillo is a trained social worker with a broad expertise in migration and refugee services, child protection, social services, human rights, HIV/AIDS and global health. He joined ICMC for his first mandate as Secretary General in 2016.

The ICMC Council met from 30 May to 1 June 2022. Most of its members joined the meetings online, while a few met in person in Rome.

The Council is ICMC's highest governing body. It is composed of representatives of its national members, including national Catholic Bishops Conferences and Catholic-inspired institutions engaged in migration and refugee issues. It meets every four years.

Ms. Nathan has been an active trade unionist for more than 40 years. Her early work focused on union organization in India's construction and forestry sectors, and predominantly on the migrant and unskilled workers that make up the majority of the workforce in these sectors. From 2006 to 2014, she worked as a regional specialist for workers’ education at the International Labour Organization (ILO). During this time, she was responsible for directing ILO activities across 21 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, and her work focused extensively on issues of international migration governance and cooperation.

“Migrant workers are amongst the most disadvantaged groups in our societies, and while COVID-19 highlighted these disadvantages, it also showed us yet again how important migrant workers are to our societies,” said Ms. Nathan in the video shared with ICMC’s Council. “I believe the Catholic Church via ICMC can be a catalyst for change at the international level, bringing together civil society and international agencies and organizations with ICMC members to enact positive, practical change.”

Ms. Nathan holds a Bachelor of Arts with a focus on sociology and psychology from Mumbai University, and studied Law at the Government law College in Mumbai.

ABOUT ICMC

The International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC) protects and serves uprooted people including refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced people, victims of human trafficking and migrants, regardless of faith, race, ethnicity or nationality. Founded in 1951, it has staff and programs in over 30 countries.

CONTACT

Corinne Brodeur

Senior Communications Officer

Email

+41 79 285 10 59