Press Release – The Signing of a Unilateral Declaration on Enhancing Unimpeded Delivery of Humanitarian Assistance – Georgian National Legion
30 June 2022
Find here the press release in Ukrainian, Georgian, and Russian.
Kyiv, 30 June 2022. The Georgian National Legion signed today a Unilateral Declaration pledging to enhance unimpeded delivery of humanitarian assistance to the civilian population affected by the armed conflict in Ukraine.
Commander Mamuka Mamulashvili presented to the representatives of Geneva Call in Ukraine existing and forthcoming mechanisms of the Georgian National Legion guaranteeing humanitarian access for relief organisations and the delivery of unimpeded and principled humanitarian assistance to civilians affected by the armed conflict. The Georgian National Legion pledged to comply with rules, stemming from International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Law, the implementation of which will be supported and monitored closely by Geneva Call in Ukraine. Mamulashvili said “Humanitarian organisation and fighting parties must dialogue to better organise humanitarian response. We are now committing to have this dialogue and take precautionary measures to protect humanitarian workers while they assist civilians.”
The signature of this unilateral declaration is one more step to strengthen the respect of international humanitarian norms, enhance the protection of civilians and support the humanitarian organisations operating in Ukraine. “All weapon bearers involved in the conflict in Ukraine are encouraged to adopt and enforce equivalent measures to enhance the protection of civilians and facilitate the delivery of assistance” said Marie Lequin, the Head of Eurasia Region.
The Georgian National Legion is composed of Georgian, Ukrainian, and foreign volunteers who operate throughout the Ukrainian territory.
Since the escalation of the hostilities in February 2022, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) reports over 10 000 civilian casualties and estimates that 15.7 million people are in need of immediate humanitarian assistance, among which 3 million are children. Humanitarian access has deteriorated considerably, taking a huge toll on civilians, especially in the Eastern territories where the fighting is heavier, and people have life-threatening needs. In addition, the rising level of insecurity led to the relocation of many humanitarian organisations, and the presence of landmines and explosive remnants of war in violence-affected areas prevents thousands of people from receiving humanitarian assistance. Hence, granting safe and unimpeded humanitarian access to relief organisations is of utmost importance.
Geneva Call is a neutral, impartial, and independent humanitarian organisation; one of the world’s leading organisations in the field of sustainable humanitarian engagement with a variety of armed actors in times of armed conflict or other situations of violence, aiming for lasting behavioural change to improve the overall protection of civilians. In Ukraine, since 2017, Geneva Call leads humanitarian engagement with all armed actors regardless of their political, religious, or economic motivations and seeks to engage all parties to the armed conflict.
Find here the signed Unilateral Declaration in Ukrainian and English.
Contact details: communication@genevacall.org