Ukraine

Our Approach

We have been active in the Ukraine since the beginning of 2017. Our Civil Peace Service (CPS) project aims at reducing and preventing inner-Ukrainian violence in political conflicts.

The local focus of the project are the areas under Ukrainian control in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. They are of particular importance for the peace process. Since April 2014, this area in eastern Ukraine has been the scene of armed conflicts between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian separatists.

Against this background, within the framework of the Civil Peace Service we support our local partners to achieve the following main objectives:

  • Human rights violations should be documented, regardless of which side they occurred on.
  • In addition, places of learning are to be created where information about the crimes is provided free of ideological bias and social debate can take place.
  • Furthermore, disadvantaged and discriminated people are to be given a voice. With the "Theatre for Change", for example, the participants learn to change seemingly hopeless situations themselves.
  • Trainers and consultants from social movements in several Ukrainian regions will be trained. They receive long-term support to enable their own groups, other actors and networks to engage in constructive conflict transformation.

More from the Projects

Making Life Go On - How the war in Donbas affects civilians

CPS publication published in the Ukraine

"Making Life go on. How the War in Donbas affects civilians". English language publication "Making Life go on. How the War in Donbas affects civilians". With six case studies on the situation of civilians in the war-affected area in Eastern Ukraine. Published by our partner organisation "Coalition Justice for Peace in Donbas".

Our Partners in the Region:

The Coalition Justice for Peace in Donbas (JfP) is an association of 17 Ukrainian non-governmental organisations which is committed to documenting human rights violations on all sides. It thus contributes to the process of coming to terms with them. The aim is to deal with the documented crimes in a conflict-sensitive manner. Within the framework of the CPS, for example, places of learning and remembrance are to be created where information about the crimes is provided free of ideological bias and where the crimes can be thought about in an appropriate manner. Training and public relations work on nonviolent conflict management round off the offer. This is intended to counteract the tendency to carry out conflicts by violence. The Coalition project team is based at the Eastern Ukrainian Center for Civic Initiatives in Kiev (EUCCI).

The Platform for Successful Nonviolent Activism is committed to establishing new models of constructive conflict transformation with government agencies. It serves to develop alternative models for the nonviolent transformation of conflicts, especially between citizens and the state. Furthermore, the project serves to deal with the consequences of violent conflicts and contrasts them with the possibility of nonviolent conflict transformation. Alternatives to violence become visible, so that a culture of nonviolent conflict transformation of political conflicts can be established in the long term.

Belong to "The Platform for Successful Nonviolent Activism":

The Foundation for Community Development is a non-governmental organisation from Kramatorsk, which dedicates its efforts to supporting vulnerable and marginalised groups in dealing with conflict and conflict-related challenges in the government-controlled areas of Donbas*s. The organisation acts in the areas of humanitarian aid, needs assessment, legal and psycho-social consultation, and the need-based design, distribution, development, and implementation of nonviolent methods of conflict management. The Foundation for Community Development approaches its tasks aiming at the utmost possible inclusion of target groups, their needs, expertise and perspectives at every stage of the process in order to develop tailored programs, easy to access and implement for target groups. Primary target groups comprise of Internally Displaced People, elderly people, youth, local and international NGOs and bodies of the local authorities. KURVE Wustrow allies with the consultation and mediation units of the Foundation for Community Development along with a German and Ukrainian peace worker, in order to establish and consolidate the popularisation of need-based and nonviolent approaches to conflict management in Donbas*s.

EAST SOS was one of the first initiatives to address the consequences of the war. In the first weeks of the war in 2014, members of three initiatives (Luhansk Human Rights Centre "Postup", Human Rights Centre "Diya" (Crimea), Civil Sector of Luhansk EuroMaidan) joined forces to help those in need as a result of the war. Having themselves just fled Luhansk and Crimea, they provided IDPs with shelter and humanitarian aid, set up an emergency hotline and helped evacuate people from the conflict area. They participated in the search, release and rehabilitation of abductees, documented human rights violations and reported on the situation in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions. EAST SOS also pioneered humanitarian and psychosocial assistance for people in the frontline area. In spring 2015, EAST SOS was registered as a non-profit organisation.

To this day, the organisation works to protect and raise awareness of human rights, including through monitoring, legal aid, information and advocacy work. With education and training programmes, the team contributes to nonviolent conflict transformation and participation in the conflict area. EAST SOS is committed to providing humanitarian and psychosocial support to people affected by war, with a special focus on marginalised groups. 

Coming from the initial crisis relief, EAST SOS became a key player in Ukrainian civil society with profound knowledge in crisis intervention, international project experience and outstanding regional expertise for the conflict area.

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Project Details at a Glance

Title:

"Strengthening civil society for nonviolent conflict transformation with state actors"

International Peace Worker:

Steffen Halling (Coalition Justice for Peace )

Felix Schimansky-Geier (Regional Coordinator Ukraine)

Contact Person

Joss Becker

jbecker [at] kurvewustrow [dot] org (jbecker(at)kurvewustrow.org)

The Video about our Partners in Ukraine

In the course of the Ukraine conflict, there have been numerous human rights violations on both sides. It is very important that this information is documented and recognised. The film describes the elaborate work of our partners from the Coalition Justice for Peace in Donbas (JfP) in Ukraine.
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