International conference in support of the Ukrainian people - Statement by the French and Ukrainian co-chairs (13 december 2022)
The International conference in support of the Ukrainian people, co-organized by France and Ukraine, took place today, with the participation of 47 States and 24 major international organizations. Gathered in Paris, high-level representatives from all over the world sent a clear sign of their collective commitment to support Ukraine, which faces immense challenges due to Russia’s illegal war of aggression. They reiterated their strong condemnation of Russia’s deliberate bombing campaign against civilian infrastructures and expressed their unwavering commitment to fostering Ukraine’s civilian resilience.
Taking into account Ukraine’s most pressing needs as it faces winter, the Paris conference offered an opportunity for participating States and organizations to announce a new total contribution of up to €1 billion focused on emergency assistance, including providing concrete support in the fields of energy, food supplies, water, healthcare, and transportation infrastructure. Participants also recognized the necessity to increase and better coordinate emergency support to Ukraine and decided to establish a nimble and responsive mechanism to this end, with the aim of ensuring real-time adjustment of international assistance to Ukraine’s needs.
Participants heard this urgent call for action and pledged concrete assistance in response. Taking into account the five aforementioned priorities, participants offered valuable types of contributions: financial support in the form of subsidies and grants, in-kind donations to alleviate the humanitarian consequences of the destruction, and technical assistance to help repair the damaged infrastructure as well as indispensable replacement parts for it. Acutely aware of the urgency of the situation, they committed to deliver quickly on those pledges. Participants also acknowledged that this support needs to be maintained over time.
Additionally, Ukrainian authorities underlined the need for coordination of humanitarian and recovery aid among international partners, in order to ensure increased efficiency.
In response, the participants decided to build upon an existing international coordination mechanism for humanitarian and recovery aid in the aforementioned priority sectors. This mechanism will gather representatives from a coalition of willing countries and organizations agreeing to jointly organise their capacities so as to answer Ukraine’s needs and avoid duplications or lack of responses to specific needs.
The representatives held their first meeting on December 12, 2022. The participants agreed to share information consistently with one another through the mechanism. This operational approach will allow for the provision of concrete, swift and targeted support to match Ukraine’s priorities. The objective of the mechanism is clear: help Ukraine resist through winter and avert an aggravated humanitarian crisis. This coordination in the field of humanitarian and recovery aid will not only increase the efficiency of our support, but also pave the way for a coordinated and ambitious approach to the reconstruction of Ukraine.
Today, the participants showed their determination to support Ukraine through this winter and beyond. Today, tomorrow, and for as long as it takes, we stand with the Ukrainian people.