Environmental Organisations call upon UN and Member States to Act on Ukraine

The Russian invasion in Ukraine coincided with the start of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA) in Nairobi where Member States gather to discuss the world’s most pressing environmental challenges. In response to serious threats to public health and impact on Ukraine’s environment linked to the war, 108 civil society groups, amongst which WECF, send out a strong statement to States and the UN to express solidarity and call for action.

This statement calls for Member States and the UN Environment Program (UNEP) to start immediately with the identification and monitoring of environmental damage and to set up mechanisms to fund clean-up and restoration efforts. The organisations also underscored the need for advancing the environment, peace and security agenda, and in turn supporting stronger norms on the protection of the environment in relation to armed conflicts across the whole UN system, and beyond.

Joint Statement by Global Civil Society Organizations to UNEA 5.2 on Ukraine