How should communities bear and share the burdens of hosting an estimated 5.9 million uprooted Ukrainians seeking shelter in their towns or villages? (A further 8 million have fled abroad as refugees.) How to avoid conflicts between the Ukrainian-speaking majority and those whose native language is that of the Russian invaders? And critically, as Ukraine recovers territories from Russian forces, how can it avoid recriminations, including violence, between those people who stayed in their homes under the flag of Russian occupation and others who may accuse them of collaboration with the enemy? Civil Society’s Agile ResponsesĪs international partners support Ukraine’s efforts to solve these obstacles to domestic peace and democracy, its civil society - from non-governmental organizations to non-profits and voluntary associations - have demonstrated their solid grasp of the citizenry’s problems and their ability to respond quickly and effectively. They must build broader human rights protections and systems for transparency and accountability in government.Įven more challenging, after nine years of Russian invasion and 16 months of all-out assault, is that Ukraine must resolve agonizing divisions bred by the war’s traumas. They must dismantle systems of political and economic corruption entrenched from the Soviet era that ended 30 years ago. ![]() Ukrainians readily acknowledge that the tasks facing their campaign to build a European-aligned democracy are heavy. Many of this sector’s disparate civic organizations and community groups helped fuel the grassroots protest movements in 20 that turned Ukraine decisively toward its aspirations for democratic governance and an association with Europe. ![]() From its independence at the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine has built a civil society stronger and more independent than in most ex-Soviet states. Largely missing from headlines, however, is an unsung hero: Ukraine’s civil society. Much of the world has rallied around the spirited leadership of Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. On almost a daily basis since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine we have heard about the brave exploits of the Ukrainian military. Ukrainian civic organizations have taken disparate roles to meet people’s needs amid the war - and they will remain central in building peace. Volunteers help residents at a mobile clinic in Ukraine’s Donetsk region. ![]() ![]() So as international partners support Ukraine’s rebuilding from war, we must urgently engage its vibrant civil society - not as a mere adjunct to government efforts, but as a primary designer and engine of the political and cultural changes that peace will require. A pillar of any democracy is civil society - the constellation of citizens’ groups that, more than government, can understand and heal domestic conflicts. While NATO’s recent summit consolidated the transatlantic consensus that a peaceful Europe requires a democratic and inclusive Ukraine, Ukrainians’ heroic struggle for that democracy must overcome old corruptions, plus new traumas inflicted by Vladimir Putin’s war.
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