Joint Operating Principles (JOPs): Ensuring the Delivery of Principled Humanitarian Assistance and Protection in Ukraine [EN/UK]

Purpose and Scope

The humanitarian community engaged in the humanitarian response in Ukraine recognises that the below principles and recommended actions must be applied for the mutual benefit of humanitarian actors and the local communities they serve. Compliance with these principles and applicable international laws is essential for humanitarian access to all affected populations, the effective and efficient delivery of humanitarian assistance and the safety of civilians and humanitarian staff. As such, humanitarian actors commit to holding each other, as well as their sub-contractors, suppliers and those they contract for programming-related services, accountable to these Joint Operating Principles (JOPs).

Critical Operational Dillemas

The Ukrainian context raises challenges in carrying out principled humanitarian action and requires a clear direction on what positions should be taken across the response to fulfil the imperative to ensure meaningful access, humanitarian assistance and protection to all affected populations.

The main challenges are as follows:

  1. Delivering and advocating for principled neutral, impartial and operationally independent humanitarian action to reach the most vulnerable populations, irrespective of which party to the war controls the territory in which they reside, can trigger a negative public perception of humanitarian action by parties to the war and the public.
  2. Providing last-mile delivery of emergency humanitarian supplies in areas directly affected by hostilities and where an appropriate continuum of safe programming cannot be ensured risks compromising the security of civilians and humanitarian personnel.
  3. Relying on public or private third parties such as local authorities, volunteer groups and private contractors who are not necessarily neutral in nature but have better access to provide civilian relief and support last-mile delivery of humanitarian supplies, can jeopardize the safeguarding and distinction of humanitarian supplies, facilities, and personals, as well as undermine the impartial and humanitarian nature of delivery, and increase the risk of aid diversion and risk transference.

Contacts: OCHA Ukraine, Access and CMCoord Unit, OCHA-UKR-Access-CMCoord@un.org