Ukraine

Key priorities to improve the civil society environment

1. The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (CMU), the Ministry of Digital Transformation, and the Ministry of Justice should ensure that CSO registration services are provided through the online ‘Diia’ portal, similar to those provided to businesses;
2. The Parliament of Ukraine should review the provisions of the Law on Public Consultations stating that it will not enter into force until one year after the end of martial law and define the obligation of MPs to hold public consultations;
3. The CMU and other central executive bodies should ensure the continued participation of CSOs in the development of programme documents, including those aimed at integrating Ukraine into the EU. Particular attention should be given to involving CSOs whose main activities are conducted at the local level, as well as those that have been displaced from temporarily occupied territories;
4. The CMU, through its authorised bodies, should ensure that public procurement procedures involving CSOs are taken into account and that CSOs are widely informed about their access to public procurement;
5. The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) should facilitate CSOs' access to banking services on an equal footing with businesses, including cross-border transactions and lending. It should also ensure communication with international financial institutions, including the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), and foreign banks to mitigate restrictions caused by armed aggression;
6. Law enforcement, including the Prosecutor General's Office, should continue investigating and documenting Russian crimes against CSO representatives and the media to hold Russia accountable; and
7. The Parliament of Ukraine should adopt the Draft Law on Amendments to the Tax Code on the Support of Volunteer Activities in Martial Law No. 10040 dated 13 September 2023, which proposes changes to tax legislation aimed at creating more favourable conditions for the life and health insurance of volunteers.

Ongoing action –  Advancing access to funding and efficient use of humanitarian aid

The Ukrainian Center for Independent Political Research (UCIPR) is implementing an initiative aimed at streamlining humanitarian aid in cooperation with the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine, the State Enterprise "Information and Computing Center of the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine," and the State Customs Service of Ukraine. The objective of this initiative is to reform the principles governing the declaration and registration of humanitarian aid, as well as to simplify reporting requirements for CSOs and charitable foundations. These measures are intended to ensure the efficient utilisation of humanitarian assistance entering Ukraine and its targeted delivery to areas where it is most urgently needed.

Past achievements: 

CSO Meter monitoring and recommendations have already delivered the following results:

Advancing public participation:

• Preventing restrictive proposals on Lobby Law and Foreign Funding (2020-2023): Hub members and ECNL played a crucial role in countering restrictive CSO regulations, which would have hindered CSOs’ advocacy, stigmatised foreign-funded organisations and limited their access to state positions. Since 2020, ECNL has provided comparative analyses and international legal perspectives to challenge repeated proposals. In late 2023, when the National Agency on Corruption Prevention introduced a new Draft Law on Lobbying - contrary to European and international standards - ECNL leveraged its past analyses to highlight the risks. In an online meeting organised by ISAR Ednannia, ECNL shared European experiences in lobbying regulation, equipping Ukrainian CSOs with strategic arguments to advocate for transparency without undermining civil society. The current version of the law is much better aligned with international standards on public participation.

Facilitating access to funding:

• Organisations supporting people with disabilities are able to receive public funds on a competitive basis (2020): Ukrainian Center for Independent Political Research identified the need to extend the competition principle to the funding of CSOs supporting people with disabilities as a priority area for reform. This ensures equal conditions for state support that other CSOs can also access. As a result of UCIPR's advocacy campaign, the Ministry of Social Policy developed a new Decree on competition-based state funding for such organisations. The Resolution №166 on “Some issues of providing financial support to public associations of persons with disabilities” was adopted in March 2020.  This reform ensures a more vibrant and open space for delivery of high-quality services by all disability-focused organisations.

Protecting freedom of association:

• E-reporting requirements for anti-corruption CSOs and activists declared unconstitutional (2019): In March 2017, a requirement was introduced, obliging members of anti-corruption CSOs to submit electronic income declarations, similar to those required from state bodies representatives. ECNL supported the Ukrainian Center for Independent Political Research in challenging the heightened reporting requirements, arguing that anti-corruption civil society activists are not public officials and do not manage public funds from the national or local budgets. The Constitutional Court's ruling upheld the independence of CSOs, removing the discriminatory provisions.

Contributing to long-term civil society development:

• Contribution to civil society development strategy in Ukraine (2021): The Ukrainian Center for Independent Political Research developed a chapter on enabling environment for civil society as part of the National Strategy for Promoting Civil Society Development 2021-2026. The Strategy, adopted in September 2021, was developed through a highly participatory approach involving both government institutions and CSOs. It directly refers to evidence from the CSO Meter report and includes the best practices based on ECNL recommendations, such as ensuring monitoring of progress in its implementation. This Strategy will strengthen Ukraine's civic sector and promote partnership between CSOs and authorities. Also, UCIPR and other Hub members contributed to the development of the Action Plans of the National Strategy for Promoting Civil Society Development for 2021-2024 and 2025-2026.

Country context and important trends relevant to the civil society environment:

The conditions of the Russian Federation’s ongoing armed aggression against Ukraine have led to, among other things, the displacement of a significant number of CSOs from the territories where hostilities are (or were) conducted or temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation, threats to the lives and health of activists and their families in the temporarily occupied territories, and disinformation and other types of cyber-attacks.

CSOs are implicated in the general context of the conditions of war: a large number of representatives of CSOs have joined (or are planning to join) the Defence Forces of Ukraine, including through a broad mobilisation campaign in 2024. Some CSOs have restructured their work to focus on emergency response (for example, humanitarian assistance and shelter) and this has resulted in limited activities being undertaken in their primary areas of operation, such as education and civil activism. Overall, the involvement of CSOs in humanitarian response and, at the same time, in reconstruction measures is increasing against the backdrop of the war.

In 2024, Ukraine has advanced in its negotiations to become a member of the European Union (EU) and this has led to significant support for CSOs and possibilities for their involvement in the decision-making process. However, Ukraine continues to face unresolved issues in various areas, including in defence, countering corruption, protecting cultural heritage, addressing ecological concerns, and implementing reforms (such as in the judiciary, decentralisation, and social security). This situation requires CSOs to address these long-term challenges alongside the urgent issues arising as a direct consequence of the war, which include:

• Ensuring (financial) sustainability for the important work of CSOs. The main source of funding for CSOs continues to be international support which is not always able to respond quickly to the changing context and conditions. CSOs in Ukraine are having to work harder to operate compared to in normal conditions due to the general levels of fatigue, lack of staff, energy supply issues and security risks;
• Ensuring that there are sufficient specialists to work in CSOs. The war has led to many CSO workers being forced to relocate abroad, or to transition to different workplaces, including to international organisations that can offer better support and resources. Some CSO activists and representatives have lost their lives as a result of the Russian Federation’s armed aggression, including while as military personnel, as a result of being taken hostage, or as civilians. Additionally, Ukrainian legislation remains unclear regarding the possibility of CSO representatives being exempted during the mobilisation process; and
• Ensuring sufficient consistency and coordination in CSOs’ interactions with the authorities. In some cases, the authorities have become more secretive in the way they operate. Although this approach can often be justified under the conditions of martial law, it does complicate the authorities' relationship with civil society and narrows the possibilities for mutual cooperation.

In 2024, there were changes in the government. Powers were redistributed between the deputy prime ministers (for example, the position of Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration was combined with the position of Minister of Justice, and the position of Deputy Prime for reintegration of temporarily occupied territories was terminated), new powers of ministries were determined (for example, the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine was renamed the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine), and new ministers were appointed (for example, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Veterans Affairs). These changes can potentially affect the participation of CSOs in the process of development and decision-making.

Video story

How has CSO Meter proven to be helpful in times of war? Find out more from Oleksandr Shapoval, Ukrainian Center for Independent Political Research (UCIPR) (Ukraine):