6 July 2006
The Special Rapporteur on torture, Manfred Nowak, will visit the Russian Federation, including Chechnya and the North Caucasus, from 9 to 20 October 2006, at the invitation of the Government.
In order to gather first-hand information, Mr. Nowak will meet with Government officials, including in the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Interior and Justice; the judiciary; parliamentarians; the prosecution service, and representatives of non-governmental organizations and international organizations. He will also visit detention facilities.

Mr. Doudou Diène, UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, who visited Moscow and Saint Petersburg last week, thinks that ideological vacuum is a major cause of growing racism and xenophobia in Russia

Moscow, 16 June 2006

Moscow, 5 July 2006. – In launching the mid-year Update to the 2006 Inter-Agency Transitional Workplan for the North Caucasus, the UN Resident Coordinator and the Humanitarian Coordinator in the Russian Federation thanked donors for their generous support to programs implemented by the United Nations and NGOs under that Workplan. They announced the beginning of a gradual reduction of humanitarian relief in the North Caucasus, but drew attention to the significant remaining humanitarian and recovery assistance needs.

NEW ILO ANALYSIS SEES GROWING UNCERTAINTY, ACCELERATED CHANGE IN THE WORLD OF WORK

On May 30, 2006 the new 2006 Report on the global AIDS epidemic (a UNAIDS 10th anniversary special edition) was released.

On 25 April, in the view of the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear accident, the United Nations Information Centre hosted a reception organized together with the UN Office in the Russian Federation and other UN agencies. Apart from UN representatives, among those who took part in the meeting were representatives of Russian ministries and agencies working in this area, NGOs, and a wide range of journalists. Participation of mass media was especially important, as the event was also dedicated to the World Press Freedom Day, celebrated on 3 May on the UN initiative.

April 26, New York – The United Nations is marking the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear accident with a vital message of hope and an appeal to the international community to redouble efforts to assist the social and economic recovery of the regions hardest hit by the 1986 reactor explosion.
Kemal Dervis, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator, will commemorate the anniversary in his address at the General Assembly’s Special Session on Chernobyl in New York on Friday, April 28.

(11 May 2006, 12:00, the House of Journalists Marble Hall)

15-17 May, 2006: The 1st Eastern European and Central Asian AIDS conference (EECAAC) will take place in Moscow, Russian Federation to provide an important forum for dialogue and interaction among political and community leaders, scientists and researchers, people living with HIV and representatives of civil society from across the region.

GENEVA (ILO News) – On Friday 28 April, government, worker and employer representatives will observe World Day for Safety and Health with over 100 events worldwide – from the Central Asia to the Caribbean, from Armenia to Addis Ababa. The special theme of this year’s observance calls attention to HIV/AIDS as an occupational safety and health issue.