Secretary-General Meets the UN Staff in Moscow

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan paid an official visit to the Russian Federation from 27 to 29 January 2000.

Kofi Annan met with the acting President of Russia, Vladimir Putin. They exchanged views on the situation in Chechnya, national sovereignty versus humanitarian intervention, the conflict in Afghanistan, drug trafficking and the wars in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ethiopia-Eritrea.

The discussion continued with Chairman of the Council of Federation Egor Stroyev, Speaker of the State Duma Gennady Seleznyov and First Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Avdeyev.

During his sojourn, the Secretary-General had a meeting at the UNIC Moscow with members of the UN Country Team. The heads of UN agencies in Russia briefed Kofi Annan in general terms on their work in this country. The Secretary-General said he was very glad to have the feel of a UN team spirit in this country, which he pointed out was “exactly the part of the UN reform, as I see it.”

UN Secretary- General Kofi Annan asked UN heads in Russia to carry the UN message of respect for human rights and to increasingly focus on helping the poor and the needy, especially in the North Caucasus.

After this meeting, the Secretary-General addressed the UN staff in Moscow. “Let me thank you very much for what you do, for wherever I visit, in all the UN offices, it is people like you make things turn around, who make things work. And without you, we cannot really do what we are set out to do”, he stressed.

On behalf of his colleagues in New York HQ and himself Kofi Annan thanked the UN staff in Russia. “I think we all make a contribution and we together do make the UN what it is, and I want you to keep flying the flag because for the people you are coming into contact with, you are the United Nations,” he said.

Kofi Annan then mixed with the staff and spoke with some of them informally.

There is a universal mood among the UN family in Russia that such a meeting with the top UN official was an excellent opportunity to have a sense of belonging to the World Organisation and recommit themselves to its goals.

(Foto: UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan met with the UN staff in Moscow)

Human Development Roundtable in St. Petersburg

january7.JPG (83541 bytes) Roundtable on Human Development took place on 16-17 February in St. Petersburg. Taking part in the event were Government officials, regional leaders of the Northwest, public organizations, UN agencies, representatives of the countries of the EU and North America. The Roundtable was opened by Mr. Gennady Tkachev, Vice Governor of St. Petersburg, Chairman of the International Relations Committee.

Annual Human Development Reports initiated in 1995 by UNDP and the Government of the Russian Federation. They contain valuable statistical data, the analysis of the socioeconomic situation in the country, as well as recommendations on the possible ways of resolving the existing problems.

Speaking at the opening session, Mr. Philippe Elghouayel, UNDP Resident Representative in Russia, noted that “until now the discussions on human development have taken place only in Moscow – with the federal authorities, academia, NGOs. This Roundtable is our first attempt to move the dialogue to the regions, where, in the end, the future of Russia will be decided. Our objective is to familiarize regional leaders with the human development concept, to get their opinion and recommendation on the contents of the Report”.

Although at the beginning the theme of the Roundtable might have seemed too “academic” to some participants, they soon got actively involved in the discussion on the most acute problems of Russia, e.g. access to education and public health, mortality and fertility, housing construction, democracy, local governance, forming of civil society, gender issues, reproductive health.

In conclusion is was unanimously decided that the dialogue on human development needs to be continued. The roundtable in St. Petersburg is the first of a series of regional forums, planned to facilitate the exchange of opinions on the important socioeconomic issues.

(foto: Roundtable on Human Development took place in Shuvalov Palace)

GEF Greenhouse Gas Project in Kuzbass

Two kick-off meetings held in Kemerovo and Moscow in January started the first Coalbed Methane Recovery project co-financed by the Global Environmental Facility in Russia. The project is a development phase of a full UNDP-GEF project, which will develop ecologically, economically and socially feasible solutions to reducing emissions of methane from coal mines in the Kemerovo Region.

Dr. Oleg Tailakov, the Project Manager and the Director of the Kemerovo Coalbed Methane Centre, says that the Russian Federation is one of the largest global emitters of coalbed methane due to its large numbers of gassy underground coal mines. The majority of Russia’s methane comes from the underground coal mines in the Kuznetsk Coal Basin (Kuzbass), located in southern Siberia, within the Kemerovo Region. The basin contains over 5 billion tons of coal reserves and 60-120 billion cubic metres of coalbed methane reserves. Kuzbass contains some of the gassiest mines in the world. Many individual mines emit more than 40 million cubic metres of the gas annually.

Using the latest technologies, over 70 percent of these emissions could be recovered and used. Accordingly, a project at just ten of the gassiest Kuznetsk Basin mines could achieve annual reductions of approximately 4.6 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. “A preliminary analysis performed by the Kemerovo Coalbed Methane Centre indicates that coalbed methane projects could reduce emissions at extremely low costs,” says Dr. Tailakov. The preparatory phase will identify the best technical and economic options for recovery and use of coalbed methane in the Kuznetsk Coal Basin, and implement the activities needed to prepare a full-scale project proposal for the consideration of the Russian Ministry of Fuel and Energy, UNDP/GEF and other financing institutions.

UNDP and Norway Sign an Agreement

Continued cooperation between UNDP and one of its donors, the Government of Norway, will be assisted by a co-financing agreement signed in February. Under this project, the government of this Scandinavian country allotted US $150,000 in 2000 to developing the social sphere in Russia.

These funds will be used to carry trough joint projects and coordinate the efforts of the UNDP Office in Russia and the Norwegian Government in further efforts to create additional jobs in Russia’s Northwest and improve employment opportunities for Russian citizens. At the same time, an agreement was reached in principle on the expansion of contacts between UNDP and the Government of Norway in Russia’s Northwest.

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