January - February 2000

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UNHCR
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Appointment

Jozsef Gyorke has been appointed a new Deputy Regional Representative of UNHCR in the Russian Federation.

Before joining UNHCR in 1995, Jozsef Gyorke worked as a professional diplomat at the Embassies of Hungaria in Ethiopia, Tanzania and in 1989 was the Ambassador of Hungary to the United Kingdom. From 1995 until 1999 Jozsef Gyorke was the UNHCR Representative in Ukraine. For his successful work in Ukraine, Mr. Gyorke was awarded by President of Ukraine Kuchma with the highest award of the Ukrainian Republic “For Merit”. The UNHCR Office in Ukraine headed by Jozsef Gyorke facilitated the process of receiving Ukranian citizenchip to tens of thousands of the Crimea Tatars.

Jozsef Gyorke graduated from the Moscow Institute of International Relations in 1967. He speaks fluent Russian, English, Swaheli and Hungarian.

“Historic Mosaic” Contest

The “Historic Mosaic” Contest was held by UNHCR to provide schoolchildren (from 5th to 11th grade) and history teachers with information about the causes of migration and the most dramatic population displacements in world’s history.

The contest was co-sponsored by the publishing house “Monuments of Historical Thought”, “The First of September” newspaper, and a group of history teachers.

The project was expected to help prevent junior secondary schoolchildren from developing xenophobia. Some 500 correct answers were received from 60 regions of Russia.

Marina Moiseenkova, a 16-year-old from Maikop, Republic of Adygeya, and Andrei Ogurtsov, 14 years old, from Pskov, were the winners of the contest. They devided first prizes.

Christopher Carpenter, UNHCR Regional Representative in the Russian Federation, congratulated the winners at the UN Office in Moscow. The schoolchildren were awarded a few days trip to Moscow during winter school vacations in January 2000.

(foto: Christopher Carpenter, UNHCR Regional Representative in Russia, congratulates the winners at the UN Office in Moscow)

UNHCR Continues to Render Assistance to IDPs in the North Caucasus

The UN humanitarian assistance programme for internally displaced persons from Chechnya is continued.

In November last year UN agencies launched an official Joint Appeal to donor-countries requesting for this assistance programme the amount of US $ 16,2 million .

UNHCR asked US $ 8,3 million out of the total sum for the emergency assistance programme. By the beginning of February UNHCR had received US $ 8,67 million.

The European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid Office and Norway were among the first donors which responded to the Appeal. Contributions were also made by Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, USA, as well as by several charity organisations.

UNHCR has purchased relief aid, including food and non-food items, to the amount of over US $ 6 million.

Another US $ 2,6 million are in process. More than half of the purchased relief items have already been distributed. It should be emphasised that the majority of all the relief items has been purchased in Russia.

According to governmental information sources, by 2 February some 52,500 Chechen IDPs moved to various regions of Russia which are located relatively far from Chechnya, and some 100,000 displaced persons returned to Chechnya. The current population of IDPs in Ingushetia remains high, around 150,000 to 180,000 persons.

UNHCR is sending convoys with relief items from Stavropol to Ingushetia twice a week. By 4 February 2000, UNHCR had dispatched 28 convoys to Ingushetia, four to Dagestan and one to North Ossetia. The relief supplies included winterised tents with stoves, beds, mattresses, blankets, plastic sheets, kitchen sets, winter clothes and shoes as well as 4,708 tons of food.

In Dagestan, Ingushetia and North Ossetia, the distribution of humanitarian aid was carried out in cooperation with the local governments. In Ingushetia, since the middle of December 1999, it has been conducted with assistance of the Danish Refugee Council, UNHCR’s implementing partner.

Apart from relief distribution, UNHCR has initiated a water and sanitation project in Ingushetia in order to alleviate the pressure generated by the influx of IDPs and then to undertake rehabilitation of the water system in Ingushetia. Water stations will be repaired and some 40 km of pipes will be laid. This system, once completed, will benefit the entire population of Ingushetia.

(foto: Sputnik camp in Ingushetia)

UNICEF
United Nations Children's Fund

Presentation of “The State of World Children Report, 2000”

UNICEF’s annual report, “The State of World Children Report, 2000”, which combines the latest statistics and analytical data, was presented in Moscow at the same time as it was presented by UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy in Berlin.

The Russian presentation took place in the Russian Youth Theatre, where representatives of the government, nongovernmental organisations, research institutes and centres, and journalists gathered.

The presentation began with the demonstration of a documentary film illustrating the most painful aspects of children’s situation in the world. Armed conflicts, HIV/AIDS and poverty are the things that frequently reduce all the achievements to naught and threaten the development and protection of millions of children.

Fritz Lherisson, UNICEF Special Representative in Russia, spoke in detail about these key problems of the contemporary world. He focused mainly on the responsibility that state officials, the government, businesspeople, cultural and art workers, in fact, all society should have towards children. The lack of true leadership has led to failure in the implementation of commitments assumed by governments of the world’s nations with respect to children in the early 1990s and aggravated the consequences of disasters which could have been avoided. At the turn of the century, the shortage of vibrant and talented individuals capable of taking responsibility is particularly evident.

The report indicates that one of the most urgent tasks facing society today is raising leaders who could rally the growing generation around them.

Mobilisation of society and support for young leaders is one of the areas of UNICEF activity, Fritz Lherisson stressed.

Ella Pamfilova, leader of the Civil Dignity movement and a presidential candidate of the Russian Federation, gave a deeply moving speech. She focused on health and promotion of a heal-thy lifestyle, and the urgent need to coordinate all the efforts of health care institutions, social services, education systems and the mass media. The presidential candidate of the Russian Federation stressed the urgency and importance of the report published by UNICEF for Russian legislators. The extensive range, reliability and objectivity of its information make the UNICEF publication invaluable for state and citizen organisations.

(foto: At the presentation of UNICEF’s annual “The State of World Children Report, 2000”)

UNICEF Is Helping IDP Children in the North Caucasus

The hostilities in the North Caucasus have caused great privations for the population of this region by disrupting the customary way of life and forcing many people to flee their homes.

About 250,000 people were forced to flee Chechnya and Daghestan and find temporary refuge in neighbouring republics. The main flow of refugees, the majority of whom are women and children, was into Ingushetia.

Within the framework of the Urgent Joint Appeal of UN institutions on the North Caucasus, UNICEF is rendering constant relief to children in emergency situations.

A serious problem for most of the refugee camps is water supply. UNICEF is working to solve this problem together with UNHCR. UNICEF has set up 1,500-litre water bladders and provided 10-litre canisters. A water purification unit to produce potable water was delivered to Ingushetia. In the schools in the tents sent by UNICEF children already began classes.

The refugee camps are supplied with medications and personal hygiene kits. Under an agreement with Ingushetia’s Education Ministry, stationery for 11,000 primary grade students has been sent to the republic. Children’s winter coats have also been sent to Ingushetia. More supplies, mostly medications and medical equipment, will be sent to Ingushetia in March of this year.

Helping the children of the IDPs in the North Caucasus UNICEF is working in close contact with the Russian Ministry for Emergencies, the Ingushetian Ministry for Emergencies, and the Ministry for Emergencies of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania. The total cost of the humanitarian aid supplied by UNICEF amounts to approximately US $ 1, 000, 000.

january6.JPG (57477 bytes) In the end of February and beginning of March a high UNICEF delegation led by Regional Director John Donohue visited the North Caucasus. The representatives of UNICEF visited the refugee camps in Ingushetia and planned programme of future actions to help victims of military operations in Chechnya.

(foto: Children have started classes in the schools in tents sent by UNICEF; Airplane with UNICEF humanitarian aid at the Vladikavkaz airport)

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