Humanitarian Action in the Northern Caucasus: 1 - 30 June 2001
I. HUMANITARIAN SITUATION UPDATE
Humanitarian Situation Remains Complex
The humanitarian consequences of the events in the northern Caucasus continue to affect the lives of hundreds of thousands displaced persons and residents in Chechnya and Ingushetia. Chechnya continues to be marked by instability, and people there live under bleak circumstances finding it difficult to meet their most basic needs. The UN holds that, until there are clear signs that instability is reducing and security is improving, emergency humanitarian assistance remains the priority for international agencies. However, the security situation, the ongoing problems related to access to and freedom of movement within Chechnya, and establishment of the UN-NGO staff safety radio communications networks for the region are still hindering the humanitarian operations in Chechnya.
In Ingushetia, thanks to continued national and international assistance, the situation of displaced persons has stabilized and many of their emergency needs have been addressed. The provision of international assistance has also had a positive impact on the Ingush authorities’ capacity to provide basic services for the resident population. The international community continues to complement this effort in terms of relief assistance in the shelter, food, education, health, water and sanitation, and mine action sectors.
As far as population movements are concerned, there continue to be more people moving from Chechnya to Ingushetia, than from Ingushetia to Chechnya. Insecurity, as well as a lack of shelter and a dearth of basic services, hinders people’s possibilities to return.
| Month |
Movement from Chechnya to Ingushetia |
Movement from Ingushetia to Chechnya |
| April |
450 |
400 |
| May |
950 |
400 |
| 1 - 25 June |
700 |
375 |
Source: UNHCR
One of the key challenges that faces IDPs and the humanitarian community at large is the preservation of the principle of voluntary return. Advocacy of this principle is ongoing.
Consolidated Appeal 2001 Update
During April and May 2001, the UN worked together with the government, donors, ICRC, and NGOs to monitor the strategic aspects of humanitarian action in the northern Caucasus. Participants concluded that the UN appeal’s common humanitarian action plan and the situation as described in the sectors remain valid. However, reductions were made to the costs of some projects for the following reasons: agriculture projects passed their ‘sell-by’ date; savings were made in the shelter and non-food items and water and sanitation sectors; the government agreed to a matching fund arrangement in the economic recovery and infrastructure sector; fewer beneficiaries than originally planned received food during the first quarter of the year. As such, the UN operation now costs US$ 35,364,96, as opposed to the US$ 44,870,925 the UN originally sought for the year 2001.
| Appealing |
Original |
Revised |
Pledges / |
Unmet |
Requirements |
| Agency |
Requirements |
Requirements |
Contributions |
Requirements |
Covered |
| |
(US$) |
(US$) |
(US$) |
(US$) |
% |
| WFP |
23,949,762 |
16,774,536 |
5,739,084 |
11,035,452 |
34.2% |
| UNHCR |
8,398,800 |
7,172,507 |
3,749,825 |
3,422,682 |
52.3% |
| UNICEF |
5,054,000 |
5,054,000 |
2,010,977 |
3,043,023 |
39.8% |
| WHO |
3,723,000 |
3,723,000 |
266,900 |
3,456,100 |
7.2% |
| OCHA / UNSECOORD |
2,056,363 |
2,015,920 |
1,164,865 |
851,055 |
57.8% |
|
UNDP |
745,000 |
400,000 |
0 |
400,000 |
0.0% |
|
FAO |
719,000 |
0 |
/ |
/ |
/ |
|
UNFPA |
225,000 |
225,000 |
0 |
225,000 |
0.0% |
|
TOTAL |
44,870,925 |
35,364,963 |
12,931,651 |
22,433,312 |
36.6% |
Compiled by OCHA on the basis of information provided by the respective appealing agency
Survey of the Population of Grozny as a Tool for Providing Targeted Assistance
The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) conducted a Grozny Household Survey during May – June 2001 on the initiative of the World Food Programme (WFP) and supported by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The survey covered 17,831 households (or 58,481 people).
The survey indicates that the situation in Grozny remains dire. Many of the residents in Grozny do not have the same access to agricultural products as those living in the rural areas of the republic. With poor employment opportunities (the rate of employment is 8%), most households in Grozny survive thanks to casual labour, trade, assistance from humanitarian agencies, relatives, and by selling their assets. The survey indicates that the present level of food and non-food assistance from the international agencies should be maintained. The development of new criteria for targeting the most needy households in Grozny requires further data analysis.
School Assessment Survey as a Possible Basis for the Rehabilitation of Education System in Chechnya
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in collaboration with the local authorities, and international and local organisations, has conducted an assessment of the status of the school infrastructure in Grozny and in four districts of Chechnya, including Achkhoy-Martan, Nadterechny, Shaly, and Urus-Martan. The rest of Chechnya, security permitting, will be covered in the next months. Five NGOs and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) carried out this preliminary assessment, each one covering the district or town where humanitarian activities are concentrated. The assessment represents a base-line study against which future developments can be measured and which will support the efforts of the authorities to rehabilitate the education system.
The assessment shows that there are considerable regional differences: in Grozny, less than half of the pre-September 1999 school capacity remains in usable condition whereas in Nadterechny, schools are generally in a good state. The extensive damage to and destruction of school infrastructure is a serious obstacle to the normal enrolment of all children. The survey also indicates the widespread eagerness of the families and teachers to find a way to restart education activities. Given that resources are limited and access difficult, the efforts of humanitarian agencies can only be complementary to large-scale rehabilitation and reconstruction carried out by the relevant federal and regional ministries. The government planned to allocate RUR 823.2 million (about US$ 28.9 million) for the rehabilitation of the education system.
II. HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE
Food Aid
International aid agencies suspended food assistance in the camps and spontaneous settlements throughout Ingushetia on 1 May 2001, following the announcement by the Russian government that it would distribute food assistance to about 50,000 IDPs living in the republic’s camps and spontaneous settlements. In the third week of the month, the Ministry of Federation at both the federal and regional levels, as well as EMERCOM Ingushetia, requested international aid agencies to resume food distributions. At the same time, the government requested aid agencies to focus most of their activities on host families.
WFP resumed food assistance in the camps and spontaneous settlements during the second half of May by providing 2,096 MTs of wheat flour, sugar, and salt to 148,120 IDPs in Nazran city, Karabulak, Malgobek, and Sunzha districts, and in the camps A, B, Bart, Sputnik, and Satsita. The agency’s NGO partners DRC and Islamic Relief, as well as the Saudi Arabian Red Crescent Society (SARC) carried out the distribution. While food distributions were ongoing, WFP monitors conducted 168 interviews with IDP households, which expressed their satisfaction and appreciation for the commodities. The monitors while visiting the distribution points in the republic, identified 150 IDPs living in camps who were not included in the distribution lists, and after verification some of these IDPs were included in the lists. During the same period, DRC, the People in Need Foundation (PINF), and the Centre for Peacemaking and Community Development (CPCD) delivered WFP food (1,392 MTs) to 98,398 beneficiaries in Grozny, Grozny rural area, and Achkhoy-Martan district. In June, WFP provided 3,583 MTs of food for 259,281 people in Ingushetia and Chechnya.
Help Germany is planning to distribute 12,000 packed food parcels in Grozny. The NGO will select the exact distribution location in close coordination with relevant humanitarian organisations working in Chechnya.
Shelter & Non-food Items
The UNHCR monitoring teams reported an increase in the number of IDPs leaving host families in Ingushetia mainly because they are no longer able to cover rent for accommodation. This trend and the continuing number of newly arrived IDPs in Ingushetia could require expansion of existing camps and spontaneous settlements, or construction of new camps. UNHCR plans on looking into this issue bearing in mind that the government has requested that no new camps are built in Ingushetia.
UNHCR continually monitors the distribution of non-food items, accessibility to shelter facilities, and distribution of ID documents for displaced persons in Ingushetia. All of the 10,400 IDPs previously railway cars and in need of better accommodation are now accommodated in the two camps established by the agency. UNHCR provided 59 one-room prefabricated houses to the Chechen administration to accommodate IDPs in Grozny, Komsomolskoye, Alkhan-Yurt, Duba-Yurt, Kurchaloi, Serzhen-Yurt, Pobedinskoye, and Nadterechny. UNHCR is to purchase an additional 75 prefabricated houses to be sent to Chechnya. The agency also provided non-food and shelter items to the displaced people in the republic.
Health & Nutrition
The World Health Organization (WHO) together with Islamic Relief, Medecins du Monde (MDM), and the Association for Relief and Development (ARD) has been observing the health status of a group of IDPs who are on hunger strike in the Sputnik camp in Ingushetia. These organizations arranged for continuous surveillance and medical aid mainly focusing on the prevention of dehydration. Three children with symptoms of this disease have been hospitalized.
Within the framework of its project on children’s mental health rehabilitation in Grozny, WHO has organised three seminars on how to detect and handle mental disturbances in children. The agency created a regional network of volunteers, social workers, and mental health professionals to support the activities in this area throughout the republic.
Education
The situation in the education sector in Ingushetia has been stabilizing with an increasing proportion of IDP children attending wooden and tented schools. Almost 80% of children attend primary classes, and 60% secondary classes. UNICEF together with NGOs working in the education sector continue rehabilitating kindergartens previously occupied by displaced persons and making them available for Ingush and displaced children. UNICEF distributes textbooks to NGO-run schools. Distribution of textbooks to Ingush regular schools will take place at the beginning of the new school year in September, once the exact number of IDP children enrolled is known. The agency will use the same procedure for distributions in Chechnya.
Mine Action*
UNICEF has committed itself to promote mine and UXO (unexploded ordnance) awareness and education both in Ingushetia and Chechnya. In order to sustain a coordinated effort in the area of distribution of mine awareness materials and supplies for children, UNICEF continues providing NGOs posters, mine awareness instructor’s bags and t-shirts, and other items.
UNICEF organized an assessment mission on psychosocial trauma from 27 May to 5 June. The agency, in collaboration with several NGOs, visited the camps A, B, and Sputnik in order to gather representative samples of children from three age groups – 6-10 years, 11-15 years, and 16-20 years of age. The mission set the basis for training and more comprehensive activities focusing on mine victims.
III. OTHER MATTERS
On 28 June, representatives of the UN and its agencies in the Russian Federation held a one-day retreat to discuss humanitarian action in the North Caucasus.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which suspended its operation in Chechnya following a security incident involving a national employee in Grozny on 29 May 2001, resumed its operational activities in the republic on 27 June.
After an absence of almost two years, the OSCE returned to Chechnya on 15 June and based staff in its office in Znamenskoye.
* Mine action in this report refers to one or a combination of the following activities: mine awareness, victim assistance, and vocational training.
Produced by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
Tel: (7095) 956-6405; Fax: (7095) 956-6355; email: Kamalyan@un.org
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