OCHA Situation Report
Chechnya and Neighbouring Republics (Russian Federetion)
Period: 16 - 31 May 2003
5 June 2003


Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

I. HIGHLIGHTS
State Duma Approves First Reading of the Amnesty Bill for Chechnya

On 21 May, the State Duma approved first reading of the amnesty bill for
Chechnya proposed by President Putin. According to the presidential
representative at the State Duma, Alexandre Kotenkov, the presidential
side recommended to give the document all three readings by June 6. In
addition, the presidential envoy called for extending the amnesty deadline
until 1 September. The amnesty is to cover persons who have committed
socially dangerous offences within the administrative borders of the
former Chechen-Ingush republic from 1 August 1993 to the date when the
amnesty bill comes into force and those who will lay down arms before the
deadline on 1 August 2003. The amnesty denies pardon to persons guilty of
grave crimes and to foreigners. It applies to federal servicemen,
law-enforcement personnel and penitentiary system staff who have committed
socially dangerous offences after December 12, 1993. Kotenkov said that
under the new amnesty, up to 1,000 people would be freed.

UN Presents the Mid-Year Review of Aid Programmes in Chechnya and
Neighbouring Republics

On 20 May in Moscow, the UN presented the Mid-Year Review of its 2003
Consolidated Inter-Agency Appeal for Chechnya and Neighbouring Republics
launched in November 2002. The Mid-Year Review, the outcome of extensive
consultations between governmental, UN, Red Cross, and NGO officials,
examines the present conditions in the region, identifies humanitarian
needs there, and looks at how the Russian Government, UN aid agencies and
other actors are working together to alleviate suffering and improve the
lives of people in need, including how these efforts can be strengthened.
The UN will continue to act according to the strategy outlined in the 2003
appeal and has reversed down its budget to US $30,270,494 of which US $17
million is still needed. Thanks to the continued donor support it has been
steadily progressing towards its goals, but not without difficulties.
Advocating the right of internally displaced persons to live in the place
of their choice and to return to Chechnya voluntarily, working on the
contentious issue of the provision of alternative shelter to them in
Ingushetia, as well as gaining access and freedom of movement inside the
Chechen Republic have been among UN's main priorities.

II. HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE

Protection

In Ingushetia, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) continued
assisting IDPs from Chechnya with their registration status. The
authorities stopped registering newly arrived IDPs in April 2001.
Recently, the Ingush authorities de-registered several hundreds IDPs,
primarily in temporary settlements. The reasons for the de-registration
were not always clear, and UNHCR protection staff and its implementing
partners, Vesta and Memorial NGOs, helped individuals appeal against it.
In addition, UNHCR discussed these cases directly with the Ingush
migration authorities, and 14 out of the first 22 cases presented by UNHCR
were already re-registered. UNHCR submitted information on another 30
cases to the authorities at the end of May. Vesta and Memorial submitted
30 de-registration cases to the migration authorities and 3 cases to
courts. The refusal to register new arrivals and de-registration of IDPs
already in Ingushetia increase the vulnerability of IDPs and the pressure
on them to return home.

Food

The food basket for the on-going fifth cycle of relief distribution in
Chechnya and Ingushetia, which the World Food Programme (WFP) started in
mid-May, consisted of 10 kg of wheat flour and 0.15 kg of iodised oil. The
agency, together with its NGO partners, provided over 1,650 MTs of food
commodities to beneficiaries of the relief distribution in the two
republics. In Grozny, over 1,000 persons were involved in the WFP
food-for-work project. Under its school-feeding project, the agency
continued providing hot meals and sweet buns to about 43,500 primary
school children in Chechnya. In addition, WFP conducted a workshop for
school officials to evaluate the project and possibilities of expanding it
to other schools.

Shelter and Non-food Items

Under an agreement with the Ingush authorities, UNHCR erected 10 new
"box-tents" in Aki-Yurt village mainly for IDP families evicted from
private accommodation and temporary settlements. Another 6 "box-tents"
will be erected in the near future. UNHCR continued negotiating with the
authorities the need for alternative shelter for IDPs who had not yet
decided to return to Chechnya. UNHCR was reviewing a list of 183 places in
7 temporary settlements in Ingushetia, provided by the Chechen Forced
Migration Committee, that would be made available to IDPs in the event of
camps closure.

Health

The World Health Organization (WHO), in cooperation with the Ingush health
authorities, sanitary epidemiological surveillance service (SES), medical
college, UN agencies, and NGOs took measures to reduce the growing number
of measles cases among IDP children in tent camps and settlements in
Ingushetia. It organised an assessment mission to Satsita camp to identify
the number of children in need of measles vaccination and facilitated the
immunisation process in conformity with the federal ministry of health
recommendations. The tri-lateral programme of TB control and prevention,
implemented by WHO in Ingushetia since December 2001 together with the
federal and republican ministries of health, was extended till the end of
2003. The WHO "Guidelines for Humanitarian Workers" and "Directory for
Amputees in the North Caucasus", produced by Handicap International under
a contractual agreement with the agency, were distributed to local NGOs
and medical institutions in Ingushetia.

Education

UNICEF helped organise a children's festival on the occasion of the
International Children's Day on 1 June. The festival will include various
events in IDP cams in Ingushetia and the final stage in Pyatigorsk
(Stavropolsky Krai) with participation of 160 war-affected children. 9 and
11 grade students in 23 UNICEF-supported IDP schools in Ingushetia were
preparing for graduation exams. Though additional classes were organised
for students lagging behind, there were still gaps in the preparation of
IDP children in alternative schools. In addition, UNICEF supported
Hilfswerk Austria (HWA) in organising language and computer courses for
IDP children in Ingushetia. Under a UNICEF-funded programme, children at
schools in Chechnya could participate in various extra-curricular
activities, such as dancing and sports activities. Caritas Internationalis
(CI), a UNICEF partner, running Child Friendly Spaces in Chechnya and
kindergartens in Ingushetia, continued replacing tents with more spacious
"box-tents" in two kindergartens in Ingushetia.

Water and Sanitation

UNICEF, together with the Polish Humanitarian Organisation (PHO),
continued providing potable water and basic sanitation services to Grozny
residents. The regular delivery of water to distribution points at
schools, in hospitals, and residential areas with a daily capacity of over
600 m3 (enough for 40,000 people) allowed to satisfy the basic needs of
women and children. Garbage and sewage disposal with a daily capacity of
35 MTs and 12 MTs respectively significantly improved the sanitary
conditions in hospitals and schools. UNICEF continued distributing basic
hygienic items in Chechnya and Ingushetia. Over 10,000 bars of soap, about
100 litres of anti-parasite substance, and some 1,000 of chloramide powder
were distributed to hospitals and NGOs carrying out health programmes.

Mine Action*

Voice of the Mountains, a UNICEF partner, conducted mine risk education
sessions for about 2,500 schoolchildren at Goity, Martan-Chu, and
Zakan-Yurt secondary schools in Chechnya and in B IDP camp in Ingushetia.
The training in the IDP camp was intensified due to the expected movement
of IDP children to Chechnya during summer holidays. In Chechnya, UNICEF
continued supporting a vocational training course, including
English-language and computing classes, for a group of 15 disabled
children. Let's Save the Generation NGO successfully conducted the first
part of the UNICEF-supported "Life on the Safe Territory" children's
festival. Sixty children, including mine-survivors participated in a
concert in Grozny, attended by city administration representatives, and
officials from the ministries of education and health. The next three
stages of the festival will be held in three administrative centres of
Chechnya.

* Mine action in this report refers to one or a combination of the
following activities: mine awareness, victim assistance, and vocational
training.

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(OCHA)
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