OCHA Situation Report
Chechnya and Neighbouring Republics (Russian Federation)
17-30 June 2003


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

I. HIGHLIGHTS
State Council and a new government begin working in Chechnya

The State Council of Chechnya comprised of 21 members, including mayors of
Grozny, Argun, and Gudermes cities, as well as heads of administrations of
raions, held its first meeting on 21 June. The structure will function as
an interim parliament, performing some legislative functions until a
legislature is elected. The Council appointed Khussein Isayev, former head
of the territorial directorate of the Ministry of Property Relations of
the Russian Federation, its chairman, and announced the composition of a
new government of Chechnya. At the second meeting on 28 June, the State
Council elected its governing bodies - the presidium and eight standing
committees.

European Commission allocates €16.5 million for the North Caucasus

The European Commission has approved a €16.5 million humanitarian aid
package for victims of the situation in Chechnya. The aid is intended for
IDPs and vulnerable groups of population in Chechnya, as well as IDPs in
Ingushetia and Dagestan. Funds are being allocated through the
Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO). Assistance to beneficiaries will be
provided in the following sectors: food and non-food items, medical
support, shelter, water and sanitation, education, psychological
assistance, mine awareness, protection, and security. UN agencies and NGOs
operating in the region will implement the programmes.


II. HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE

Protection

As of 30 June, over 84,000 IDPs from Chechnya were registered for
assistance in Ingushetia in the database operated by the Danish Refugee
Council (DRC), an implementing partner of the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR). The Chechen Forced Migrants Committee organised the
voluntary return to Chechnya of 79 IDP families (425 persons), of which 47
families (253 persons) de-registered in Ingushetia and registered for
assistance in Chechnya. Vesta, another UNHCR partner, reported 270
"spontaneous" returns to Chechnya and 129 arrivals in Ingushetia through
two border crossing points. UNHCR expressed concern over the manner in
which sweep operations in IDP tent camps and settlements in Ingushetia had
been carried out and intervened with the Ingush authorities on behalf of
the detained IDPs. UNHCR advocated for the respect of relevant legislation
of the Russian federation and basic human rights. Following this
intervention four IDPs were released.

Food

The World Food Programme (WFP), together with its NGO partners,
distributed 587 MTs of basic food commodities to IDPs in Ingushetia and
food-insecure people in Chechnya. Further, in Chechnya, the agency
provided 198 MTs of mixed food commodities to about 1,500 beneficiaries of
its food-for-work project as an in-kind payment for the work performed in
May. In addition, hot meals were regularly distributed to some 12,000
children attending summer camps at 119 primary schools as well as to
pre-school children in kindergartens. WFP completed a school-feeding
baseline survey in Chechnya, part of a global school-feeding baseline
research. The survey was conducted at 90 schools included into the
on-going WFP school-feeding project, as well as at 62 randomly chosen
schools in areas not covered by the project. As a result, WFP will issue a
comprehensive country report like in other countries where WFP-assisted
school-feeding programmes are being carried out. Information contained in
the reports will be used for management purposes, as well as to define
trends, problems, and successes. From 23-29 June, a WFP consultant
specialising in food security visited the North Caucasus to assist DRC in
revising the methodology and fine-tuning the training materials for a
household food economy survey in Chechnya, which will start in July.

Shelter

UNHCR continued negotiating with the Ingush authorities on the issue of
providing alternative shelter to IDPs who would choose to stay in
Ingushetia if tent camps were closed. In the past few months, UNHCR,
together with DRC and the International Rescue Committee (IRC), provided
309 "box-tents", primarily to IDPs evicted from private accommodation and
temporary settlements.

In Chechnya, IRC continued rehabilitating two schools and 52 houses in the
private sector.

Health

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF),
together with local authorities and partner NGOs, monitored the situation
with a measles outbreak among children in IDP camps and settlements in
Ingushetia as well as in Chechnya. As of 20 June, 286 cases of measles
were reported in Ingushetia and 756 in Chechnya. The Ministry of Health of
Ingushetia was fostering supplementary immunisation of IDP children by
sending medical teams to IDP schools and kindergartens. Special
immunisation points were opened in B and Sputnik tent camps. On June 26,
WHO, in cooperation with the People in Need Foundation (PINF), conducted
an anti-drug use awareness campaign in 5 schools in Grozny to mark the
International Anti-Drugs Awareness Day. UNICEF distributed medical
expendables and basic drugs to support gynaecological health care
facilities run by the Agency for Rehabilitation and Development (ARD) and
Médecins Sans Frontières - France (MSF) in IDP two camps and two
settlements in Ingushetia.

Education

The majority of students of the 9th and 11th grades at UNICEF-supported
schools for IDPs in Ingushetia successfully passed their final exams. At
schools run by the Centre for Peacemaking and Community Development
(CPCD), only 4 out of 239 students admitted failed to pass the exams,
while at schools operated by the Hilfswerk Austria (HWA), 67% of 187
pupils admitted received good and excellent marks. Such good performance
was achieved thanks to professional skills and commitment of teachers. In
addition, UNICEF, together with Druzhba NGO, supported summer camp
activities for 500 children at two IDP tent camps. Every day the children
were engaged in games and contests, sport competitions and excursions.
UNHCR, in partnership with NGOs, organised a drawing competition for IDP
children in Ingushetia on the occasion of the World Refugee Day on 20
June, which was marked this year under the motto "Refugee youth: building
the future." About 250 children participated in the event conducted in six
locations, including 4 IDP camps and 5 local schools, attended by IDP
children. The winners of the competition were awarded with pencil cases,
coloured pencil sets, games, and toys.

Water and Sanitation

UNICEF, in partnership with the Polish Humanitarian Organisation (PHO),
continued purifying and distributing drinking water in Grozny with a daily
capacity of 490 m3 (enough for 33,000 people). UNICEF/PHO sanitation
programme was focused on garbage and sewage disposal at 24 medical
facilities, 3 schools, and 3 other public locations. In addition, the
construction of 40 latrines was completed in schools in Grozny. In
Ingushetia, IRC, a UNHCR partner, delivered 300 m3 of water (enough for
20,000 people) to settlements and tent camps on a daily basis. In
addition, its 5 garbage and 2 sewage trucks removed waste from camps and
settlements.

Mine Action*

UNICEF continued supporting the Information Management System on Mine
Action (IMSMA) database, run by its partner, the Voice of the Mountains
(VoM) NGO. The number of entries in the database, which registers
incidents and casualties related to mines and unexploded ordinance (UXO)
in Chechnya, reached over 2,300. Fifteen mine/UXO-affected children passed
final exams upon the completion of a 3-month vocational training organised
by VoM at the Technical College of Information Science and Computer
Engineering in Grozny. VoM instructors conducted mine risk education
presentations for 840 inhabitants of two temporary accommodation centres
(TACs) in Grozny and distributed posters, pens, and notebooks with
relevant messages to them. Minga NGO completed a report on the
distribution of UNICEF-provided wheelchairs. This year it distributed 192
wheelchairs, primarily in Groznensky, Achkhoi-Martanovsky, Shalinsky, and
Nozhai-Yurtovsky raions of Chechnya.

* 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; e-mail: Zotikova@un.org

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2003

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