OCHA Situation Report
Chechnya and Neighbouring Republics (Russian Federation)
16-30 September 2003
7 October 2003


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

I. HIGHLIGHTS
Russian Government Starts Compensating for the Lost Property and Housing
in Chechnya

On 25 September, the Government of the Russian Federation began paying
compensation to Chechen residents for the destroyed housing and property.
The compensation amounts to RUR 300,000 (US $9,800) for destroyed housing
and RUR 50,000 (US $1,600) for lost property. The Federal Minister for
Chechnya, Stanislav Ilyasov, said that the authenticity of the lists of
people who had applied for compensation was being checked and that the
money had already started to be transferred to Chechen residents'
accounts. According to earlier reports, over 39,000 families expect to
receive compensation.

United Nations Pursues the Solution of the Access Problem in Ingushetia

The humanitarian community was faced with an access problem in Ingushetia
when the Ingush Migration Service banned aid workers from entering IDP
camps for security reasons after the recent bombings in the republic. The
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) addressed the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs with a request that access to IDPs be guaranteed to relief
agencies. The UN negotiated with the authorities the possibility to get
monthly access permits to visit camps and provide assistance, and stepped
up its efforts to reinforce the principle of unconditional access to
people in need.

II. HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE

Protection

As of 29 September, a total of 75,651 internally displaced persons from
Chechnya were registered for assistance in Ingushetia in the database
operated by the Danish Refugee Council (DRC), a UNHCR implementing
partner. This number included over 10,800 persons registered in tent
camps, more than 23,400 persons in temporary settlements, and over 41,400
persons in private accommodation. About 2,200 IDPs continued living in
tents outside tent camps. From 13-30 September, the Chechen Forced Migrant
Committee reported the organised return of 1,078 persons. Of this number,
513 persons de-registered in Ingushetia and registered for assistance in
Chechnya. In addition, Vesta, another UNHCR implementing partner, reported
the individual return of 121 persons from Ingushetia to Chechnya and the
arrival of 110 persons from Chechnya to Ingushetia. On 29 September, the
last of approximately 1,000 IDPs who had remained in IDP camp B moved to
camp Satsita following negotiations between UNHCR, the federal and local
authorities, and IDPs themselves. IDPs not registered by the migration
authorities were particularly hesitant about relocating from B camp,
fearing that they would not be granted alternative shelter in Ingushetia.
At a meeting with the Federal Migration Service (FMS) on 23 September in
Moscow, UNHCR obtained assurances that this group would be registered in
Satsita and the IDPs were thus informed the next day. In addition, FMS
agreed to restore utilities in B camp, while UNHCR undertook to provide
tents for those who chose to relocate to Satsita. The water supply to B
camp was restored on 24 September and the gas supply - on 26 September.
With registration issue settled down and utilities restored, the IDPs
considered that their rights were being respected and agreed to relocate
voluntarily.

Food

The World Food Programme (WFP), in cooperation with partner NGOs,
distributed 933 MTs of food commodities to over 104,000 beneficiaries in
Chechnya covered by its relief distribution and food-for-work projects.
The agency continued carrying out its school-feeding activities, which
were resumed on 1 September and cover over 65,000 primary school children.
The project is planned to target about 78,000 beneficiaries, when
Kurchaloisky raion is added to it at the beginning of November.
Food-for-work activities were going on in Grozny and Groznensky,
Sunzhensky, and Urus-Martanovsky raions of Chechnya. In Ingushetia, WFP,
together with its partners, continued distributing basic food commodities
to all IDPs remaining in the republic.

Shelter

UNHCR provided 166 new tents to accommodate former inhabitants of B camp
in Satsita IDP camp. Since most of the tents in B camp needed to be
replaced, this voluntary relocation of IDPs to Satsita improved their
living conditions and accelerated preparations for the winter.

Health

The World Health Organization (WHO) provided the ministries of health in
Chechnya and Ingushetia, as well as other regional ministries of health in
the Russian Federation, a set of five books on mental health services in
disaster, water and sanitation in emergencies, public health in situations
of chemical incidents, and on natural disasters. The agency had arranged
for the translation and printing of the books. The UN Children's Fund
(UNICEF), together with the Ministry of Health of Ingushetia, continued
promoting its Mother Empowerment Programme targeting IDP women. Trained
health workers and NGO staff disseminated messages on the early prevention
and treatment of child diseases, such as acute respiratory infections and
diarrhoea.

Education

UNICEF completed the registration procedure in 58 IDP schools in tent
camps and temporary settlements in Ingushetia, which showed that 8,470
children are attending these schools this academic year as compared to
9,102 in 2002-2003 academic year. The reduction was due to IDPs movement
to Chechnya, other IDP settlements, and to private sector accommodation.
UNICEF supported two schools and a kindergarten in B camp before it was
closed down. The kindergarten, run by Caritas Internationalis (CI), will
be relocated to Satsita camp where most of the IDP children attending the
kindergarten live now and where a suitable site has already been found.
One of the schools, run by Hilswerk Austria (HWA), will be dismantled; the
materials will be used to increase the capacity of another HWA-run school
in A camp and to upgrade the CI-managed kindergarten. The other school,
run by the Centre for Peacemaking and Community Development (CPCD), will
continue working so that children from the neighbouring A and Satsita
camps can attend it.

Druzhba NGO ran playrooms for 6-14 years old children in three temporary
accommodation centres (TACs) in Grozny. About 520 children can attend
these playrooms equipped with sports and recreation materials.

Water and Sanitation

UNICEF, together with the Polish Humanitarian Organisation (PHO),
continued providing drinking water to Grozny residents through 180
distribution points with an average daily capacity of 590 m3 (enough for
over 39,000 people). In addition, PHO managed a sanitation programme in
favour of 40,000 beneficiaries, including hospital patients and school
children. The programme included garbage and sewage collection from
latrines and garbage containers in four schools and 22 hospitals.

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 registered incidents and casualties related to
mines and unexploded ordinance (UXO) in Chechnya reached 2,500. VoM
conducted 63 interactive mine risk education (MRE) sessions for over 1,900
school children in Urus-Martanovsky raion of Chechnya. In Ingushetia, MRE
sessions covered 198 children in temporary settlements. UNICEF continued
disseminating MRE messages in Chechnya through drama presentations
performed by the State Chechen Drama Theatre for 350 children and adults
from two TACs in Grozny. The UNICEF/WHO-supported prosthetic centre in
Vladikavkaz provided treatment to 20 children and women, who had survived
mine/UXO accidents, and produced 5 prosthesis, 11 pairs of orthopaedic
shoes and 4 pairs of tutors. All children undergoing initial fitting stage
were taught walking techniques with the help of a UNICEF-provided running
track.

* 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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