OCHA Situation Report
Chechnya and Neighbouring Republics (Russian Federation)
1 - 15 October 2003
22 October 2003


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

I. HIGHLIGHTS
Akhmat Kadyrov Elected President of Chechnya

The Chechen Electoral Commission announced the victory of Akhmat Kadyrov
in the presidential elections in the Chechen Republic on 5 October.
According to the commission, the turnout was 87.7%, and Kadyrov won 80.8%
of votes. The Electoral Commission Chairman, Abdul-Kerim Arsakhanov, said
that there had been no complaints from observers, which could influence
the ballot outcome. However, human rights groups reported instances of
ballot stuffing, voting by unregistered voters, and pressure from local
authorities. Commenting on the elections outcome, the European Union
Presidency expressed the hope that the political settlement process in
Chechnya continues, while noting "negative development as the lack of real
pluralism of candidatures to the presidency and the absence of independent
media."

Humanitarian Community Faced with Hurdles in Ingushetia

The access problem for humanitarian organisations seeking to work in IDP
tent camps in Ingushetia persisted. The Ingush Migration Service recently
instituted access permits to camps for security reasons, indicating that
this was a temporary measure. However, the humanitarian community
considered it as seriously hampering humanitarian activities. The recent
checks by the Ingush law enforcement structures in several NGOs and
international organisations was another reason for concern. The officials
were looking for unlicensed software installed on computers, and at least
in two cases computers were confiscated.

II. HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE

Protection

As of 15 October, a total of 74,294 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 10,000 persons registered in tent
camps, more than 23,000 persons in temporary settlements, and about 41,000
persons in private accommodation. According to the Chechen Forced Migrant
Committee, over 1,200 IDPs returned to Chechnya in an organised manner. Of
this number, 661 persons de-registered in Ingushetia and registered for
assistance in Chechnya. In addition, Vesta, another UNHCR implementing
partner, reported the individual return of 130 persons from Ingushetia to
Chechnya and the arrival of 67 persons from Chechnya to Ingushetia. Ingush
courts ruled in favor of another 14 appeals of IDPs against unfair
de-registration by the Ingush Migration Service from the lists of persons
entitled to government assistance. Vesta lawyers had lodged the appeals in
courts. More frequent security operations in IDP settlements in Nazran and
in Sunzhensky Raion of Ingushetia resulted in the detention of IDPs. UNHCR
intervenes with the ministry of the interior bodies to ensure that
detentions take place in accordance with the law of the Russian Federation
and international human rights standards. As a result of UNHCR's
intervention with the Ministry of Interior of Ingushetia and the
Prosecutor's Office, the prosecutor of Nazranovsky Raion initiated a
criminal investigation of the disappearance of two IDPs in Karier
settlement after a security operation on 27 August.

Food

WFP, in cooperation with partner NGOs, distributed over 200 MTs of food
commodities to about 15,000 beneficiaries in Chechnya and over 20 MTs - to
about 2,000 IDPs in Ingushetia. In addition, in Chechnya, the agency
provided over 200 MTs of food commodities to 2,660 participants of its
food-for-work project engaged in repairing schools and school playgrounds,
hospitals, food distribution points, and roads, as well as in removing
rubbish and planting trees. In October, WFP allocated about 70 MTs of food
commodities for its school-feeding project covering over 64,000 primary
school children in Chechnya.

Shelter

The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) -
Holland rehabilitated the first ten rooms intended for IDPs in two
settlements in Ingushetia. Another 12 rooms were under repair. The Chechen
Migration Department, the Ingush Government, UNHCR, and several
international NGOs had identified a total of 141 rooms to be made
available to IDPs during a joint assessment of alternative shelter in
Sunzhensky Raion of the republic in September. UNHCR together with the
Ingush Migration Department will choose beneficiaries for the
rehabilitated rooms among the most vulnerable IDP families. Gas and
electricity supply was provided to the 166 new tents installed by UNHCR in
Satsita camp for former B camp inhabitants.

Health

The World Health Organization (WHO) updated and printed a health sector
field directory for Chechnya and Ingushetia to be distributed to donors,
UN agencies, NGOs, and other humanitarian actors. The directory contains
information on 25 UN agencies and NGOs providing humanitarian health
assistance in the North Caucasus. From 1-11 October in Argun (Chechnya),
the agency conducted a workshop on integrated management of childhood
illness for 20 local health professionals. In addition, WHO sponsored the
participation of a psychiatrist from Chechnya in the conference "Affective
Pathologies and HIV" at the Moscow Research Institute of Psychiatry. The
UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) was in the process of delivering 300,000
disposable syringes to state medical institutions in Chechnya and
Ingushetia in the framework of its Expanded Programme of Immunisation.

Education

As a result of B camp closure and the return of IDPs to Chechnya, since
the beginning of September the number of pupils attending 55
UNICEF-supported schools for IDP children in Ingushetia had decreased by
543 to 7,936 pupils. UNICEF delivered 1,450 sets of school furniture to
Chechnya and Ingushetia, which were distributed to hospitals through the
ministries of health of the two republics and NGOs. In addition UNICEF,
together with NGO partners, distributed 5,000 pairs of winter shoes to
vulnerable children in Chechnya. The agency was procuring and distributing
in Chechnya and Ingushetia 5,000 winter jackets, about 8,800 visual aids,
150 blackboards, over 26,000 Russian language textbooks, and 5,000 Chechen
language textbooks. The Chechen Refugee and Displaced Persons Council
(CRDPC), a UNICEF partner, began rehabilitating two secondary schools in
Katar-Yurt and Valerik in Chechnya.

Water and Sanitation

UNICEF, together with the Polish Humanitarian Organisation (PHO),
continued providing drinking water to Grozny residents with an average
daily capacity of 241 m3 (enough for over 16,000 people). The total amount
of water purified and delivered during the reporting period to schools,
hospitals, and beneficiaries in residential areas reached 5,360 m3. In
addition, PHO continued garbage disposal activities from 172 containers
with an average capacity of 56.4 m3. Sewage disposal activities were
maintained in 18 locations with an average daily capacity of 10.65 m3.

Mine Action*

UNICEF held a series of meetings with the International Committee of the
Red Cross (ICRC) in order to strengthen the existing cooperation in the
Mine Awareness programme. It was agreed to co-facilitate a number of
workshops for NGOs involved in mine risk education (MRE) with
participation of local authorities and to look into the issue of ensuring
accurate translation of mine awareness terminology to prevent possible
misinterpretation. The Voice of the Mountains (VoM), a UNICEF partner,
conducted 60 MRE sessions for over 1,800 school children in Groznensky
Raion of Chechnya. Notebooks, pens, and booklets with MRE messages were
distributed to each child to serve as a reminder of the knowledge gained
at the seminars. In Ingushetia, 125 children from an IDP settlement
participated in an MRE interactive session. The UNICEF/WHO-supported
prosthetic centre in Vladikavkaz received 14 children, adolescents, and
women, who had survived mine and unexploded ordinance accidents and needed
prostheses. After three or four fittings they will be provided with the
required prostheses and other necessary accompanying devices (belts,
corsets, bandages, special socks, etc.). A new group of 15 adolescent mine
survivors enrolled in the UNICEF vocational training course at the Grozny
Technical College began taking regular lessons in computing and English.

* 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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