OCHA Situation Report
Chechnya and Neighbouring Republics (Russian Federation)
16-31 October 2003
10 November 2003


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

I. HIGHLIGHTS
UN/Donor Delegation Monitors Situation in the North Caucasus

>From 28-30 October, a joint UN/donor delegation visited Chechnya and
Ingushetia. In Grozny, members of the mission, comprising representatives
of the Humanitarian Aid Office of the European Commission (ECHO), the UN
Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator and Area Security Coordinator, as well as
representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO), UN Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), and UN Security Coordinator
(UNSECOORD) visited selected health facilities, including the Republican
Peadiatric Hospital; Republican Infectious Diseases Hospital; Republican
TB dispensary; and a psychosocial rehabilitation centre. In addition, the
delegation visited a temporary accommodation centre (TAC) and met
representatives of the Chechen authorities, including the Chairman of the
Chechen Government, Anatoly Popov. From the UN side, the issues of access
to Chechnya, security of the UN staff, and coordination with the
Government were raised the same as at the meeting with President of
Chechnya Kadyrov the day before in Moscow. Anatoly Popov, on his part,
expressed appreciation for the humanitarian assistance and the wish that
the aid be expanded in Chechnya. In Ingushetia, OCHA representatives
visited IDP tent camps to monitor situation there and met the Ingush
authorities.

UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador visits Ingushetia and North Ossetia

>From 20-25 October, a delegation including a well-known Dutch actress and
UNICEF (UN Children's Fund) Goodwill Ambassador, Monique van de Ven, a
representative of the Dutch National Committee for UNICEF, and a TV crew,
visited the North Caucasus. The delegation visited IDP camps and
UNICEF-supported education and mine action projects in Ingushetia and
North Ossetia. In addition, the UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador met the Deputy
Prime Minister of Ingushetia, Mr. Markhiyev, and discussed the situation
of children and women in IDP camps.

WFP Active in the North Caucasus Marks the World Food Day

On 16 October, the World Food Programme (WFP) marked the World Food Day
facing the highest global food needs in its 40-year history. In the
Russian Federation, WFP continues to lobby with international donors to
reach some 259,000 vulnerable people and school children affected by the
situation in Chechnya, a WFP statement said. WFP is carrying out its
humanitarian activities in close partnership with the Danish Refugee
Council (DRC), Islamic Relief (IR), People in Need Foundation (PINF), and
other international and local NGOs operating in the North Caucasus.
EMERCOM, an official consignee for WFP imported food commodities in
Russia, is its major partner among government structures.

II. HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE

Protection

As of 31 October 2003, DRC, an implementing partner of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), had 71,685 internally displaced persons
from Chechnya registered in its database for assistance in Ingushetia. Of
this total, over 9,000 persons were registered in four tent camps, more
than 23,000 persons in temporary settlements, and around 39,000 persons in
private accommodation. From 15-31 October, the Chechen Forced Migrant
Committee reported the organised return of over 1,400 IDPs from Ingushetia
to Chechnya. Of this number, about 1,300 persons de-registered in
Ingushetia and registered for assistance in Chechnya. In addition, Vesta
NGO, another UNHCR partner, reported individual return of 165 persons from
Ingushetia to Chechnya and the arrival of 35 persons from Chechnya to
Ingushetia. From 28-29 October in Stavropol, UNHCR, together with the
Federal Migration Service and the Federal Border Guard Service, organised
a seminar on international protection of refugees in the Russian
Federation for 27 participants from Ingushetia, North Ossetia, Dagestan,
Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachayevo-Cherkesia, as well as Stavropolsky Krai
and Krasnodarsky Krai. The purpose of the seminar was to raise awareness
of the refugees issue and to improve the protection situation of refugees
and other persons of concern to UNHCR by acquainting representatives of
the two services with international conventions on the rights of
asylum-seekers and refugees.

Food

In October, WFP, in cooperation with its NGO partners, distributed 345 MTs
of basic food commodities to about 50,000 beneficiaries in Chechnya and
362 MTs - to over 31,000 IDPs in Ingushetia. In addition, in Chechnya, the
agency provided 200 MTs of food to 2,710 participants of its food-for-work
project.

Health

>From 13-24 October in Shali (Chechnya), WHO conducted a workshop on the
Integrated Management of Childhood Illness for 20 local health
professionals. In addition, it organised a training course on the
"Psychosocial Assistance to Population in Long-term Conflicts" for 16
general practitioners and paediatricans in Grozny. The agency sponsored
the participation of the Head Obstetrician/Gynaecologist of the Ministry
of Health of Chechnya in a workshop on breastfeeding and HIV in Odessa.
UNICEF provided 300,000 disposable syringes to health care facilities in
Chechnya and Ingushetia for vaccination purposes and began distributing
medical consumables to five paediatric and maternity clinics in Ingushetia
and to 33 similar medical facilities in Grozny. UNICEF continued promoting
its Mother Empowerment Programme for IDP mothers living in tent camps and
host families in Ingusheia. It conducted, together with the Hammer Forum
(HF), a seminar for doctors and nurses on the dissemination of knowledge
related to breastfeeding, immunisation, hygiene, and childhood illness.

Education

On 30 October in Nazran, UNICEF and WFP organised a workshop on Community
Support to Education for all NGO implementing partners and representatives
of the Ministry of Education of Chechnya. The purpose of the workshop was
to highlight the importance of community support to education in Chechnya
and the role of humanitarian agencies in mobilising communities and
parents in addressing education needs. UNICEF, in cooperation with the
International Rescue Committee (IRC), fully resumed vocational training
activities in Ingushetia. Sixty adolescents attended English-language
courses, as well as computer, cooking, tailoring, and accounting classes.
In addition, IRC conducted a training course on psychosocial support to
IDP children for 15 teachers in Ingushetia. PINF, another UNICEF partner,
launched an HIV/AIDS prevention campaign in five schools in Grozny. UNICEF
completed the distribution of 5,000 Chechen-language textbooks for primary
school children in Chechnya and Ingushetia, as well as the distribution of
5,000 pairs of winter shoes to vulnerable children in Chechnya. In
addition, in Chechnya, it continued distributing 5,000 winter jackets to
the same category of children.

Water and Sanitation

UNICEF, together with the Polish Humanitarian Organisation (PHO),
continued providing drinking water to Grozny residents with an average
weekly capacity of 532 m3 (enough for over 35,000 people). PHO served 179
water distribution points in various parts of the city with water produced
by four purification units installed at two pumping stations. In addition,
UNICEF and PHO continued their sanitation programme targeting school
children, hospital patients, and residents of Grozny. The garbage disposal
was carried out by two garbage trucks, with an average daily capacity of
57 m3. The daily sewage disposal at 18 locations reached 10.66 m3.

Mine Action*

The Voice of the Mountains (VoM), a UNICEF partner, conducted 37 mine risk
education sessions for over 1,600 school children in Argun and Alkhan-Yurt
in Chechnya as well as for about 400 IDP children in Ingushetia. VoM
continued monitoring the mine risk education course included into the
school curricular in Chechnya in six raions of the republic in order to
assess the professional skills of teachers conducting the course and
oversee the distribution of mine risk education booklets. CARE Canada, a
UNICEF partner, began providing psychosocial counselling to two groups of
highly traumatised children (including 9 and 11 children) at the
Prosthetic Workshop and at the library of the Blind People Association in
Grozny. CARE psychologists had selected these children through a number of
meetings with children and their parents at schools in Oktyabrsky district
of Grozny.

* 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

For more information, please contact us directly or refer to: www.ocha.ru
or www.reliefweb.int


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