OCHA Situation Report
North Caucasus: Inter-Agency Transitional Workplan for 2007
12 December 2006


Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

1. Executive Summary

The United Nations and its NGO part ners since 1999 have provided 
assistance and protection to the population of Chechnya and its 
neighboring republics under a Common Humanitarian Action Plan and a 
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Government of the Russian 
Federation. Beginning in 2006, the traditional Consolidated Appeal (CAP) 
was broad ened into the first InterAgency Transitional Workplan. 
Agencies now undertake projects in areas such as Economic Growth, 
Governance, and Peace and Tolerance, in addition to the array of 
humanitarian activities (Education, Food Security and Agriculture, 
Health, Mine Action, Protection, Shelter, and Water and Sanitation).

This document is the second annual InterAgency Transitional Workplan for 
the North Caucasus. It represents the joint strategic framework of 
twentyone agencies (9 UN and 12 NGOs), and their appeal for nearly US$ 
79.6 million to carry out a consolidated program of assistance and 
protection in 2007. This plan and appeal was developed in coop eration 
with local communities, govern ment, the Red Cross and Red Crescent 
Movement, and donors.

Current assessments of humanitarian vulnerability indicate that the 
overall humanitarian situation in Chechnya and its neighboring republics 
will remain seri ous throughout 2007, although gradual improvement is 
expected. There are at least 150,000 internally displaced persons in 
Chechnya (equivalent to 1015% of the total population) and as many as 
40,000 persons are also displaced in Ingushetia and Dagestan. They and 
the general pop ulation live in a postconflict environ ment, in which 
the authorities recognize major weaknesses in the rule of law. Although 
there are signs of socioeco nomic recovery, and the expectation is that 
this process will continue in 2007,

the North Caucasus remains one of the poorest regions in the Russian 
Federation. Nearly 80% of the population in the North Caucasus region is 
estimat ed to live on an income below the national poverty level. Health 
indicators suggest deeper problems of poverty and inadequate social 
services. Maternal and infant mortality rates in Chechnya and 
Ingushetia, for example, are 24 times higher than the national average. 
The incidence of tuberculosis in Chechnya is ten times higher, and has 
increased near ly fivefold since 2001. Public infrastruc ture in 
Chechnya is mostly destroyed. For example, 40% of the residents of 
Grozny lack access to running water. The meaning of "transition" adopted 
for the Transitional Workplan is that of a period between the emergency 
and development phases, in a postconflict situation in this case, when 
humanitarian needs must be met and the longterm benefits of 
rehabilitation and recon struction have yet to be fully realized. The 
need on the ground in the North Caucasus is for a range of assistance 
proj ects in relief and development to be con ducted simultaneously for 
several years. It is also increasingly important that the government and 
civil society have full ownership of the recovery and develop ment 
agenda.

To best coordinate and direct their joint effort, the participants in 
this Workplan have set forth three strategic goals for 2007 in support 
of Government efforts. Sector Working Groups have developed interagency 
response plans reflecting the best available situation analysis and 
designed to achieve these goals.

- Support Government to enhance protection of the civilian population, 
including through protection partnerships defined in a Transitional 
Protection Strategy in Chechnya.

- Basic humanitarian needs are met, and vulnerability across the region 
is reduced through closely linked socio-economic recovery projects.

- A strategic partnership with government and local communities that 
reinforces their capacity for humanitarian action and development.

Some of the priority areas of humanitarian and recovery activity to be 
found in the Sector Response Plans are:

- micro-credit and poverty-reduction assistance;

- sustainable solutions for IDPs, including housing and employment;

- basic food relief to the most vulnerable, plus food for work and 
agriculture projects;

- training, technical assistance, supplementary feeding, and materiel in 
health and education;

- technical assistance for rebuilding water and sewage systems in 
Chechnya; and

- strengthening institutional capacity in the areas of governance and 
public sector reform.

The participating agencies planned their 2007 activities in close 
cooperation with the relevant government authorities. Federal, regional, 
and republic-level officials participated in sector-specific and 
strategic priority-setting meetings. Efforts continue on the part of the 
UN and NGOs to better coordinate their work with the government and 
local communities.

Because the North Caucasus remains a difficult operating environment in 
terms of the safety of humanitarian and development aid workers, the UN 
and most of its partners take exceptional security measures, including 
use of armed guards and escorts. It must be highlighted that this 
implies a high cost, reflected in the program budgets of some individual 
agencies but most clearly in the budget of the UN Department of Safety 
and Security (UNDSS). UNDSS provides the security coverage that allows 
the UN to access and serve the vulnerable population throughout the 
region. UNDSS will face higher expenses in 2007 as the UN: a) increases 
the number of day missions into Chechnya; b) stations local staff in 
Chechnya; and c) aims to establish a UN office in Chechnya. It is of 
utmost importance to the success of the 2007 Transitional Workplan that 
donors make early commitments ensuring full funding for UNDSS.

Sections 2 and 3 of this document present a Common Action Plan for 
Transitional Assistance, comprising a review of progress, situation 
analysis, collective goals, and Sector Response Plans for 2007. In 
Section 4, each participating agency presents its own profile and 
planned activities. The overall picture of the resource requirements for 
this Workplan is presented on page 5.

Disaggregation of the Action Plan and the budget stops at the level of 
sector objectives and actions. Corresponding and detailed project 
proposals may be obtained directly through participating agencies.

Annexes to the Workplan include supporting information for the Action 
Plan, including maps of agency activities by republic and summaries of 
the related programs of several key partners (i.e., the EC, ICRC, and 
the World Bank).

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Appropriate Donations for International Disaster/Humanitarian Needs
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Center for International              web: www.cidi.org
    Disaster Information          listserv: www.cidi.org/listsub.htm
                                guidelines: www.cidi.org/donate.htm
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -