Fwd: UNHCR Update on North Caucasus
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Subject: Fwd: UNHCR Update on North Caucasus
From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
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Fwd: UNHCR Update on North Caucasus
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From: Fabienne Philippe <[email protected]>
NORTH CAUCASUS UPDATE
UNHCR
7 December 1999
This document is intended for public information purposes only. It is
not an official UN document.
NOTE: The North Caucasus Update will be issued once a week.
At a glance
Mounting concern about civilians, protection.
Russia's worst humanitarian crisis since 1995.
Relief operation gathers momentum.
Funding/spending.
High Commissioner Sadako Ogata on Monday (Dec. 6) reiterated concern
about the fate of Chechnya's civilian population trapped in Grozny,
during a telephone conversation with Russia's Federal Emergencies
Minister Sergei Shoigu. Mr. Shoigu telephoned Mrs. Ogata to tell her
that Russia has taken steps to improve security of aid workers in the
Northern Caucasus and decided to exempt U.N. agencies from VAT tax on
local purchases. Mrs. Ogata spoke to Mr. Shoigu hours after Russian
media reported that the Russian military commanders issued an
ultimatum to Grozny's non-combatants, telling them to leave the city
or be destroyed. She used the telephone conversation to express
UNHCR's concern about protection of civilians in Chechnya. She said
the fate of Chechnya's civilians was UNHCR's top concern.
Very little information is available on the humanitarian situation
inside of Chechnya. Tens of thousands of people are believed to be
trapped in Grozny and other areas under heavy Russian bombardment.
Many are hiding in cellars without electricity and adequate supply of
food and water. It is extremely difficult to give a precise figure of
civilians remaining in Chechnya. The last population census, carried
out in Soviet times (1989), put the population of the republic at one
million. But most experts in Russia agree that no more than 400,000
people remained in Chechnya at the onset of this latest round of
fighting, after hundreds of thousands had already left during and
after the 1994-95 Chechnya war. This means that most of Chechnya's
remaining civilian population has now fled and only about 150,000
people remain inside the republic today. Some reports put the number
of people remaining in Grozny at 50,000.
RUSSIA'S WORST HUMANITARIAN CRISIS SINCE 1995
The Russian military offensive against Chechen rebels has driven a
quarter million people into the neighbouring republics, since the
fighting erupted last September. This has caused Russia's worst
humanitarian crisis since the 1994-95 war in Chechnya. Ingushetia,
which now hosts more than 230,000 people, is worst affected. A
UNHCR-led relief operation has been marred by logistical difficulties,
red tape, and an extremely difficult security situation in all of the
Northern Caucasus. The Ingush authorities struggle to accommodate
those displaced from Chechnya. Most live with host families but more
than 20,000 people live in tents and railway cars, braving harsh
winter conditions.
RELIEF OPERATION GATHERS MOMEMTUM
Since last September, UNHCR has sent more than 1800 tons of food and
700 tons of tents, blankets, wood stoves and other winter supplies,
primarily to Ingushetia, but also to North Ossetia and Dagestan. The
aid operation intensified after Ogata visited Russia in late November.
UNHCR has since boosted its staff in Stavropol - the logistical base
for relief operations in the Northern Caucasus. More international
staff have been deployed in Stavropol on stand-by for deployment in
Ingushetia and North Ossetia. Their possible deployment is linked to
adequate security guarantees from Russia. Other UN agencies also
started deploying staff in Stavropol. A World Health Organisation
official arrived in Stavropol on Monday. UNHCR is co-ordinating the
aid operation with other UN agencies and the ICRC.
UNHCR has had no international staff in the Northern Caucasus since
the 1998 kidnapping of UNHCR's official in
North Ossetia who was held for more than ten months before being
released by Russian commandos. At the moment, a handful of local
UNHCR local staff keep the operations in the Northern Caucasus
running.
During the telephone conversation with Russian Minister Shoigu on
Monday, the High Commissioner was told that the Russians would enhance
security in the Northern Caucasus to enable UNHCR international staff
to work in the area in reasonable safety. The Russian Foreign Ministry
told UNHCR that Russia's prime minister has already signed two
executive orders on the security improvement and tax exemptions (VAT).
The details of the new security arrangements and tax exemption were no
immediately clear. The Russians said they would also open airports in
Vladikavkaz and Makhachkala to international aid flights.
FUNDING
Following the High Commissioner's trip to Russia on the
Secretary-General's behalf and subsequent discussions between the
Secretary-General and heads of U.N. humanitarian agencies in Geneva,
the U.N. last month launched a joint emergency funding appeal for
$16,187,000, with UNHCR asking for the largest share - $8,300,000. Out
of that amount, more than $2,000,000 has already been spent or
committed.
UNHCR
Public Information Section
P.O. Box 2500
1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland
Tel: (41 22) 739 85 02
Fax: (41 22) 739 73 14
E-mail: [email protected]
http://www.unhcr.ch
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