UN and NGOs Appeal for US $88 Million for Humanitarian and Recovery Assistance in the North Caucasus in 2006

Moscow, 07 December 2005. – The United Nations together with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Moscow today presented the 2006 Inter-Agency Transitional Workplan for the North Caucasus for humanitarian and development assistance in five North Caucasus republics (Chechnya, Ingushetia, North Ossetia, Dagestan and Kabardino-Balkaria). The Transitional Workplan outlines the programs that 9 UN agencies and 13 NGOs intend to carry out in 2006. To conduct these projects the UN and NGOs are requesting some US $88 million.Humanitarian needs in the North Caucasus remain serious and analysis indicates that the humanitarian situation neither deteriorated nor significantly improved in 2005. At the same time, poverty is widespread in the region and the need for socioeconomic development is clear. Therefore, the UN and partner NGOs will conduct a range of assistance projects in humanitarian relief and development simultaneously for several years. To this extent, the goals of the UN and NGOs in the North Caucasus in 2006 will be:• To enhance protection of the civilian population.• To provide humanitarian relief and assistance, improving targeting of the populations most in need.• To encourage socio-economic recovery and support strategic planning, good governance and local capacity-building.The UN and NGOs realize that the primary responsibility for leading recovery planning and funding rests with the government. International support for development in the North Caucasus will be comparatively small. For this reason, the UN and NGOs will seek to play a supportive, catalytic role to complement government development efforts.The aid operation in the North Caucasus has been on going since 1999. During that time more than US $217 million has been generously contributed by donors. From 1999 to 2004 assistance was primarily humanitarian aid. Since then, UN and NGOs have been steadily increasing programs aimed at recovery and development.Further information on humanitarian and recovery programs in the region is available from: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Alexander Rezanov, +7-095-956-6405 and http://www.ocha.ru) Office of the UN Resident Coordinator (Victoria Zotikova, +7-095-787-2115 and http://www.unrussia.ru)UN Development Programme/Recovery and Reintegration Unit (+9-095-787 3759)