OCHA Belgrade: Weekly Situation Report 06 - 12 Oct 2000

HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE
Coordination:

On 11 October in New York, OCHA organized an inter-agency meeting on the situation on FRY. The purpose of the meeting was to exchange information on recent developments in FRY and to consider how these developments may affect humanitarian and transitional assistance in the coming months. OHCHR, UNHCR, UNICEF, FAO, WHO, WFP, ICRC, UNDP, and the UN Department of Political Affairs attended the meeting. Concern was expressed about the poor funding status of the FRY(excluding Kosovo) component of the 2000 Consolidated Appeal for Southeast Europe, while stressing the need to continue to provide humanitarian aid in the immediate-to-medium term.

At the Heads of UN Agencies meeting on 10 October (participated in also by ICRC, IFRC, and ICVA), the humanitarian community affirmed that the humanitarian situation/needs remain largely unchanged after the recent political change and that the overall strategy and assistance needs remain valid. One positive implication is increased interests/willingness of western donor countries/organizations to provide aid to FRY and that it is now realistic to consider expansion of the scope of assistance to include much-needed transitional aid and ensure an effective link between humanitarian and transitional assistance.

In Montenegro, OCHA has developed a Humanitarian and Transitional Initiatives Database, which provides an overview on the breakdown of all forms of assistance that have been delivered to Montenegro. Current plan is to hand-over the database to the national aid coordination unit located in the Montenegrin Prime Minister's Office. Database is available at Reliefweb (www.reliefweb.int). (For customized information, contact OCHA sub-office in Podgorica)

UN Inter-Agency Consolidated Appeal:

The UN Country Team in FRY is in the process of finalizing the compilation of the FRY (excluding Kosovo) input to the Consolidated Appeal (CAP) for Southeast Europe for 2001. The third meeting of focal points was held on 12 October, to review the final draft of the country input. The UN agencies are redefining the Common Humanitarian Action Plan for FRY (excluding Kosovo), taking into account the recent change. In the next few weeks, this, and other country inputs from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, FRY-Kosovo, and FYR Macedonia, will be consolidated into the regional CAP.

Refugees:

In Montenegro, the refugee registration exercise has begun on 9 October, through seven registration centers throughout the republic. UNHCR, together with the Montenegrin Commissioner for Displaced Persons and the Secretariat for Development, will be revalidating the identification cards of refugees who were registered during the previous period. The registration will help verify the status of refugees and gather information on their family size and composition, vulnerability, and repatriation. This process should be completed within two to three weeks, and the database is expected to be operational from the beginning of year 2001.

In Montenegro, On 16-17 October, the US Government's Bureau for Population, Refugees, and Migration and UNHCR/Zagreb will co-sponsor a cross-border working meeting in Dubrovnik (Croatia). The meeting will address results to-date of the refugee return process, relations between the international community and host governments, and the role and expectations of NGOs. All UNHCR offices and implementing partners in ex-Yugoslavia will attend, including the agencies from Montenegro.

NGOs:

There is a sign of growing interests among international NGOs in coming to work in FRY. Should there be an influx of NGOs, there is an important need for coordination in this area. This also highlights the need for renewed effort to pursue the still pending issue of NGO legislation.

ANALYSIS AND ASSESSMENT

WFP has prepared a Minimum Expenditure Basket for Low Income Households in Serbia (excluding Kosovo), in order to mainstream the Food Economy Assessment approach. On the basis of the first report (based on the price levels in June), WFP plans to update the household expenditures and related ratios on a quarterly basis. (For more information, contact WFP Belgrade)

Further to its first mission in August, the second mission of experts is scheduled for 18-26 October, for the Study on Humanitarian Impact of Sanctions against FRY, co-funded by OCHA and UNICEF. This mission will focus on collection and analysis of data on identified indicators, in cooperation with UN and other humanitarian agencies and national experts. The humanitarian community in FRY reaffirmed that this assessment continued to be important from programmatic point of view, as humanitarian impact of sanctions will persist for some time even after their lifting. While the EU lifted its flight ban and oil embargo on 9 October, other sanctions still remain in place, including the EU financial sanctions and visa restrictions, the US outer-wall sanctions, and the UN arms embargo.

OTHER MATTERS:

Further to the inauguration of new FRY President, Mr. Vojislav Kostunica, the UN Secretary-General sent a letter to congratulate him on his victory in the recent elections. In the letter, the Secretary-General noted the opening of a "unique opportunity for a fresh start to the relationship between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the United Nations" and also urged the solution to the pending succession issue.

On 12 October, the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General, Mr. Carl Bildt, arrived in Belgrade for a three-day visit. He met with President Kostunica on 12 October, together with the UN Humanitarian Coordinator and the Head of UN Liaison Office. Discussions included humanitarian matters.

Following the recent democratic change, a number of high-level officials visited FRY, including the French Foreign Minister Vedrine (EU Presidency) and the Coordinator of the Stability Pact, Bodo Hombach. There seem to be increasing support for FRY to be included in the Stability Pact for Southeast Europe.

On 10 October, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator, together with relevant UN agencies, met with the delegation of the European Commission, to discuss immediate priorities for humanitarian aid, focusing particularly in the area of food and energy. At a press conference on 11 October, the EC delegation indicated its priority focus on the need to provide heating oil ahead of the winter. The EC is expected to start cleaning up the Danube in the coming week.

For additional information, please contact:

Ms. Kayo Gotoh, HAO, OCHA Belgrade (gotoh@unocha.org)

Address: Kneza Milosa 68/II, 11000 Belgrade, FRY
Telephone: (381)(011) 3614-367/368; Fax: 682-963; Email: ocha-belgrade@unocha.org