UN refugee agency to open office in Chechnya once security conditions allow
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will open an office in the war-torn republic of Chechnya in
the Russian Federation as soon as security conditions allow, the head of the agency announced today, saying a presence
on the ground would allow it to improve assistance to the war-affected population, which includes tens of thousands of
internally displaced people (IDPs).
UNHCR has offices in the Russian Federation republics of North Ossetia and Ingushetia, also in the North Caucasus, but
security restrictions limit access for its staff to Chechnya, although the agency maintains protection monitoring
functions through missions and through the activities of local partners, it said in a statement.
“Our staff is anxious to work in Chechnya. Our partners are very skilled and reliable, but if we can be present also we
will be able to provide more effective protection and assistance to returnees. We are ready to open an office in
Chechnya as soon as security permits it,” High Commissioner António Guterres told reporters in Moscow, after a six-day
visit to the region that included the three republics.
“The remaining problems in the North Caucasus can only be solved first by efforts of the federal authorities, then the
authorities of each republic as well as the international community. The development of a true system of law and order
is the basis for more effective solutions to the problems of refugees and IDPs.”
During his visits to the North Caucasus, Mr. Guterres met the presidents and other government officials of the three
republics and “held frank and open discussions” on how best to meet the needs of refugees and the IDPs, as well as
offering his organization’s assistance and expertise, the agency said.
The High Commissioner’s visit to the region began in the town of Beslan in North Ossetia, where he paid tribute to the
victims of the September 2004 school siege, in which armed Chechen militants seized School Number One and took hundreds
of people hostage. Two days later, the stand-off between the militants and the Russian security forces came to a violent
end and at least 331 people, including 186 children, were killed and hundreds wounded.
“First of all, I want to pay tribute to the victims of Beslan and thereby to demonstrate my complete solidarity with the
people of North Ossetia,” Mr. Guterres said before his delegation laid wreaths on the monument commemorating the
victims.
In Chechnya, he visited a temporary accommodation centre for Chechen returnees from Georgia and Ingushetia, who told him
about some of the difficulties they face in obtaining documents, compensation for lost property and finding jobs. Over
60,000 people are so far registered as IDPs by the Chechen authorities, however due to the security restrictions not all
people may have been able to register, and thousands have sought asylum in other countries.
The mountainous North Caucasus region of the Russian Federation is a mosaic of nationalities, languages and religions.
For centuries, Moscow has been trying to pacify this volatile region.
The epicentre of the region’s troubles is the republic of Chechnya, where ten years of fighting between armed
separatists and the Russian army and its Chechen allies, combined with banditry and organized crime, have left the local
economy and infrastructure in ruins.