Since Georgia gained independence following the fall of the Soviet Union, the South Ossetia region has faced severe ethnic conflicts resulting in economic and social underdevelopment. Currently Armenia has more than 220,000 IDPs, as of September 2007, many of whom fled conflicts in the 1990s. The most vulnerable of the IDPs have not been able to find solutions to displacement and continue to live in collective centres in continuously deteriorating conditions.   The main threat faced by Georgian IDPs is inadequate housing combined with lack of sanitation and potable water systems.  The abysmal housing conditions of the collective centres create real threats to human health and life, especially during harsh winters.

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CERF allocates US$ 162,000 for winterization assistance to vulnerable individuals living in Collective Centres in South Ossetia (Tskhinvali)

 As a result of the Georgian-Ossetian clashes in the 90s,. the most vulnerable of the IDPs have continued living in collective centres (CCs) in continuously deteriorating conditions. The limited assistance provided over the years has aimed at life-saving and has not been adequate to raise the level of living conditions in a sustainable manner. IDPs in the collective centres are unwilling or unable to return to their places of former residence mainly due to continued insecurity and instability. 

Local resident of an Internally Displaced Persons camp [Photo: UN]

There are four main collective centers in Tskhinvali town and its outskirts, where 480 individuals live, of which 98 families/282 individuals are IDPs, with the rest being local vulnerable individuals. The CERF project, implemented by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), is providing winterisation assistance to 160 families/480 individuals in the three main collective centres in Tkshinvali. The winterisation assistance consists of emergency repair of the collective centres (installation of doors and windows in the rooms and corridors, plastering, flooring) and provision of fire-wood and wood-burning stoves. 

[Last Update: 20 November 2007]

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