Part III
Coordination Activities in the Field
| Requirements | 1,873,554 | ||
| Income from Voluntary Contributions | 971,455 | ||
| EXPENDITURE | |||
| Staff Costs | 1,197,953 | ||
| Consultant Fees and Travel | – | ||
| Travel | 101,774 | ||
| Operating Expenses | 222,166 | ||
| Contractual Services | 37,540 | ||
| Supplies, Materials, Furniture and Equipment | 46,600 | ||
| Fellowships, Grants and Contributions | 11,800 | ||
| Programme Support Costs | 210,318 | ||
| Total Expenditure (US$) | 1,828,151 |
The main challenges that OCHA faced in 2006 in the Russian Federation were management of the recovery-oriented transition and preparations for scaling down the inter-agency humanitarian operation over the coming years. This transitional approach was agreed upon by the operational United Nations agencies, NGOs, government and other partners in the North Caucasus, and it continues to be seen as the most appropriate strategic framework for humanitarian action.
In 2006, the traditional CAP for humanitarian action
in Chechnya and its neighbouring republics was
broadened into the first Inter-Agency Transitional
Workplan. This paved the way for new assistance sectors
such as Economic Growth, Governance and Peace and
Tolerance. Throughout 2006, the transition programme
progressed smoothly: humanitarian assistance and
protection agencies tailored their activities for maximum
effectiveness as conditions evolved, often redirecting and
sometimes reducing their programmes. New actors with
recovery and development expertise became engaged,
and the local government and civil society assumed
greater leadership of humanitarian and, in particular,
development activities.
Humanitarian and socio-economic conditions in the North Caucasus, particularly in Chechnya, improved in 2006. However, according to the best available needs assessments in the North Caucasus, considerable humanitarian needs remained. While the improvement of the security situation in Chechnya allowed the United Nations to lower its security rating for Chechnya from Phase V to Phase IV, the security environment remained unsettled both in Chechnya and in its adjacent republics. Human insecurity continued to be the principal cause of humanitarian risk.
OCHA’s most significant roles included leadership of the 2006 Inter-Agency Transitional Workplan for the North Caucasus as well as advocacy for greater humanitarian access in Chechnya. OCHA supported humanitarian action in the North Caucasus through an office in Moscow and a sub-office in Nazran (Ingushetia). Consistent with both OCHA’s global role as an emergency response entity and its exit strategy from the Russian Federation, downsizing began in the second half of 2006.
OCHA managed the Transitional Workplan process and facilitated the coordination framework under which its activities were carried out. This involved support to the ten Sector Working Groups in the North Caucasus, general coordination meetings and agencies’ project planning and management. An important OCHA accomplishment in 2006 was to involve government authorities more directly in the transitional programming process. This was achieved through closer contacts with the government, culminating in the September inter-agency strategic planning workshop that initiated the 2007 Transitional Workplan. It was during this workshop that for the first time a senior federal official responsible for the North Caucasus clearly defined the government’s priorities in humanitarian and recovery programming.
In 2006, OCHA launched a web-based ‘Who Does What Where’ database and continued to develop its needs assessment library and other information products. Information made available resulted in the incorporation of cross-sectoral needs analyses in the 2006 Mid-Year Update of the Transitional Workplan and in the 2007 Transitional Workplan. Throughout 2006, the information management team worked on a new, improved website which was launched at the end of the year.
Two years after the RC and HC defined their joint plan to promote recovery and a transitional approach in the North Caucasus, the concept of transition is well understood and appreciated by all partners, and firmly reflected in all agencies’ programmes. Despite the progress in transitional programming, OCHA continues to be the focal point of coordination support to the RC and HC.
The new Sector Working Groups in 2006 established clear objectives and initiated many projects related to recovery and capacity-building. General coordination meetings in the North Caucasus improved and included well-prepared thematic discussions with special focus on cross-cutting intersectoral issues. Regular consultative arrangements were made with government officials, including the working group on protection in Chechnya, frequent United Nations and NGO attendance at meetings of the governmental Chechen IDP Committee, inter-ministerial and inter-agency meetings with republican governments, and planning meetings with the Office of Presidential Plenipotentiary. OCHA staff members actively advised Sector Working Group Chairpersons on coordination responsibilities and best practices. The humanitarian community was briefed on humanitarian reform, particularly the factors addressing accountability in the cluster approach.
In 2006 OCHA continued to advocate with the United Nations Security Management Team and the United Nations Department of Safety and Security for a security phase reclassification of Chechnya. The Secretary-General approved this phase change in July 2006, and OCHA national staff were deployed in August on the first multiday United Nations mission made possible by the phase change. Multi-day missions by national staff and an increased number of day missions by international staff enabled better programme delivery and monitoring.