In this issue:

DECENTRALIZATION

• Republican Seminar “Ways of Partnership between the State, International Organizations, NGOs, and Local Self-governments in the Undertaking of Poverty Eradication Endeavors”

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE

• Regional Round Table on Emergency Preparedness and Response in Batken

GENDER IN DEVELOPMENT

• Integration of Gender in National Policies

HEALTHCARE

• Central Asian Conference on Prevention of HIV/AIDS/STIs in Almaty

NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS

• Update on Counterpart Consortium/USAID/UN/EU-Supported NGO activities

POPULATION

• The conference “Development of Statistics in Transition Economies” in Bishkek

SUPPORT TO PARLIAMENT

• UNDP project "Support to Parliament of Kyrgyzstan": seminar on ombudsman

DECENTRALIZATION

Republican Seminar Held on “Ways of Partnership between the State, International Organizations, NGOs, and Local Self-governments in the Undertaking of Poverty Eradication Endeavors.” Held in Alai district center and Korul local municipality of Osh Oblast on the 19th of May 2001, the seminar was organized by the Osh Oblast Administrative Office and was attended by Mr. Askar Akayev, President of the Kyrgyz Republic. Among the 300 participants were Ministers; Governors of Osh, Jalal-Abad and Batken Oblasts; and Local Municipality Heads of Osh Oblast. In addition, representatives from international organizations, NGOs and the media were in attendance at the seminar.

The seminar was organized on the basis of the on-going activities being implemented in Korul local municipality, one of the pilot municipalities of the Decentralization Programme. The seminar was divided into two parts with the first half being devoted to a field visit to Korul municipality and the second half consisting of a seminar held Gulche village of Alai district. The main objective of the seminar was to focus and expound upon the role of social mobilization and participatory planning in improving the living conditions of the population residing in the rural areas of the Kyrgyz Republic. Furthermore, the seminar was aimed at examining the role played by the Decentralization Programme in the capacity development of the local self-governments and support to the functioning of the local municipalities. Emphasis was placed on the democratic and participatory nature of programme activities, working in close collaboration with the Community Based Organizations (CBOs) formed on the principles of social mobilization developed by the Decentralization Programme.

During the field trips, the President of the Kyrgyz Republic Askar Akaev along with other participants visited the sites of community development projects in 1st of May village. The group of participants visited a the private farm of Tir Ibrahimov, who was enable to undertake livestock farming activities with a loan received from KAFC. Following their visit to the farm, the group visited Poverty Alleviation Programme supported Self-Help Group “Ayaljat”, where the group leader explained to the participants their use of credit received from KAFC for income generating activities. In addition, the group of participants visited a school construction site and a completed public bathhouse initiated by CBOs in partnership with the district level Administration, local municipality and Decentralization Programme. The Kyrgyz President and other seminar participants met with CBO members and learned how the CBOs are undertaking various development activities in the village and how they are involved in the planning and decision-making processes of the village administration. These CBOs play an important role in resolving the economic and social problems of their villages and contributing to the development of civil society and local democratic governance. President Askar Akaev and the group of participants then visited the two poor families of 1st of May village to whom the local administrations and the European Children’s Trust have provided financial support.

In the seminar held in Gulche village, a CBO leader presented to the audience the activities carried out to date by the CBOs of Korul. In his speech, Aitbai Jhenaliev, the leader of “Iigilik” CBO, highlighted the achievements that they have accomplished upon implementation of the Decentralization Programme in their municipality. He focussed on the fact that improved partnerships have been established between CBOs and the local self-government in relation to the socio-economic development of the village, which in the long run will assist in the alleviation of poverty in rural areas. In a separate seminar session, Almaj Osmonov, Head of Korul local municipality presented the municipality’s plans, programmes and current achievements. In his speech he highlighted the activities of international organizations working in the area, in particular the UNDP-supported Decentralization and Poverty Alleviation Programmes.

President Askar Akayev expressed his belief that Korul village municipality is on the path to sustainable development. He stressed that the Annual Village Development plan prepared in a participatory manner with the involvement of the CBOs is what is needed in the developing arena. Accordingly, the President ordered all village administrators to look towards Korul village municipality as a model institution and follow the path that they have undertaken. Upon conclusion of the seminar, highly impressed by the development activities of Korul village municipality, President Akayev announced the republic’s bestowal of the Honorary “Dank” Award upon the Head of Korul village municipality for his efforts in developing Korul village municipality as a model local level self-governing administrative body.

Contact: UNDP/UNV Decentralization Program, Mr. Kalyan Pandey, Chief Technical Advisor, Government House, 205 Prospekt Chui, Bishkek. Phone: (996 312) 66-00-80, E-mail: [email protected] General information on the UNDP/UNV Decentralization Program can be found on the UNDP Internet homepage at http://www.undp.kg/ (see'UNDP activities') and DP Internet webpage http://www.dppiu.elcat.kg/

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE

Regional Round Table on Emergency Preparedness and Response in Batken – On May 18, a round table was held on the possible role of various actors, including local NGOs, government and international organisations in emergencies in Batken. The event was attended by some 20 people from the Ministry of Emergencies and Civil Defense (MECD), the Foundation for Tolerance International (FTI), UNDP, UNHCR, ICRC and the Kyrgyz Red Crescent, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Mercy Corps International, ACTED as well as local NGOs from Batken and Isfana: ?mur Bulagy (‘source of life’) and the Tsentr Prava Tsheloveka i Demokratia (‘center for democracy and human rights’). The idea for such a gathering came from the MECD and FTI at the UNHCR/Norwegian Refugee Council training on Emergency Management that was held in Bishkek in April, and was further facilitated by the UN Regional Coordination Office in South Kyrgyzstan and FTI. The primary purpose of the round table was to bring the MECD and civil society together to see the roles they could play in each other’s operations, and to identify training needs.

The MECD provided an overview of the emergency scenarios it is planning for in 2001, while UNDP presented the UN Emergency Contingency and Preparedness Plan (UNECPP, see the UNDP homepage at http://www.undp.kg/ click ‘South Kyrgyzstan’ for more information), which outlines emergency coordination between the Government of Kyrgyzstan, the UN and other international organziations and national NGOs. During the presentations of the MECD and UNDP and the subsequent discussions, it was outlined that NGOs can play a crucial role in: identifying needs and resources (especially water supply and sanitation, which is a major problem in almost all places where refugees or IDP will gather); supplying objective information about the social and humanitarian situation; social mobilization in villages and neighborhoods and facilitate access to vulnerable groups (especially social women NGOs); represent the sector in the state commission on humanitarian assistance.

IOM presented its Social Partnership in Emergency Migration Management (SPEEM) project. The project’s purposes are to strengthen the capacities of local self-governing bodies, civil society organizations and local communities in Batken and Jalal Abad (and later expand to Osh) to prevent, prepare and respond to emergency migration situations to more effectively manage migration management and participate in decision-making; through training, by building mechanisms of partnership among the public and private sectors of civil society institutions in order to avoid duplication of efforts and to coordinate activities for better resource utlization; through forming local rescue and emergency assessment teams; by working to improve emergency migration policy and legislation in the Kyrgyz Republic, including links to the General Coordination Committee. IOM is currently implementing this project in partnership with ADRA and in cooperation with civil society institutions such as the Bishke Migration Managemnet Center, Counterpart Consortium, Interbilim and the Kyrgyz Red Crescent Society and is open to other NGO partners. The project staff are also working closely with the UNDP Preventive Development in the South program (see the program homepage at http://www.pdsouth.elcat.kg/ for more information) and the UN Regional Coordination Office in Batken. The project also works closely with the MECD and other relevant government agencies.

Problems that were discussed extensively were the identification of NGOs that are active and do have the capacity to play a role, as well transparency on humanitarian actions during emergencies. The latter was a problem in the 1999 Batken events. Identifying NGOs can be done through the province-level NGO Support Centers and international agencies closely working with NGOs. For follow-up, the MECD prepared and presented a one-page matrix which outlines areas where NGOs might be able to bring input during emergencies. In the meantime, this matrix is being been distributed by the UN Regional Coordination Office to international organizations who closely work with NGOs, while FTI and the Batken NGO Support Center will soon organize operational briefings for active NGOs from Batken, Lejlek and Kadamjai in order to fill in the matrix and map their possible input in MECD actions. It was agreed that a follow-up meeting with the participation principally of MECD and local NGOs would be held in the near future to discuss the results of this exercise and come to an agreement on roles for NGOs.

Contact: The UN Regional Coordination Office in South Kyrgyzstan (Batken, contact person: Bruno De Cordier). Phone (996 3622) 361.44 or 360.29. E-mail: Foundation for Tolerance International (Batken office, contact person: Jenish Mamatov). Phone: (996 3622) 220.36 or 361.00 E-mail:

GENDER IN DEVELOPMENT

Integration of Gender in National Policies. One of the main objectives of UNDP Gender in Development Bureau is creation of enabling environment for the advancement of women through gender mainstreaming of national policies and programmes. Within the framework of the Promoting Women in Leadership project being implemented since March 1999, GID Bureau organized a series of first orientation workshops for government officials and civil servants of three pilot sectors identified by the government of Kyrgyzstan for initiation the process of integration of gender in national policies and programmes. So far the workshops were conducted for the Academy of the Ministry of Interior of Kyrgyzstan, on 10-11 May, and the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, on 21-22 May 2001. The workshops aimed to raise awareness of key staff of the above organizations and introduce basic concept of gender mainstreaming.

The team of national trainers coached and thoroughly trained by the GID Bureau during last two years conducted the workshops. During this process national trainers had opportunities to be exposed to two extensive TOT in Bishkek and study tours abroad.

Workshop sessions at the Academy of the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection included such topics as: gender analysis; gender as integral part of democracy and modernization of society; gender situation in Kyrgyzstan; review of gender issues in labour and employment; advancement of women and international commitments of Kyrgyzstan; existing tools and instruments for gender mainstreaming, etc.

Workshop evaluation done by participants themselves displayed high rates and good estimation of the content and quality of the sessions. An output of the workshops are recommendations developed by participants for formulation of further arguments for gender-inclusive approach and next steps and actions. The results will be drawn into a brief report, which will be utilized for further activities within the project and shared with national partners. In the meantime the GID Bureau is planning last but not least in the first round of workshops, seminar for RADS which was selected as an entry point for gender mainstreaming initiatives in Agricultural sector. The workshop is planned for 5-6 June 2001.

Contact: Ms. Aikan Mukanbetova, UNDP GID Bureau Director. 24 Isanov Street, office #1, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Tel.: +996 (312) 66-04-18, 66-38-85. Fax: +996 (312) 66-05-20. E-mail: A lot of information on the Forum put on the Kyrgyz Government web site: http://www.gov.kg/ as well on the Human Development Network web site: http://www.dialog.kg/ in Russian. Information in English will be put on UNDP Kyrgyzstan web site: http://www.undp.kg/

HEALTHCARE

On May 16-18 2001 Central Asian Conference on Prevention of HIV/AIDS/STIs took place in Almaty. Among 96 participants were representatives of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, as well as officials of UN Agencies, UNAIDS co-sponsors, international NGOs and country-donors. The HIV/AIDS/STI Central Asian Initiative was launched at the conference. The Kyrgyz Republic was represented by Mr. R. Meimanaliev, Minister of Health, Mr. B. Tursunbekov, vice-minister of education and culture, Mr. T. Aitnazarov, representative of Osh oblast administration, Mr. B. Shapiro, General Director, National AIDS Center, Mr. A. Suranchiev, Head of Bishkek Department of Interior, Mr. V. Vinogradov, NGO “Oasis”, Ms. G. Kurmanova, NGO “Tais-Plus” and Mr. Alexander Kashkarev, UNDP NPO. Members of Kyrgyz delegation made three presentations on HIV/AIDS/STI activities and measures undertaken in the country, which caused positive audience response. One more presentation has made by Ms. G. Kurmanova as international expert on commercial sex workers problem in Central Asia.

The conference adopted the resolution with following objectives: prevention of HIV-infection among drug users, prevention and care of sexually transmitted infections; promotion of healthy lifestyle among youth; political and social obligations; legal, political and cultural environment; partnership to solve the problem. The resolution will be sent as CAR proposal to UN General Assembly special session on HIV/AIDS at the highest political level, to be held on 25-27 June 2001 in New York for the development of HIV/AIDS/STI policy in CAR. The special session will aim to intensify international action to fight the epidemic and to mobilize the resources needed.

Contact: Mrs. Larissa Bashmakova, National Project Manager, tel./fax: (996 312) 66-36-91, tel.: (996 312) 22-03-84, e-mail:

NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS

Update on Counterpart Consortium/USAID/UN/EU-Supported NGO activities. Civil Society Support Center (CSSC) of the Issyk-Kul region - On May 16, 2001 a meeting of the staff of the Volunteer Center was held in the CSSC office. Twenty four volunteers registered in the data base were invited to the meting. The purpose of the meeting was to make preparations for an annual summer camp “Children Help Children”, which operates for developmentally disabled children. The volunteers of the Center designed a plan of fundraising, a tentative plan of activities to target parents, developmentally disabled children and children who will assist in program implementation. It was decided to open the summer camp at the end of June 2001.

On May 22, 2001 the community of the Karal-Dobo village, Issyk-Kul region, continued working on community action plan (CAP). The first CAP meeting was conducted on May 4, 2001. 150 villagers and CSSC staff will participate in the design of CAP. The purpose of CAP is to jointly design specific community-based actions to address problems identified during Participatory Community Appraisal workshop that was held on February 22, 2001. The most active members of the community will make an overview of the stakeholders that may help to address community problems, outline dates, and identify resources, ways of monitoring and evaluation.

Training on Microfinancing was held in Kara-Balta in the office of the non-profit organization Edinstvo on May 7-8, 2001. The workshop was held under a joint program with Counterpart Consortium that is funded through USAID and UNHCR. It was initiated by the Civil Society Support Center in Kara-Balta and was held by local trainers trained. 15 NGO representatives and refugees from Tajikistan participated in the workshop.

14 representatives of the NGO community in Bishkek became the participants of the NGO Management training conducted by the Bishkek CSSC (hosted by the International Center InterBilim). The workshop was held in a training room of InterBilim on May 17-18, 2001. The NGO Management workshop covers a broad range of management issues. The training was held under Counterpart Consortium Program of Civil Society and NGO Development in the Central Asia Region funded through USAID.

Participatory Community Appraisal (PCA) workshop was held in a training room of Counterpart Consortium on May 16-18, 2001. This three-day workshop was held for 14 participants representing local-based health NGOs and Associations. The purpose of the workshop was to train facilitators able to organize and conduct PCA. The training was held under Counterpart Consortium program on Community Mobilization through funding provided by USAID. The program is aimed at building capacity of local communities in mobilizing their members and other resources and active participation of the population in decision-making to improve living conditions. During two days the participants obtained information about PCA and the last day the participants made a site visit to a polyclinic #7 to conduct PCA.

Training on Microfinancing for refugees in Kyzyl-Kiya. On May 14-15, 2001 the Batken CSSC conducted a workshop on microfinancing in the town of Kyzl-Kiya. The workshop was attended by 21 refugees. The aim of this training was to train the participants in small business development and designing of a business plan. As a result of training, 5 business plans were designed. The workshop was organized and conducted by the Batken CSSC.

On May 15-15, 2001 a two-day seminar “Building Capacity and Partnership Among All Sectors of Society in Prevention and Combat of Trafficking of Women and children in the Kyrgyz Republic”. The seminar was held at Dostuk Hotel by International Organization for Migration and Counterpart Consortium under the project funded through USAID. The seminar was attended by governmental agencies, NGOs that deal with women’s issues, tourist and marriage agencies and mass media. The workshop objectives were as following:

• to improve legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic related to trafficking of people in order to combat it in a more efficient manner
• to strengthen partnership and coordination among all sectors of society in order to prevent trafficking of women and children and provide support to victims.

This workshop was the third from a series of seminars and round tables. It was aimed at strengthening partnership among governmental, non-profit and private organizations that deal with this issue and designing practical recommendations that will be used to combat this phenomenon. It is a well-know fact that this kind of slave trade violating human rights of women and children became a global business that brings billiard dollar profits to well organized criminal structures and in order to prevent it is essential to bring together the efforts of all related parties. Making a presentation at one of the previous round tables Ruth Pojman, IOM Senior Program Officer, noted that “governmental bodies, mass media, NGOs, embassies, international organizations and victims should unite their efforts in combating trafficking of people, because the most efficient method to stop it is a well-coordinated partnership of all relevant parties”.

For more information, please contact IOM office, tel: 651730 or Counterpart Consortium, tel: 610261.

The Batken Civil Society Support Center in collaboration with the newspaper Salyam Asia conducted a round table dedicated to the education of refugee children. The round table took place on May 21, 2001 in the Chet-Bulak village, the Batken region. The meeting was attended by 18 people including principles of schools, which provide education to refugees. Among other participants there were leaders of refugee communities, non-profit organizations, representatives of the regional Department of Education, managers of the Mercy Corps International and UN coordinator for Batken region. The purpose of the round table is to identify problems that refugees face with when attending elementary and high schools as well as ways to address these problems.

On May 23-25, 2001 Counterpart Consortium in collaboration with Civil Society Support Centers conducted 9 round tables under the “Participation and Partnership Plan” Program within the Comprehensive Development Framework (CDF) until the year of 2010 and National Strategy on Poverty Alleviation (NSPA) until the year of 2003. The project is funded through the World Bank.

The purpose of round tables was:

• to collect comments of NGOs and CBOs on the final document “Comprehensive Development Framework (CDF) until the year of 2010” (project strengths and weaknesses, recommendations, suggestions and propositions)
• to nominate delegates to the National Forum to discuss the final CDF document

The Bishkek CSSC (based on International Center InterBilim) held a four-day training of trainers to train local NGOs in training methodology. The training was held with the purpose to build the capacity of local NGOs and use them as a resource in delivering training workshops to local NGOs. The training was held within Counterpart Consortium’s “Program of Civil Society and NGO Development in the Central Asia Region” that is funded through USAID. The workshop was held in a training room of Counterpart Consortium. It was attended by 22 people from various NGOs. In the period of four days the participants were mastering in basic training skills and finally they got an assignment to be ready to conduct a two-day training “NGO and Community”. On the fourth day the participants practiced their skills and each participant had a chance to conduct a part of a session of this module. In the end, the participants were offered consultations on various training modules that they would be able to conduct based on their experience and abilities.

Training on Microfinancing was held in Kant in the building of a public school on May 24-25, 2001. The workshop was held under a joint program with Counterpart Consortium that is funded through USAID and UNHCR. It was initiated by the Civil Society Support Center in Kant. 15 NGO representatives and refugees from Tajikistan participated in the workshop.

Two training workshops in Project Design were held by the CSSC in Jalal-Abad and Osh on May 22-23, 2001. The training took place in the Suzak village, Jalal-Abad region, in buildings of local administrations in Jalal-Abad and Osh. The workshops were attended by 23 people (16 in Jalal-Abad and 17 in Osh). Among them there were representatives of governmental agencies and target communities of the two regions.The trainers trained the participants how to write proposals that meet the requirements of Counterpart Consortium and other donor organizations in order to attract resources and funding for their projects.

The CSSC in Kant initiated a two-day training workshop in Social Partnership for 18 representatives of the NGO community. This two-day training provides the participants with an understanding of relationships among Government, businesses and NGOs. The participants gain skills in social partnership development by identifying methods to share and mobilize resources that address social needs.

Contact: Counterpart Consortium, Lilia Kuchenova, IU/AUK Program Coordinator, Information Coordinator of NGO, 107 Kievskaya str., 5th floor, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Phone: 996(312) 610 135, 610 022, 664 636 Fax: 996(312) 610 021 Email: Internet: http://www.cango.net.kg/

POPULATION

The conference devoted to the Problems of the Development of Statistics in Transition Economies was held on 21-23 May 2001. The representatives of the international statistical and economic organizations took an active part in the conference. Among those are Willem de Vries, Deputy Head of UNSD, Paolo Garonna, Director of Statistical Division of UNECE, Luca Pappalardo, Semi-Resident advisor for CAR and Mongolia, Statistics Programme, Tasis, Gerhard Richter, head of Section in Division Statistical Cooperation with transition and developing countries, Office Federal Republic of Germany, Jan-Francois Francheboud, Statistics Expert of Swiss Federal Statistical Office, Michael Humphureys, Ambassador of the European Commission in Kyrgyzstan, and many others. The President of the Kyrgyz Republic and UNFPA Country Director for Kyrgyzstan participated in the opening session of the conference.

The United Nations Population Fund has been successfully working with the National Statistics Committee within the framework of the UNFPA project “Strengthening of the National Capacity in Data Collection and Research and Database for Integrated Population and Development Planning”. UNFPA strongly supports the activities of the National Statistics Committee and believes that it is essential that the NSC should go further in integrating social and economic statistics. And as the marketing concerns, it is critical that the NSC plans to reach out to various user communities. In its turn, UNFPA is ready to arrange the necessary training and support the efforts of the NSC in developing a viable marketing plan, determining the potential of the international market and the need to translate the statistics products into English. The UNFPA Field Office in Kyrgyzstan supported the First National Census in 1999, and also financed publication of the census results. Other activities, such as provision of computer equipment, vehicles, technical support, training and seminars for statistics committees’ at all administrative levels ensure the successful collaboration between UNFPA in Kyrgyzstan and the National Statistic Committee. The data provided by the National Statistics Committee has been used for designing the Comprehensive Development Framework (CDF) of the Kyrgyz Republic up to the year 2010.

As it was stated in the principles of the International Cairo Conference on Population Development, UNFPA supports activities to address population and development concerns, reproductive health and reproductive rights issues, gender equality and empowerment of women, partnerships and collaborations, and resource mobilization. Provision of the precise data and indicators, would lead to the integration of the internal potential as well as assist in attraction of external donors and investors for further economic and industrial growth.

The purpose of the conference was to share experience of census conduct in Kyrgyzstan, as it has been acknowledged by UNSD as the best among the CIS countries, as it is important to follow-up on the results of development activities, including monitoring of indicators for further forecasting in different areas of human development.

SUPPORT TO PARLIAMENT

UNDP project "Support to Parliament of Kyrgyzstan": seminar on ombudsman. A seminar of MPs, government officials, NGOs and mass media of the Kyrgyz Republic on the theme: "Ombudsman and Human Rights: mechanism for implementation of the law and parliamentary control" was held on 12 May 2001 at the Kashka-Suu Tourism Center, 30 km to the south of Bishkek. The seminar was organized by IPU, UNDP and the Human Rights Committee of the Legislative Assembly of Jogorku Kenesh of the Kyrgyz Republic with an objective to extend practical assistance to Parliament in the preparation of the bill "On commissioner (Ombudsman) of the Kyrgyz Republic on Human Rights" for second reading. UNDP, OSCE and other international organizations as well as national NGOs followed with a great interest the development of the bill. The initial draft was prepared in May 2000, and then extensively discussed and commented at several round tables until it passed first reading at the Legislative Assembly. Second reading is scheduled in June 2001. Two competing bill drafts are proposed for second reading: the version of the LA Committee on Human Rights and the Presidential Administration version. The seminar intended to clarify the differences between the drafts and to discuss international experience in this area. Ms. Marianne von der Esch, International Co-ordinating Director at the Office of the Swedish Parliamentary Ombudsman, took an active part in the seminar with a presentation of the role of parliamentary ombudsman in Sweden and other countries in protecting human rights, and answered numerous questions raised by the participants of the seminar. The participants found that the version of the bill proposed by the LA Committee on Human Rights meets the requirements of the new institution better and made some important inputs in the substance of the bill to suit the local conditions.

Contact: Mr. Alexey Kashpur, National Project Manager, UNDP Project "Support to Parliament", Jogorku Kenesh, 207 Abdumomunov St., Bishkek. Phone: (996 312) 66-47-72, E-mail: