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   The UN Link / The United Nations System in Kyrgyzstan
# 189
April 25, 2003

In this issue:


UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME (UNDP)

  • UNDP Mission to Issyk-Kul
  • Round table meeting on “Improvement of the Legal Base of Local Self-Governance of the Kyrgyz Republic”
  • Forum of community-based organizations held in Talas

UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES (UNHCR)

  • 162 New Citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic

UNITED NATIONS POPULATIONS FUND

  • Mission of UNFPA Country Director for Central Asia, to Kyrgyzstan

UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME (UNDP)

On 17-19 April the UNDP mission headed by Jerzy Skuratowicz, the UNDP Resident Representative and consisting of David Akopyan, Deputy Resident Representative, Aikan Mukanbetova, Programme Analyst and Olga Grebennikova, Public Affairs Officer, visited projects that are being implemented in Issyk-Kul oblast. The mission was accompanied by reporters from Vecherny Bishkek and Moya Stolitza newspapers, regional newspapers and oblast TV station.

The mission was organized for evaluation purposes – to observe the implementation of projects in the field and discuss with beneficiaries and partners from local and oblast authorities the progress achieved and challenges encountered. The results and conclusions drawn will be considered in the process of UNDP reprogramming process, which started at UNDP Retreat last month.

The mission visited a number of UNDP/GEF projects in Kojoyar village, Karakol town and National park in Karakol, met with Community Based Organizations (CBOs) leaders working within Decentralization Programme in Oy Tal, Kudurgu, Toguz Bulak and Sary Bulun villages; and with members of Self-Help Group Associations (SHGAs) of Poverty Alleviation Programme in Ak Dobo and Kaji Sai villages.

“We are not interfering with the work of CBOs, - said the head of the Tyup rayon administration Elmir Asanov, during the meeting with Jerzy Skuratowicz. - People need to learn to work independently, and we try to assist them. We have a lot of problems in our village – poverty, bad condition of roads and lack of safe drinking water. But we have the educated and ingenious population, and together we would be able to improve our lives considerably”.

UNDP Decentralization Programme started to work in six villages of the two village administrations of Tjup rayon since July 2001. There are 46 public organizations implementing 17 projects on infrastructure development to the amount of more than 100 thousand US dollars, while the UNDP grants’ share not exceeds 35 percent of project costs. The newly founded Local Development Funds have already financed eight economic projects and 800 villagers are participating in them.

UNDP Poverty Alleviation Programme is working in 19 poorest and remotest settlements in three rayons of the Issyk-Kul oblast. During the Programme’s activities the villagers have received about 30 million soms as non-collateral micro credits, which let the villagers start to grow grains and vegetables, begin cattle breeding and processing of products. In addition, SHGs have completed 14 social projects, which are aimed at improving the situation with drinking and spray water.

“Everything that we saw during this trip, as well as information gained during meetings with beneficiaries and partners, - told Jerzy Skuratowicz at the meeting with Askarbek Janybekov, the Deputy Governor, - would let us focus UNDP activities more accurately and let the people of Kyrgyzstan benefit the most.”

Contact: Olga Grebennikova, UNDP Public Affairs Officer. Phone: (996 312) 61 12 13. Fax: (996 312) 61 12 17. Email:

Round table meeting on “Improvement of the Legal Base of Local Self-Governance of the Kyrgyz Republic” was held in Issyk-Kul on 18-20 April, where two draft laws, “On financial and economic base of the local self-governance and “On municipal services” were discussed. This round-table meeting was organized by the UNDP Local Governance Programme in coordination with the Ministry of Local Self-Governance and Regional Development.

Deputies of the Legislative Assembly of the Jogorku Kenesh (Parliament), specialists from the Ministries, state committees, administrative departments, local state administrations, local self-government bodies, civil society organizations and international organizations participated in the round-table meeting.

Mr. T. Omuraliev, the Minister of Local Self-Governance and Regional Development presented the first draft-law on Financial and Economic Base of the Local Self-Governance. He explained the role and importance of this draft-law designed for the local self-government bodies. Mr. Fattakhov B.A., the First Deputy Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic on Local self-governance and Regional Development presented the second draft-law on Municipal services.

Hopefully, with adoption of these draft-laws necessary the legal base will be created for the execution of the second phase of the state governance decentralization and development of local self-governance.

Forum of community-based organizations (CBOs) took place in Talas on 18-19th of April 2003, organized by the institutions development center “Aikol”, supported by Counterpart Consortium and regional UNDP office of Local Governance Programme.

436 people participated in the Forum, including CBO leaders, heads of Aiyl Okmotus, representatives of NGOs and different international organizations, such as Counterpart Consortium, UNDP, INTRAC, Soros Foundation, deputies of aiyl and rayon administrations, heads of rayon state administrations. The objective of the Forum was to establish linkages in the region and form a strong network of CBOs in the region, with the purpose of strengthening efforts of all CBOs for development of the region.

The Governer of Talas oblast – Mr. Aidaraliev I.R. spoke about the socio-economic development of oblast for the last year, accentuating attention of participants mainly on the CBOs’ contribution to the oblast’s development.

At present, there are 402 officially registered CBOs in Talas oblast, with 7090 members. They have 12 million 575 thousand soms as their internal savings, 76% of which regularly used as credits to the poorest CBOs’ members. UNDP contributed 3million 691 thousand soms as micro-capital grants to implementation of 50 social projects.

Information centers have been established and successfully functioning in all pilot ayil okmotus. Thanks to the establishment of Local Development Funds in first pilot ayil okmotus, 22 income-generating projects have been successfully launched and are running today. The exhibition of products of the implemented economic projects impressed participants and guests of the Forum.

Contact: Anara Salamatova, Cluster Task Manager; UNDP Local Governance Programme. Phone: (996 312) 66 11 76, 66 48 64; e-mail:

UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES (UNHCR)

On 23 April 42 Tajik refugee families totaling to 162 persons including parents and their children became full fledged citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic at the ceremony of distributing national passports, which took place in Kant town. This long-awaited event was made possible owing to joint efforts of the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic and UNHCR Bishkek office. The ceremony was attended by Major General of militia Mr. Suranchiev, Deputy Minister of Interior of the Kyrgyz Republic, Mr. James Lynch, Chief of UNCHR Mission in Kyrgyz Republic, representatives of MIA Department for Passport and Visa Regime and local authorities. Government officials and Mr. Lynch handed over national passports and congratulated the former refugees on their acquisition of Kyrgyz citizenship, wishing them to be good citizens of their state who are aware of their rights, as well as of the responsibilities imposed on them by the state.

Since the conclusion of the Peace Agreement in the Republic of Tajikistan in 1997, more than 5,000 Tajik refugees voluntarily returned to their country with the assistance of UNHCR and the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic.

Currently there are 6,650 officially registered Tajik refugees residing on the territory of Kyrgyzstan, most of them are ethnic Kyrgyz. Implementation of the Decree “On measures for providing assistance to ethnic Kyrgyz returning to their historical Motherland” signed by the President of the Kyrgyz Republic in 2001 allowed to grant citizenship to the ethnic Kyrgyz from the number of Tajik refugees. Thus, since 2001 the total number of Tajik refugees who obtained Kyrgyz citizenship reached 2,500 and these 162 new citizens bring this number up to more than 2,600.

Contact: James Lynch, UNHCR Head of Office. Tel.: (996 312) 61 12 64, 61 12 65, e-mail:

UNITED NATIONS POPULATIONS FUND

Mr. Nesim Tumkaya, UNFPA Country Director for Kyrgyzstan, visited Bishkek from 17 to 24 April 2003. One of the main objectives of his mission was to enhance co-operation between the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic and the United Nations Population Fund.

During his visit Mr. Nesim Tumkaya met with the Vice-Prime Minister, Mr. Joomart Otorbaev, the Minister of Health, Mr. Mitalip Mamytov, the Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Protection, Mr. Melis Junushaliev, the UN Resident Coordinator/UNFPA Representative in Kyrgyzstan, Mr. Jerzy Skuratowicz, heads of UN agencies, the UNFPA relevant counterparts and the Government representatives.

On 18 April 2003 a ceremony of signing UNFPA project documents for 2003 – 2004 took place in the Government House.

On 23 April 2003 a press conference with participation of local mass media representatives was organized. The Country Director briefed about UNFPA priorities as Reproductive Health and Population and Development Strategies. He noted that the United Nations Population Fund has been providing assistance to the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic since 1992. The main goal of the UNFPA in Kyrgyzstan is to achieve the balance between the social and economic development and the changes of the Kyrgyz population growth. The population strategy in Kyrgyzstan takes into account the linkages between environment, population growth and sustainable human development.

He stressed that reproductive health programme generally covers safe motherhood, freedom from diseases concerning STIs, HIV/AIDS, gender relations and adolescent issues including production of IEC materials on HIV/AIDS prevention and modern contraceptive technologies. He underlined that RH programme also includes provision of a wide range, a good choice of a safe and effective contraceptives. UNFPA rational for taking care of RH is based on the principals of human rights and RH/RR, which have been elaborated on in the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development.

On that day office and data processing equipment from the United Nations Population Fund was handed over to Medical Information Centre of the Ministry of Health, Kyrgyz Family Planning Alliance and Institute of Equal Rights and Opportunities. In the framework of the project “Improvement of Community Health Services in the Northern Regions of Kyrgyzstan” procurement of data processing equipment was envisaged.

The Medical Information Centre was granted with office and computer equipment for further improvement of the Logistics Management Information System (LMIS) in the Kyrgyz Republic. Starting last year UNFPA has been providing technical and financial support to the Institute of the Equal Rights and Opportunities. In the framework of the project “Improving the Quality of Sexual and Reproductive Health Care through Empowering Users” supply of data processing equipment will be the next step in close co-operation with the Institute. This equipment will be used for conducting a number of training and teaching seminars on improving the quality of sexual and reproductive health care for local authorities and health service providers.

Contact: Alexander Ilyin, UNFPA National Programme Officer. Phone: (996 312) 61 12 02, 61 12 13; e-mail:


     Millennium Development Goals Progress Report - 2003

     Common Country Assessment - 2003

 
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