# 244
December 17, 2004
In this issue:
UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME (UNDP)
- Representatives from Two Countries Dialogue on Resolving Local Problems: Perspectives of Cross Border Cooperation
- UNDP Press trip to Issykkul: Focus on Environment
- Fighting HIV/AIDS: Dialogue Starts
UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT FUND FOR WOMEN (UNIFEM)
- “Gender Development in Kyrgyzstan: Monitoring Strategy in realization of Beijing Platform of Actions and Millennium Development Goals” round table meeting in Bishkek
UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME (UNDP)
Representatives from Two Countries Dialogue on Resolving Local Problems: Perspectives of Cross Border Cooperation
 The first joint early warming report prepared by the UNDP staff working in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan offices in the context of the project on Cross Border Cooperation was presented to the participants of a bilateral - Kyrgyz-Tajik business meeting held in Khudjanda (Tajikistan) on November 26, 2004.
The leaders of Sogdiya provincial administration and Batken Province state administration, heads of regional administrations from different cross border areas and the UNDP staff from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan offices as well as the chairmen of local self-governments of cross-border communities took part in the discussion.
This forum aimed at strengthening and further development of existing cooperation with the local governments and identification of new ways of solving the cross-border cooperation problems mentioned in early warning reports.
The early warning report was prepared by the UNDP staff of the two countries on the basis of risk factor analysis including competition for access to natural resources, interethnic and inter-group relations, distorted conception of reality, cross border problems embracing the issues of border demarcation and delimitation, migration, government actions and maintenance of law and order, environmental problems and issues of information access.
At the meeting, Shadibek Bakibekov, Deputy Head of Batken Province Administration remarked the importance of the initiatives of the international organizations including UNDP for successful resolution of the complexity of existing problems that the governments have to face in this difficult period.
“As regards the repots of the kind, valuable information collected by the program staff in the two countries, allows more accurate identification of potential conflicts and facilitates undertaking of modern and adequate measures for their prevention”, he said.
M. Islomiddinov, Mayor of the city of Isfara, Sogdiya province emphasized the usefulness and timeliness of the information included in the joint report.
“The only thing that could be avoided in the reports of the kind is excessive emotions,” said Mr. Islomiddinov. “I would also expand the chapter with the description of positive experience existing in the framework of local authority joint initiatives. The project has a number of achievements, which are important to be disseminated in other regions as well.”
“Joint analysis of the existing problems at the local level in the framework of the report, as well as discussion of the perspectives of cooperation between the authorities and UNDP in the field of cross border cooperation gives us good basis to think of the ways of our contribution to real resolution of these problems in the future,” said Anne Matveeva, UNDP Regional Advisor on Peace and Development summarizing the meeting.
“This dialogue as a whole helped to identify the problem circle, which can be solved at the local level, as well as the issues which have to be settled at the level of state politics, but on which we could have certain effect,” said she.
Note: Since December 2003, UNDP Kyrgyzstan and UNDP Tajikistan have been implementing a joint program on cross border cooperation of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. At present, the program is being realized in four pilot regions of the two countries: Leylek and Batken in Kyrgyzstan, and Jabor Rasulov and Isfara in Tajikistan.
The program aims at supporting social and economic stability in the cross border regions of the two countries, as well as at increasing cross-border community participation and at strengthening the cooperation through promotion of a number of activities fostering mutual understanding and conflict prevention.
Along with establishing the System of Early Warning Report, donating small grants to the communities for social infrastructure rehabilitation and strengthening the potential of cross border communities and local administrations in conflict prevention and management, some cultural and sport activities are carried out, which contribute to establishment of friendship and good neighbor relations between the cross-border communities.
For more information, please contact Ms. Mia Rimby, UNDP Programme Office. Tel: 0 (996 312) 61-12-13. Fax: 0 (996 312) 61-12-17. Email: , or Mr. Abdiraim Jorokulov, Manager of the UNDP Preventive Development Programme. Tel: (996 3222) 5-78-37, Fax: (996 3222) 5-57-13, e-mail:
UNDP Press trip to Issykkul: Focus on environment
Note: Press trip took place on 14-15 December, 2004 and aimed at visiting UNDP LIFE and GEF/SGP projects in Issykkul province. Ten journalists – members of the UN Press Club representing local, regional and international media, participated in the trip. The media team was accompanied by Zharas Takenov, UNDP Senior Programme Officer, Olga Grebennilkova, Public Affairs Officer and Muratbek Koshoev, Coordinator of GEF/SGP and LIFE programs.
The trip participants covered more than a thousand kilometers during the two days and went around the Issykkul lake. They visited a number of GEF/SGP projects aimed at preserving the forests, promoting clean transport in recreation zones, using solar energy for water supply and biogas for bath-houses, introducing innovative energy-efficient technologies in school heating and creating natural reserves for endemic species. Journalists met the local community leaders, national experts and heads of municipalities supporting the projects initiated by the villagers, aimed at environmental sustainability and poverty reduction in Issykkul province.
For additional information please contact Mr. Zharas Takenov, Senior Programme Officer. Tel.: 61-12-13. Mobile 0 (502) 44 68 87. Email
Fighting HIV/AIDS: Dialogue Starts
A round table meeting - “Protection of the Rights of Vulnerable Groups and Persons Living with HIV/AIDS: Problems and the Ways of Their Solution”- was held in UN House on December 9, 2004. The meeting was organized by the Legal Advice Clinic “Adilet” with UNDP support.
The meeting was attended by the representatives of law machinery, judicial and medical institutions and vulnerable groups of population living with HIV.
The round table aimed at discussing the existing problems in the field of violation of the rights of people living with HIV as well as the representatives of the vulnerable groups of society and at identifying the methods of resolving these problems.
For the first time, people living with HIV had a chance to share the problems they happen to face and talk about the violations of their rights by law-enforcement and judicial structures. Representatives of the NGO “Ranar” brought concrete examples of violation of the rights of the HIV infected and the injection drug users. Also, the representatives of different NGOs and medical institutions informed the participant of the meeting about the problems of HIV prevention and drug addiction.
Specification of the ways of improvement of the legislation concerning HIV/AIDS was one of the most important moments of the discussion. Ercinbek Mamirov, Deputy Minister of Justice of the Kyrgyz Republic told about a new bill “On AIDS”. The bill has been prepared by a group of specialists representing the ministry of justice, the ministry of health, the ministry of labor and social protection, UNDP, and the NGO “Koz Karash”, the mission of which is protection of the rights of people living with HIV.
According to the staff of the Legal Advice Clinic “Adilet”, very often, the problems of protection of the rights of the HIV infected and the representatives of the vulnerable groups of population are met in law enforcement sphere. And this is the very issue, which was in the focus of discussions.
The meeting participants touched upon one more important aspect – observance of medical secrecy, since there have already been some cases of medical secrecy violation in Kyrgyzstan, which have resulted in stigmatization and discrimination of the HIV positive population.
The meeting participants developed recommendations in the field of protection of the rights of people living with HIV and vulnerable groups of population for further perfection of the legislation and mechanisms of law-enforcement and for involvement of state organizations as well as international agencies in future preventive programs.
For additional information, please, contact Ekaterina Paniklova, Manager of the UNDP program on HIV/AIDS, or Ashir Chikeev, Program Communication Specialist (Tel: 62-04-49). Also, you can visit our site at: www.aids.undp.kg
UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT FUND FOR WOMEN (UNIFEM)
A round table meeting - “Gender Development in Kyrgyzstan: Monitoring Strategy in the Light of Implementation of Convention on Liquidation of all Forms of Discrimination Regarding Women, Realization of Beijing Platform of Actions and Millennium Development Goals” – was held in the “Silk Road” hotel in Bishkek on December 2, 2004.
Representatives of Government structures as well as the civil society and UNDP Gender Thematic Group in Kyrgyzstan took an active part in the meeting. Being organized in cooperation with UNICEF and Secretariat of National Committee on the Issues of Women, Family and Gender Development in the framework of the UNDP/UNICEF project of “Gender and Millennium Goals”, the round table meeting was an interim of the logical chain aimed at improvement of women’s status and achievement of gender equality. This process is meant for coordination of monitoring as well as minimization of duplications of the resources.
The meeting participants underlined the successive link between the convention on liquidation of all forms of discrimination regarding women, Beijing Platform of Actions and Millennium Development Goals in achievement of gender equality in the Kyrgyz republic. Incorporation of gender component in the millennium development goals was acknowledged to be as important as localization of the millennium development goals, which has already taken its successful start in Kyrgyzstan.
The participants’ ideas and suggestions will be taken into account in the process of preparation of the National Forum with participation of central and local administrations, national mechanism for improving women’s status, general public from Bishkek and other regions of the country and the mass media. This forum is planned to be held in 2005.
Generally speaking, these activities are aimed to strengthen fruitful cooperation between the civil society organizations (between the women groups and networks in the first place), local and central state administrations, parliamentarians and UN agencies in achieving the millennium development goals.
For additional information please contact Damira Smanalieva, National Coordinator of the UNDP/UNICEF project – Gender and Millennium Development Goals (Tel: 61-12-13; )
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