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UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees |
Ruud
Lubbers, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, paid an official visit to Russia
at the invitation of the Government from 15-18 January. It was the first Lubbers’
visit to the Russian Federation since becoming the High Commissioner for Refugees
last year.
Ruud Lubbers started his visit with a brief trip to Ingushetia. On 16 January, Lubbers toured tent camps in Ingushetia for displaced persons from Chechnya who are currently spending their third winter in displacement and also met with leadership of the Ingush Republic. The High Commissioner was impressed by the hospitality of the Ingush host families who house the vast majority of the 150,000 displaced Chechens in the republic.
The High Commissioner pointed to security in Chechnya as the main impediment to the return of displaced people and called for greater involvement by the Chechen people themselves in strengthening security in the republic. He urged that displaced people have the possibility to obtain proper documents as soon as possible. He said it was important to search for a political solution to the 28-month-old conflict. “Humanitarian workers are doing everything they can, but have only limited influence, which makes finding a political settlement all the more essential,” he said.
The three-day trip included meetings with the heads of several
federal ministries including the Foreign Minister Igor 
Ivanov,
the Interior Minister Boris Gryzlov. The Interior Ministry took over responsibility
for refugee and migration issues at the beginning of this year.
During the meeting of the High Commissioner with the Interior Minister Boris Gryzlov both sides discussed co-operation on refugee and migration issues, reducing the problem of statelessness in Russia, and prospects for increasing humanitarian aid to the North Caucasus region. The High Commissioner raised questions on implementation of Russia’s refugee law and ways to strengthen asylum, improve documentation for asylum-seekers, and shorten waiting periods. The High Commissioner also noted UNHCR’s concerns about xenophobia in Russia towards refugees and displaced persons. A number of xenophobic incidents have occurred in recent months, including an attack outside an asylum-seeker center in Moscow in late August that left one Angolan dead.
The situation in the Northern Caucasus was discussed with the Nationalities Minister Vladimir Zorin, the Deputy Emergency Minister Yuri Vorobiov, the Minister for Reconstruction in Chechnya Vladimir Yelagin and the Chairperson of the Council of Federation Sergey Mironov. Ruud Lubbers also met the heads of the UN agencies in Russia and gave a lecture at the State University of Management.
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UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organisation |
January 2002 saw the publication of the Russian-language edition of the Report on the UNESCO Moscow Office`s Activities for 2000-2001. The electronic version, in both Russian and English, is available in PDF format at the Office`s website: www.unesco.ru/main2.htm.
Culture
· On February 15, with the participation of the UNESCO Moscow Office, the first in a series of roundtable discussions, “Culture for Development in the Russian Regions: New Approaches”, took place at the Centre for Strategic Research. Heads of regional governments, politicians, international and Russian experts, figures from the art world and representatives of the business community all gathered around the table to analyse the links that exist between cultural policy and the sustainable economic development of regions and cities, and to share their best practices. As the discussion showed, this topic covers a wide range of serious issues, and demands further study and discussion in Russia’s regions.
· After restoration carried out within the Hermitage/UNESCO Project, the Reubens and Snyders Galleries halls re-opened at the State Hermitage Museum.
· The first Russian edition of the UNESCO World culture report “Culture, Creativity and Markets”, prepared by UNESCO (1998), came out at the end of 2001.
· The handbook “UNESCO Normative Acts on the Protection of Cultural Heritage”, containing conventions, protocols, resolutions and recommendations issued on the topic, as well as the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage (November 6, 2001), is now available in Russian.
Communication
· With the financial support from UNESCO, a seminar of the CIS countries on the topic “Promotion of Regional Strategies in Communication” was held at the Central House of Journalists on 17–18 October 2001.
Social Sciences
· With the support of UNESCO’s Moscow Office, the Russian-Iranian international academic seminar “The Dialogue of Civilizations: Historical Experience and the Prospects for the Twenty-first Century” was held in Moscow on February 1–2. The symposium was intended to facilitate the implementation of the Global Agenda for Dialogue Between Civilizations, and to summarize Russia and Iran’s historical experience of collaboration, and the prospects for its further development.
· In the course of the previous year the preparation process for the launch of a special internet-module on sustainable development was being carried out. It was presented in February. The site will be an informal resource for all organizations and individuals interested in the preparations for the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development, and the results of this event. The Council of Non-governmental Organisation of the State Duma of the Russian Federation together with the United Nations Information Centre and the UNESCO Office in Moscow organised a round table on sustainable development “Participation of Russian NGOs in preparation of a national report for Johannesburg”. The round table was a place to discuss the problems of preparation for the World Summit and for the first presentation of the website.
Natural sciences
· UNESCO Office in Moscow has prepared a booklet on the World Heritage and the “Man and the Biosphere” (MAB) program for public officials of all levels involved in managing World Heritage sites and the biosphere territories in the Russian Federation. The booklet contains brief information about the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, the MAB program, a list of Russian World Heritage sites and biosphere territories, and main references.
Education
· The educational and public awareness work being done by UNESCO’s Moscow Office in the area of the World Cultural and Natural Legacy continues. On February 18–19, the seminar “Education in the Area of the World Legacy”, took place in St. Petersburg. Taking part in the seminar were the heads of those Russian museums and nature preserves included in the List of World Legacy Sites, representatives from the Ministry of Education, and pedagogues and other specialists. They had the opportunity to exchange experiences, outline the future, and discuss the concept of developing education in Russia in the above area. Similar seminars are planned for the other countries that come under the purview of UNESCO’s Moscow Office: Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia in March; and Belarus and Moldova (with representatives from Ukraine also taking part) in May.
The Bolshoi/UNESCO Project
· In December 2001, a decision was made by the Administration of the Bolshoi Theatre to alter the reconstruction plan of the Theatre’s main building. It had earlier been proposed to close the Theatre for reconstruction for three years, and move most performances to the stage of the new branch theatre, which is now under construction. In accordance with a new concept, a plan for step-by-step reconstruction is being drawn up, which will permit the Bolshoi to operate with its main stage open for most of the season, while simultaneously the Theatre undergoes reconstruction. Restoration and reconstruction works are to be done each year during the Theatre’s several month summer vacation. The new reconstruction plan will allow the Bolshoi Company to preserve its full repertoire, and from 2003 onward, to increase the number of its performances by working, on two stages – the main stage, and the new one.
