Tepid Response at CIS Conference Steering Group Meeting
Appeals for a greater commitment to help refugees and displaced persons in the former Soviet Union received a tepid response from donor governments at a July 2 meeting in Geneva. A lack of funding raises concerns about the ability to carry out aid projects envisioned in the Programme of Action, adopted during the CIS Conference on migration-related issues in May 1996. The Programme of Action is designed to ease the hardships faced by those uprooted by war and other economic, environmental and social calamities since the collapse of the Soviet empire.
Representatives from 34 CIS governments and donor nations, 25 international organizations and 61 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) attended the meeting of the Steering Group, which monitors Programme of Action implementation. The funding deficit dominated discussions during the July 2 session, with Steering Group members warning that the Programme of Action is endangered. Nevertheless, the dire depiction of the situation elicited only modest pledges of support from donor governments.
So far, the 1997 UNHCR/IOM joint appeal for $88 million has attracted a response of about $25.5 million. Following the Steering Group meeting, Sweden announced a $4 million commitment to the joint appeal. Norway and Finland added about $500,000 each, and Switzerland said it would contribute an additional $1.5 million. In addition, Finland earmarked $97,000 for a UNHCR-administered NGO fund.
At an NGO forum one day ahead of the Steering Group meeting, local NGOs pointed to the lack of clear legislative frameworks in the former Soviet states. Improving the legislative climate would enhance NGOs ability to participate in the conference follow-up process. A presentation sponsored by the Forced Migration Projects aimed to bolster understanding of the legislative rights and responsibilities of NGOs. Projects Director Arthur C. Helton recommended that a first step towards greater NGO participation would be for CIS governments to simplify taxation policies and registration procedures for NGOs.
The Programme of Action foresees the need for local NGO participation and has provisions for an NGO fund, managed by UNHCR. The fund, however, has failed to meet contribution targets. The $500,000 donated to the fund by the United States has already been allocated. According to Kirsty Floor, UNHCRs NGO liaison officer for conference follow-up, most grants for a maximum of $10,000 are to build capacity and to improve communications.
The following is the oral statement of Arthur C. Helton, on behalf of the Forced Migration Projects, to the Steering Group:
Thank you, Mr. Chairperson and colleagues:
This second Steering Group meeting is an occasion to take stock of progress made in implementation following the CIS Conference on migration-related matters held here in Geneva just over a year ago. Unfortunately, significant deficiencies in the conference follow-up process now jeopardize the value of the entire endeavor.
In their efforts to organize the conference, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Inter-national Organization for Migration and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (through its Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights) drew the international communitys attention to the plight of the displaced in the former Soviet Union. The Programme of Action adopted at the CIS Conference was designed to promote activities to prevent and manage forced migration in a region of recognized volatility.
Perhaps the most concrete result achieved over the last year concerns nongovernmental organizations. NGOs were largely excluded from conference preparations, as well as from the first Steering Group meeting in 1996, but they are now present at this Steering Group meeting. NGOs are emerging as important participants in the conference follow-up, and may provide the best prospect for successful implementation of the Programme of Action. We are committed to ensuring that NGOs become full partners in this process.
Unfortunately, the disappointments have predominated. The Programme of Action has failed to meet its lofty goals. Policy implementation efforts have been stifled largely because of a feeble response by donor governments. OSCE/ODIHR has not been significantly involved in the follow-up process. This lack of governmental commitment must be reversed if a serious measure of conference objectives is to be achieved.
In addition, despite recent increased access, NGOs remain underutilized in the follow-up process. As this meeting reflects, local actors are emerging in the region. To cite one example, I note the statement signed today by 31 local NGOs seeking more engagement in the implementation of the Programme of Action. As another example, a CIS Research Council on forced migration has recently been created that can help provide for the more effective use of limited resources in the conference follow-up. The work of such NGOs contributes to the strengthening of civil society in the newly independent an approach which combats the underlying causes of forced migration. The Steering Group should urge immediate support and action by governments and international institutions to encourage NGOs to flourish in the region.
In particular, as was discussed at the NGO meeting yesterday, a sound legal framework for NGO work should be established. The Steering Group should urge the repeal of onerous registration procedures and tax laws that smother NGO development and activities. Working groups should be established or expanded in each country in the region to ensure that appropriate laws are adopted or revised, and that inconsistencies are harmonized in ways that will facilitate NGO work in the area of migration. Capacity-building activities and funds for NGOs should be provided with sensitivity to the needs and perspectives of local actors. Such measures would serve to strengthen the rule of law and enhance civil the optimal preventative strategy.
In sum, the implementation of the CIS Conferences Programme of Action is at a crossroads. There is a danger of it becoming yet another opportunity lost by the international community to address the hardships occasioned by the implosion of the Soviet Union. It is our view, therefore, that without significant enhancements in NGO engagement and donor backing, the CIS conference follow-up process will fail.
