National Humanitarian Coordination no. 3

NATIONAL HUMANITARIAN COORDINATION (NHC) RECORD

3rd Coordination meeting, 26th of July 2001, Skopje

Present

• Governmental institutions: Boge Cadinoski, Ministry of Labor and Social Policy; Flora Latifi, President's Cabinet; Petar Dimovski, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Saso Kuzmanovski, Ministry of Defense; Sami Bislimi, Ministry of Economy
  
  
• UN agencies: Agostino Mulas, UNHCR; Monique Thormann, UNICEF; M. Cristina Profili, Ambrosio Manend, WHO
  
  
• Red Cross and Red Crescent: Philippe Gaillard, ICRC; Suzana Paunovska, Macedonian Red Cross;
  
  
• Foreign governmental and intergovernmental institutions: Kevin Carew, US Embassy/PRM; Charles Setchell, USAID/OFDA; Aldo Biondi, ECHO; Aleksandar Jovanovic, Embassy of Switzerland; Steve Ainsworth, DFID
  
  
• International nongovernmental organizations: Milka Kiprovska, Shelter Now International; Nick Scott-Flynn, Save the Children (UK); Anne Bideau, Solidarites; Robert Bernardo, OXFAM; Paul Hebert, OCHA; Timothy Pitt, MSF
  Domestic nongovernmental organizations: Abdurauf Prusi, El Hilal; Saso Klekovski, Emina Nuredinoska, MCIC;
  
  
• Absent
  
  • Governmental institutions: Coordination Body for Crisis Management; Ministry of Transport and Communications; Ministry of Finance; Ministry of Health; Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Resource Management
  • UN agencies: WFD; FAO; UNDP
    
  • Foreign governmental and intergovernmental institutions: SDR

   

Boge Cadinovski, Head of the Department for Refugees, Displaced Persons and Humanitarian Aid at the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy initiated the meeting and was the presiding.

Record person: Emina Nuredinoska

 

AGENDA

Report from the 2nd meeting of NHC

1. Information part - Organizations' reports
2. Problems and issues to be considered and solved

Boge Cadinovski, Head of the Department for Refugees, Displaced Persons and Humanitarian Aid at the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy introduced the 2nd Coordination meeting of the National Humanitarian Coordination record.

No remarks were made on the report.

Ad.1.

The organizations' representatives submitted short written or oral reports for their activities.
Petar Dimovski, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, informed about the meeting held on 26th of July 2001 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with international NGOs regarding the possibilities of improving the conditions for their activities. International NGOs should inform the Multilateral Relations Sector at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the problems that occur.
Agostino Mulas, UNHCR, informed that the sectoral and interagency meetings are being regularly held and there is a significant progress in the undertaken activities. Present sectors are: food, logistics - WFP; health - WHO; shelter - UNHCR; local services, education, water supply and sanitation - UNICEF; agriculture - FAO. Information of the sectoral meetings will be submitted additionally.

Ambrosio Manend, WHO, said that the capacity identification process of the organizations active in the health sector at the present and in eventual crisis escalation has finished and all information have been sent to the international community. The Medical Centre in Tetovo has been regularly supplied with medicines. The IDPs can obtain medicines out of charge in three pharmacies in Skopje, computerized completely by WHO.

Suzana Paunovska, Macedonian Red Cross, explained that these three pharmacies are the Polyclinics in the Skopje suburbs of Cento, Gorce Petrov and Bit Pazar. Free medicines can be obtained in the Medical Centre in Tetovo as well.

Philippe Gaillard, ICRC, informed that the distribution of humanitarian aid and evacuation of persons in crisis areas is ongoing. Convoy with food supplies attempts to enter in the villages on the road Tetovo - Jazince.

Abdurauf Prusi, El Hilal, informed about the 2nd NGO National Coordination (domestic NGOs) meeting and the conclusions from the meeting. A record from the meeting was delivered to the representatives.

Monique Thormann, UNICEF, said that UNICEF provides psychosocial support to the displaced children in Skopje, Kumanovo and Tetovo, as well as all collective centres. In the health sector, cooperation with the Ministry of Education has been established for socialization of disabled children. UNICEF through its partners (El Hilal) distributes land mine protection materials.

Aleksandar Jovanovic, Humanitarian Aid Unit -Embassy of Switzerland, announced the preparation of "cash for shelter" project, in order to help the host families of IDPs.


Ad. 2.

Follow-up activities for problems and issues from the previous meeting

Flora Latifi, President's Cabinet, said that the following activities for issues from the last meeting have been undertaken:

• with the Ministry of Economy, Value Added Tax (VAT) and Financial Transactions Tax exemption for domestic NGOs;
• with the Coordination Body for Crisis Management, for ease of conflict areas access procedure.

Agostino Mulas, UNHCR, once again reminded about the need of Government representatives' participation at the interagency and sectoral meetings. NHC will request from the respective ministries to appoint coordination representatives.

Sami Besimi, Ministry of Economy, explained that VAT exemption issue is under jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance. This is a serious issue that only worsens IDPs' situation, thus reducing the aid for 20%. This harms the Macedonian economy as well, because domestic NGOs are forced to purchase goods from abroad.

Saso Klekovski, MCIC, said that the Ministry of Economy representative should address these problems at the Government and the Ministry of Finance. Our products are uncompetitive because of the VAT and Financial Transactions Tax, which will be especially expressed while reconstructing the facilities.

On the next meeting of the NHC, a representative from the Ministry of Finance should participate in order to answer all questions related to this issue.

New issues and problems

Philippe Gaillard, ICRC expressed the problem that international organizations face. An ICRC vehicle has been stoned by IDPs lately. If similar incidents happen again, ICRC will be forced to leave the country, which will cause serious consequences.

Petar Dimovski, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, asked ICRC to inform the authorities in written about the incident, so that appropriate measures could be undertaken.
Suzana Paunovska, Macedonian Red Cross, emphasized another emerging problem, the evacuation of persons in the crisis areas.

Abdurauf Prusi addressed several problems. Financial aid for the host families is necessary to be provided by the Government, as well as defining procedure for obtaining personal documentation for the displaced persons and on time information about the rights they have. He also explained that the food and non-food supplies for IDPs should be acceptable (soya is not used by the population at all) and with additional quality (the aid provided from European funds has been imported from a neighbour country with inappropriate quality).

Monique Thormann, UNICEF, said that according to their estimations there is a need of providing psychosocial support in the unreachable regions (crisis areas) as well.


After the discussion, the following was concluded:

1. Condemnation of the attacks on the international organizations.
   NHC condemns the attacks on the international organizations and appeals for peaceful expression of the dissatisfaction. NHC will request from the Government public explanation of the objectives, tasks and mission of the international organizations, especially the Red Cross, which would help overcome undesirable consequences.
   
   
2. Free medicines for IDPs and special treatment for disabled IDPs.
   The information for free medicines for IDPs should be announced in the public through the media, in order to overcome the misunderstandings.
   
   ICRC and the Macedonian Red Cross should submit a list of disabled children settled at families and collective centres in order to provide better treatment for them.
   
   
3. Assessment of the teaching possibilities in the crisis areas.
   UNICEF and the Ministry of Education will establish a sub-body in order to coordinate the activities and evaluate whether the standards for the beginning of the new semester in the crisis areas have been fulfilled.
   
   
4. Greater psychosocial support involvement.
   Besides the psychosocial support for children and women provided by UNICEF and some other domestic women organizations, an involvement of all available capacities (governmental institutions and other domestic and international organizations) is also necessary in order to respond adequately to the needs of as more IDPs as possible.
   
   
5. Appropriate humanitarian aid.
   Food and non-food supplies, as well as other aid provided should be socio-culturally acceptable for the IDPs and with additional quality.
   The meeting started at 13 hours and finished at 14:10 hours.