National Humanitarian Coordination no. 4

NATIONAL HUMANITARIAN COORDINATION (NHC) RECORD

4th Coordination meeting, August 08, 2001, Skopje

Present

• Governmental institutions: Boge Cadinoski, Blagica Stojanova - Ministry of Labour and Social Policy; Flora Latifi - President's Cabinet; Vera Zendelska, Verica Prokovic - Ministry of Finance; Nikola Stojceski - Center for Crisis Management; Gorgi Krstevski - Ministry for of Transport and Communications; Cane Talevski - Ministry of Health.
  
  
• UN agencies: Agostino Mulas - UNHCR; Monique Tormann, Elke Wisch - UNICEF; Kristina Profili, Boris Rebac - WHO; Paul Hebert - UN OCHA; Dale Skoric - WFP; Vladimir Kuculovski - UNDP.
  
  
• Red Cross and Red Crescent: Philippe Gaillard, Fransoa Stamm - ICRS; Suzana Paunovska - MRC.
  
  
• Foreign governmental and intergovernmental institutions: USAID/OFDA; Kevin Carew - American Embassy/PRM; Aldo Biondi - ECHO;
  
  
• International nongovernmental organizations: Anne Bideau - Solidarites; Kevin Tobin - CRS; Vladimir Georgiev - IOM; Tome Kiprovski - SNI
  
  
• Domestic nongovernmental organizations: Abdurauf Prusi - El Hilal; Aleksandar Krzalovski, Emina Nuredinoska - MCIC
  
  
• Absent
  • UN agencies: FAO
    
  • Foreign governmental and intergovernmental institutions: SDR
    

   

Minute person: Emina Nuredinoska

Boge Cadinoski, Head of the Department for Refugees, Displaced Persons and Humanitarian Aid at Ministry of Labour an Social Policy initiated and chaired the meeting.

AGENDA

Information part - organizations' reports
Problems and issues to be considered and solved

Ad.1.

The organizations' representatives submitted short written or oral reports for the last week's activities.

Fransoa Stamm, ICRC, informed that the number of displaced persons totals at 57.000 (50% are from the Tetovo area). 60 women and children from Lipkovo and 30 from Beloviste have been evacuated last week. Aid in medicines has been provided for the hospital in the village of Poroj. Medicines have been.

UNHCR, IRC (International Rescue committee) completed the appraisal for possible new collective centres and the information has been submitted to the Government, for further coordination. UNHCR is permanently present in Aracinovo and the damage assessment from the Ministry of Transport and Communications is soon expected, in order to help in the reconstruction of the objects (in cooperation with the European Commission).

UNHCR has action plan in case of further displacement of persons and a plan for return of the displaced persons when that would be possible.

UNHCR and NATO will work on the return and reintegration of the displaced persons after the framework agreement ratification. NATO forces will disarm, demine and remove the unexploded devices on 15 points. Activities outside of these 15 points will not be undertaken.

Aleksandar Krzalovski, MCIC, introduced the "Support Peace through Humanitarian Aid" appeal initiated by several domestic NGOs. The appeal was distributed to all participants.
Elke Wisch, UNICEF, informed about continual activities to provide conditions for beginning of the new shool semester in the crisis areas. Psychosocial working group prepare questionnare (in three languages Macedonian, Albanian, English) for overall vulnerability assessment of IDP and host family population.

ECHO provides rood parcels for 24.000 displaced persons this month. Ten tons cheese for collective centers, was provided additionally.

WHO will continue to support the pharmacies in Kumanovo and Skopje Together with the Ministry of Health, plans for reactivation of the ambulance in Arachinovo, in cooperation with UNHCR and UNICEF.

Kevin Tobin, CRS informed that the Council of International NGOs was formed, and elected representative to participate in NHC.

Boge Cadinovski emphasized that the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Federation of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent, in co-operation with the Swiss Government, would provide financial aid for the host families.

Ad. 2

Follow-up activities concerning issues and problems from the previous meeting
Boge Cadinovski, Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, informed about the meeting of the Coordinative Body for Crissis Management held on 08.08.2001, when an expert team and sector representatives had been appointed. Boge Cadinovski has been appointed a co-ordinator of the humanitarian aid. At the same time, Cadinovski is a representative of the Government in the National Humanitarian Coordination.

Vera Zendelska, Ministry of Finance had an extensive exposition on issues concerning the Value Added Tax (VAT). International organisations with diplomatic status are fully exempted from the obligation to pay the VAT, whereas all the other international organisations are obliged to follow the procedure for export without crossing the borderline. As the Government has no competence to modify or supplement laws, which are in the sphere of competence of the Parliament, domestic organisations cannot be exempted from the obligation to pay the VAT.

Abdurauf Prusi, El Hilal said that the Government need to take into consideration the introduction of an interim act releasing non-governmental organisations from the obligation to pay the VAT when purchasing in the country.

Suzana Paunovska, Macedonian Red Cross (MRC) informed that an agreement had been reached with the Ministry of Interior, enabling IDPs to submit applications for missing documents at all police stations in Skopje.

Aldo Biondi of the ECHO, re-actualised problem of mobilisation in the security forces of there staff members.

Boge Cadinovski informed that the issue of mobilisation of staff has been raised at the Ministry of Defence and that their answer is expected.

New issues and problems

Boge Cadinovski stressed the problem of re-sheltering of the IDPs currently accommodated in students' dormitories, as the new academic year would start in 20 days. He also stressed the need for:

• a donor, for providing lower public transport costs for the IDPs, in co-operation with the public transport company;
  
  
• reconstruction of the canalization in the resort in Dojran. Mr. Cadinovski asked if any of the present parties could consider provision of funds in the amount of 15.000 DM for reconstruction of the pipes.

UNHCR will have the provision of funds considered.

Suzana Paunovska, MRC informed about the problem of accommodating new IDPs, who, because of improper conditions, cannot stay in Suto Orizari.

Aleksandar Krzalovski of MCIC, on behalf of the NGO Humanitarian Co-ordination, pointed out several problems: equation of the treatment of IDPs on the territory of entire Macedonia, as well as equal treatment of persons accommodated in families and in collective centres; assistance needed for the displaced Roma from Tetovo, currently sheltered in Gostivar in extremely inappropriate conditions; and stressed the need for improvement of the information services for the IDPs.

Suzana Paunovska, MRC, answered on the situation of the Roma in Gostivar. A total of 1232 persons are registered in Gostivar, and there are cases withoutdocuments or socially endangered persons, which are not IDPs from Tetovo. Therefore, these persons cannot be accepted on the basis of the programme for internally displaced persons, and should be assisted in different way.

The foreign organisations stressed the issue of provision of a permit (a resident visa) to stay in Macedonia, as well as the problem of registering new organisations, the documents of which are held by the Ministry of Interior for a longer period of time. It is because of this reason that a part of the activities are under a question mark.

During discussion, few other questios were answered.

1. Interim act on releasing organisation from the obligation to pay the VAT. The Ministry of Finance is to submit an explanation in writing on the VAT payment procedure and to convey the request for an interim act to the Government. The act would release domestic organisations, involved in the humanitarian response to the crises, from the obligation to pay the VAT.
   
   
2. Doctors' visits to the collective centres. The Ministry of Health, in co-operation with the WHO and the Red Cross of Macedonia, needs to provide doctors who would visit chronically sick persons and children in the collective centres, alongside with the already provided free medical examinations in hospitals. Also, these institutions need to enlarge the list of free medicaments.
   
   
3. Speeding-up the procedure for customs release. The Government should undertake measures in advance, in order to secure the release of customs duties for purchased products for humanitarian aid, in order to avoid the mistakes done in 1999, when this procedure lasted for several months.
   
   
4. Assessment of the damage. The Ministry of Transport and Communications needs to submit a written report on the assessment of damage carried out so far.