http://www.un.org.ua/files/un_bulletin_10-12 by United Nations in Ukraine

October-December

2005

Volunteers â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Peaceful Army of the World Page 6

International Human Rights Film Festival 2005 Page 7

New UN Goodwill Ambassador on HIV/AIDS in Ukraine Page 8

Community Development Surges in Crimea Page 10

Dear Friends This is my pleasure to introduce to you the next edition of the “UN in Ukraine Bulletin” highlighting progress and actions undertaken by the UN country team in October-December 2005. During this period several important events were on the UN agenda including commemoration of the UN 60th anniversary, presentation of the global AIDS Epidemic Update 2005 on the threshold of the World AIDS Day, launch of the Corporate Social Responsibility and Global Compact Forum, as well as numerous initiatives of 12 UN agencies and affiliated international institutions operating in Ukraine. The year 2005 was challenging but also significant in further strengthening democratic standards, values and institutions in Ukraine. It has witnessed enormous efforts invested by the Ukrainian government in addressing topical economic, social and development issues, as well as in initiating even more proactive integration into the world market community and revitalizing regional cooperation. But even more needs to be done in the upcoming years. We do believe that the United Nations Development Assistance Framework to be started in January 2006 will bean effective mechanism in consolidating efforts of the government of Ukraine and UN agencies along with other international partners in implementing institutional reforms, empowering civil society, increasing quality and accessibility of health care and health services and promoting balanced development and entrepreneurship for prosperity of the whole Ukrainian nation. We at the United Nations House in Kyiv send you our compliments and wish you every success, prosperity and inspiration in 2006! Francis M.O’Donnell, UN Resident Coordinator in Ukraine

UN Feature Initiative The Global Compact in Ukraine .................................................................... 1

Headlines: UN 60th Anniversary

Contents

Message of the UN Secretary-General ........................................................... 2 Gala Concert ‘Music from Every Continent’.................................................... 2 Conference on UN 60th anniversary .............................................................. 2 UN Alley Ground Breaking Ceremony ........................................................... 3 Golden Liliya International Festival ................................................................ 3

Launches

National Aspect UNDP Supports Anti-corruption Eﬀorts of the Ukrainian Government ........................................................................ 5

Special Days International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women ................................................................................... 6 International Volunteers Day .................................................................................. 6 Human Rights Day ................................................................................................... 7 World AIDS Day ........................................................................................................ 8

Events

UNICEF and UNAIDS Global Campaign “Children the Missing Face of AIDS” .............................................................. 4

Assistant Secretary-General Kalman Mizsei Salutes Launch of Community of Democratic Choice ...................................... 9

Regional Launch of the Global 2005 Update on AIDS Epidemic ............................................................................. 5

UNFPA: Ukrainian Youth Expands Its Capacity to Fight HIV/AIDS ....................................................................................................12

Regional Aspect

New Draft Legislation on Refugees is Discussed by UNHCR, Government of Ukraine and the Council of Europe ..........................................12

Community Development Surges in Crimea ............................................. 10

UNDP and EC Make Judges Learn at Home and Abroad ...............................13

Launch of Campaigns on Sustainable Development ................................................................................................10

Opening of the EU Border Mission ..................................................................... 13

Beyond Chernobyl – Moving on to Regional Prosperity ............................................................... 11 Donbas: Addressing Challenges and Revealing Opportunities .............................................................................................. 11

Safe and Legal Migration Advice from IOM ..................................................... 13

UN Days Calendar January-December 2006 .................................................................................... 14

Team

List of the UN Country team in Ukraine Francis M.O’Donnell

– UN Resident Coordinator, UNDP Resident Representative Jeremy Hatrley – Representative, UNICEF Simone Wolken – Regional Representative, UNHCR Jeﬀrey Labovitz – Head of Mission, IOM Anna Shakarishvili – Country Coordinator, UNAIDS Joanna Kazana-Wisniowiecka – Dep. Resident Representative, UNDP

UN BULLETIN United Nations in Ukraine October - December 2005

Dr.Boris Vornik Vasyl Kostrytsya Dr. Maria Cristina Proﬁli Alexander Lastovetsky Dusan Vujovic Jeﬀrey Franks Elena Voloshina

– Assistant Representative, UNFPA – National Correspondent, ILO – Acting Head of Oﬃce, WHO – Administrative Associate, IAEA – Country Manager, World Bank – Sr. Resident Representative, IMF – Head of IFC Operations, IFC

Editor - In - Chief: Veronika Vashchenko

Translation: Olena Bilous

Editor: Russell Cunning

UN Feature Initiative

Promotion of Corporate Social Responsibility and the Global Compact in the Ukrainian Marketplace The United Nations in Ukraine organized the Corporate Social Responsibility and Global Compact Forum in Kyiv to promote the concept of corporate social responsibility and the Global Compact. The forum was organised with the support of UMC, SCM, ISC-UCAN, Gestalt Consulting Group and the Eurasia Foundation. 6 December 2005 The aims of this high-level Forum were: • the adoption of socially responsible practices as a positive force for social, economic and democratic development, • involving private sector entrepreneurship in strengthening corporate social responsibility, • supporting the promotion of the CSR concepts • the establishment of the Global Compact network in the Ukrainian marketplace

Over ninety participants discussed the development impact of the corporate social responsibility and the importance of development and maintenance of private-public partnership. They were drawn from private sector champions of corporate social responsibility, the Government of Ukraine, UN Agencies and Headquarters personnel, international development oranizations, trade and labour unions, and civil society. The Forum served as a good platform for presentation of corporate social responsibility and Global Compact in a business-case context. Participants shared the experiences of champions in Ukraine and explored the challenges and opportunities of establishing a comprehensive corporate social responsibility policy by drawing on tried-and-tested techniques.

The international experiences from both the business point of view and governmental policy were presented by the international guests. The results of the UN survey on ‘CSR trends in Ukraine’ were also presented for the ﬁrst time during the forum. The forum was designed as a pre-launch event for the Global Compact. The United Nations is aiming to launch the Global Compact in Ukraine in the ﬁrst quarter of 2006 after it is signed by Ukrainian companies. As part of the chain of activities a Global Compact Network, a national conference and regional forums are also planned for 2006. The agenda and the report on the Corporate Social Responsibility and Global Compact Forum is available at www.un.org.ua

What is Global Compact? In this way, the private sector – in partnership with other social actors including government, civil society, labour organizations, development agencies and academia – can help to achieve sustainable development. On 31 January 1999 United Nations Secretary-General Koﬁ Annan in an address to the World Economic Forum challenged business leaders to join an international initiative – the Global Compact – that would bring companies together with UN agencies, labour and civil society to support nine (now ten) principles in the areas of human rights, labour, the environment, and anti-corruption. Through the power of collective action, the Global Compact both on local and international level seeks to promote responsible corporate citizenship so that business can be part of the solution to the challenges of globalization.

THE

Principles of the Global Compact

The GC’s ten principles in the areas of human rights, labour, the environment and anticorruption enjoy universal consensus and are derived from:

Since the Global Compact is an international inception over 2400 companies from all regions of the world and hundreds of international labour and trade organizations and civil society organizations have engaged to advance ten universal principles of corporate social responsibility in support of United Nations goals. There are nearly 50 country networks around the world in existence today. The Global Compact is not only about a code of conduct. It is an entirely free and voluntary global initiative, giving a unique

Human Rights Principle 1: Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights; Principle 2: Make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses.

opportunity of belonging to a network of leading companies in the world and providing an excellent ground for the exchange of experience and good socially and environmentally oriented business practices.

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For further information, please contact Yulia Svavolya UN Coordination Assistant Tel: (38 044) 253 9363 e-mail: Yulia.Svavolya@un.org.ua

Principle 6: The elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation Environment Principle 7: Businesses should support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges

Labour Standards

Principle 8: Undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility

• The International Labour Organization’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work

Principle 3: Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and the eﬀective recognition of the right to collective bargaining

Principle 9: Encourage the development and diﬀusion of environmentally friendly technologies

• The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development

Principle 4: The elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labour

• The United Nations Convention Against Corruption

Principle 5: The eﬀective abolition of child labour

• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Anti-corruption Principle 10: Businesses should work against all forms of corruption, including extortion and bribery

UN Headlines

60 ANNIVERSARY th

The Secretary-General message on UN Day

24 October 2005

...” Today, as we celebrate sixty years of our United Nations, we must recognize that the world today is very different from that of our founders. The United Nations must reflect this new age, and respond to its challenges – including, first and foremost, the knowledge that hundreds of millions of people are left defenceless against hunger, disease and environmental degradation, even though the world has the means to rescue them. Last month, world leaders met in New York to try and forge a common response to these challenges. Leaders of both rich and poor countries committed themselves to detailed policies which, if fully implemented, could reduce hunger and poverty by 50 per cent in the next ten years. They decided to create new UN bodies for promoting human rights and building lasting peace in war-torn countries.

They promised to ﬁght terrorism in all its forms, and to take collective action, when needed, to save populations from genocide and other heinous crimes. They decided on important reforms of the UN Secretariat. But on climate change and Security Council reform they could make only weak statements. And on nuclear proliferation and disarmament they could not agree at all. They have left us a great deal of work to do. Today, as we mark the 60th anniversary of our indispensable institution, I promise you that I will do my part. And I trust that you, as global citizens, will do yours.

“...

UN Oﬃce in Ukraine and the National Opera of Ukraine held a gala concert ‘Music from Every Continent’ 23 October 2005

The visitors had a chance to enjoy the performances of:

To commemorate the United Nations’ 60th anniversary, the UN Oﬃce in Ukraine and the National Opera of Ukraine with support of Ministry of Foreign Aﬀairs held a gala concert, ‘Music from Every Continent’ at the National Opera House.

Volodmyr GRYSHKO: soloist of the National Opera of Ukraine, the Metropolitan Opera (New York, USA), and the Mariinsky Theatre (Saint-Petersburg, Russia). One of the ﬁve best tenors in the world, he has performed with Montserrat Cabalye and Lucciano Pavarotti. He is a National Artist of Ukraine, recipient of the Shevchenko Award, and an advisor to the President of Ukraine on cultural issues.

The concert was an important charity event. Proceeds from ticket sales and any contributions made went to the Ukraine 3000 International Fund’s Hospital to Hospital Programme. Children with HIV, tuberculosis, hepatitis, cancer and other serious diseases will be helped at the Ohmadit Paediatric Oncological Haematology Centre. This premier concert featured music from every continent in an original and unique fashion. Most of the pieces were performed in Ukraine for the very ﬁrst time. This concert was not only an opportunity to spend a very pleasant evening enjoying a unique musical event, but also a chance to help the more vulnerable members of our community when they need this help the most. As a result of this charitable event, an impressive 49,497 UA hryvnas was transferred

Viktoria LUKYANETZ: National Artist of Ukraine, former soloist of the National Opera of Ukraine, soloist of the Vienna State Opera, and a singer who has been applauded in Western Europe, America, Canada, China and many other countries of the world. Anatoliy BARISHEVSKIY: this year’s winner of the one of the most prestigious contests, the Volodymyr Horovytzy competition, Anatoliy is a student of the National Music Academy of Ukraine. Herman MAKARENKO, Ph.D.: Art director and conductor of the gala concert, conductor of the Ukrainian National Opera, honoured artist of Ukraine, winner of numerous international competitions, and professor of the National Music Academy.

of the United Nations UN Resident Coordinator greeted the participants of the International Conference devoted to the UN’s 60th anniversary. 3-4 November 2005 UN Resident Coordinator Francis M. O’Donnell O’Donnell designated representative of the Secretary-General took part in the international conference “Sixty Years of the UN: Taking Stock of Achievements and Paths to Greater Effectiveness in the 21st Century” and delivered to the participants the message from the Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Borys Tarasyuk, Head of the Presidential Secretariat Oleg Rybachuk,

Chairman of the Human Rights, National Minorities and Interethnic Relations Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Hennadiy Udovenko, Ukrainian scientists and politicians, representatives of international and nongovernmental organisations, representatives of diplomatic missions to Ukraine participated in this event, which was jointly organized by the Ministry of Foreign Aﬀairs, the Diplomatic Academy of Ukraine and the Institute of International Relations, with the support of the UN oﬃce in Ukraine. President of Ukraine Victor Yushchenko sent the message to the participants of the conference, as well as

Head of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Volodymyr Lytvyn, in which he emphasized importance of developing future comprehensive cooperation among United Nations and parliaments of the organisation’s countries-members. During the plenary sessions the participants addressed such issues as UN role, priorities and activities in dealing with problems of economic development, ensuring international security and ﬁghting terrorism, and solving world social problems.

Golden Liliya International Festival 22 October 2005 The Golden Liliya International Festival was held in honour of the United Nations’ International Year of Sport and Physical Education, and also celebrated the UN’s 60th anniversary. That was a show with more than 500 participants from 12 countries including famous stars of sport and the arts. Also, Children from all over Ukraine, especially from vulnerable communities, were brought to Kyiv free of charge to attend the event. It was a show that evokes a positive emotional and aesthetic response, because sport and art are universal languages of communication.

As Mr. Francis M. O’Donnell, UN Resident Coordinator in Ukraine stated: “We want to ensure that the contribution of sport towards peace and stability is understood and promoted across the world. Golden Liliya provides a wonderful platform to do just that. Liliya and the festival organizers are making a long-lasting contribution to the UN global ideals. So are the children here, the sports and arts celebrities, and all the participants with us here today and through television. The excellence and teamwork that sport nourishes, is the foundation for democracy, stability, and development. It helps cement the unity of Europe after decades of painful division. We hope it will also help to cement the unity of the world in a common celebration of our humanity.”

UN Alley Ground Breaking Ceremony devoted to the 60th Anniversary of the United Nations 24 October 2005

The participants of the ceremony were Minister of Foreign Aﬀairs of Ukraine Borys Tarasyuk, First Deputy Speaker of Parliament Adam Martynyuk, UN Resident Coordinator in Ukraine Francis M. O’Donnell, Head of Kyiv Administration Oleksandr Omelchenko, Heads of UN agencies, the representatives of the diplomatic corps to Ukraine, and Ukrainian peacekeepers veterans, around 500 students of the European University and children from UNESCO school in Kyiv. The stone was placed in the southern part of Novodnitsky park, where the participants of the ceremony planted 60 trees

“Today Ukraine and the United Nations are celebrating this 60th anniversary together. The challenges which the world faces today – poverty, the HIV/AIDS pandemic, terrorism, corruption, and a threatened environment – are ones which Ukraine faces as well. Yet these challenges are accompanied by great opportunities. The UN looks forward to partnering with Ukraine as it becomes a prosperous, democratic and peaceful nation, and it greatly appreciates Ukraine’s contribution to world peace and security, human rights, and sustainable development”, stated UN Resident Coordinator Francis M.O’Donnell.

Children: the missing face of AIDS

Launches

UNICEF and UNAIDS Launch Global Campaign to Invigorate Action for the Millions of Children Affected by HIV/AIDS 25 October 2005 On 25 October, 2005, UNICEF, UNAIDS and other partners launched a global campaign focusing on the enormous impact of HIV/AIDS on children, saying it was a disgrace that fewer than 5 per cent of HIV-positive children receive treatment and that millions of children who have lost parents to the disease go without support. UNICEF said that children affected by the disease are the “missing face” of AIDS – missing not only from global and national policy discussions on HIV/AIDS, but also lacking access to even the most basic care and prevention services. Millions of children are missing parents, siblings, schooling, health care, basic protection and many of the other fundamentals of childhood because of the toll the disease is taking. According to UNICEF, every minute a child dies of an AIDS-related illness, a child becomes infected with HIV, four young people aged 15-24 become infected with HIV. In addition, an estimated 15 million children have lost at least one parent because of AIDS, and millions more have lost relatives, friends, teachers, medical professionals, community leaders and other adults responsible for their health and welfare. Yet less than 10 per cent of children orphaned and made vulnerable by AIDS receive public support or services. Designed to alter the common belief that AIDS affects only adults, the Unite for Children. Unite against AIDS campaign will alert the world to the reality that HIV/AIDS is robbing tens of millions of children of their childhood and threatening their future prospects.

Jeremy Hartley, adding, “with 1.4 per cent of the population aged 15 to 49 estimated to be infected by HIV, Ukraine could push back the epidemic, but the focus must be on prevention among young people who currently account for 80 percent of those infected.”

‘Ukraine has the potential even to exceed the global commitments and ensure that all children receive the necessary antiretroviral treatment and all women in need are secure from passing the HIV virus to their babies’, said Jeremy Hartley.

The global campaign aims to achieve measurable progress for children based on internationally agreed goals in four areas:

UNICEF stated that children must be at the forefront of the fight against AIDS. According to UNAIDS, US$55 billion will be needed over the next three years, US$22 billion in 2008 alone, to confront the AIDS pandemic. There is currently a funding gap of at least US$18 billion for 2005-2007. Not only does AIDS funding need to increase dramatically, but a significant portion should be specifically targeted for children affected by the disease.

• Prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV: the vast majority of the half-million children under the age of 15 who die globally from AIDS-related illnesses every year contract HIV through mother-to-child transmission. By 2010 the campaign aims to provide 80 percent of women in need with access to services to prevent transmission of HIV to their babies. Currently less than 10 per cent of women have access to these services.

• Paediatric treatment: less than 5 per cent of HIV-positive

children in need of AIDS treatment are receiving it, and only 1 per cent of children born to HIV-infected mothers have access to cotrimoxazole, a low-cost antibiotic that can nearly halve child deaths from AIDS by ﬁghting oﬀ deadly infections. The campaign aims by 2010 to provide paediatric AIDS medicines to 80 per cent of children in need.

• Prevention: adolescents and young people age 10-24

account for roughly half of all new HIV infections, but the vast majority of young people have no access to the information, skills and services needed to protect themselves from HIV. The campaign aims by 2010 to reduce the number of young people living with HIV by 25 per cent, in line with agreed international goals.

• Protection and support of children aﬀected by AIDS: by

A recent UNICEF-supported survey revealed that HIVpositive women and their children face high levels of stigma in the health care system, at the workplace and in their own communities and families. “The rights of those aﬀected by HIV/AIDS, including children, are not being ensured in Ukraine” said UNICEF Representative

2010, it is estimated that there will be 18 million children who have lost at least one parent to AIDS in subSaharan Africa alone. Well before parents die, children – especially girls – have to take on adult tasks such as caring for the sick, looking after younger siblings, generating income to pay for health costs, or producing food. Often they must drop out of school. The campaign aims by 2010 to reach 80 per cent of children most in need of public support and services.

The Unite for Children. Unite against AIDS campaign was launched across the world - from Paris, Dublin and London, to Geneva and The Hague - with the global kick-off event taking place at the United Nations headquarters in New York with SecretaryGeneral Kofi Annan and other high profile guests. Prime Ministers and Presidents, young people, international celebrities, senior officials from UNICEF, UNAIDS and other campaign partners took part in press conferences, radio shows, soccer matches, gala events and tennis tournaments to show their support and solidarity behind the Unite for Children. Unite against AIDS campaign. Everything you need to know about the campaign at http:// www.unicef.org/uniteforchildren

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For further information, please contact: Dmytro Konyk UNICEF Ukraine, Kyiv Tel/fax: (38 044) 253 0479 e-mail: dkonyk@unicef.org

UNSG’s Special Representative on HIV/AIDS Meets with President Yushenko and Launches 2005 AIDS Epidemic Update in Ukraine On November 21, 2005, Professor Lars Kallings, UN SecretaryGeneral Koﬁ Annan’s Special Envoy on HIV/AIDS for Eastern Europe met with President Yushenko. During the meeting, Kallings emphasized the Secretary General’s high esteem for Ukraine’s progress in responding to HIV/AIDS in 2005. In his ﬁrst ever meeting with an international dignitary to discuss AIDS in Ukraine, President Yushenko agreed to take the national response to AIDS under his personal control, and agreed to consider his participation in the next UN Special Session on HIV/AIDS in May 2006. Professor Kallings was joined in the meeting by UNAIDS Country Coordinator Ani Shakarishvili, Minister of Health Yuri Polyachenko, representatives of the All-Ukrainian

21 November 2005

Network of People Living with HIV Volodymir Zhovtyak and Irina Borushek, and the International HIV/AIDS Alliance in Ukraine, Andrei Klepikov. During his visit, Kallings also joined national and international experts in launching the new AIDS Epidemic Update for 2005 at a widely covered media launch in Kyiv. This was the ﬁrst time that the AIDS Epidemic Update, which is published annually by UNAIDS and WHO, was launched in Ukraine for the region of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The report underscores that Ukraine has the most intense AIDS epidemic in Europe. Copies of the report are available from UNAIDS in Kyiv.

National Aspect

UNDP Supports Anti-Сorruption Eﬀorts of the Ukrainian Government 18 November 2005 The President of Ukraine signed Decree №1615/2005, “About the preferential measures on anticorruption and economy latency prevention”. By signing the Decree the ﬁrst step in implementing the President’s main priority – forming honest authority in Ukraine – was completed.

The UNDP took an active part in the elaboration and preparation of this Decree. Along with formal participation as advisors in the working group, consultants from the UNDP worked to prepare necessary materials, took an active part in discussions, and helped to draft the text of the Decree. The President of Ukraine quite often quotes major statements from this Decree during his speeches and interviews with journalists, emphasizing once again the importance of the issues highlighted in this document.

Paragraphs of the decree, such as the introduction of monitoring of top-oﬃcials expenditures, link directly to the promises made at Maydan Nezalezhnosti in 2004 – when Mr Yushchenko was a Presidential candidate. The UNDP continues its work targeted at establishing accountable and transparent authority in Ukraine by assisting to incorporate this Decree into the draft laws and regulations, encouraging capacity building at the Ministry of Justice, and supporting efforts to attract international technical assistance.

The Presidential Decree №1615/2005

“About the preferential measures on anticorruption and economy latency prevention” With the purpose of combating corruption, improving legislation, taking measures directed at the separation of business from authority, improving the transparency of state authority institutions, improving eﬀective business development conditions in Ukraine, removing conditions that facilitate the shadow economy, and involving the community in monitoring these areas I decree:

1. to determine, as one of the priority measures for combating corruption, the implementation of public monitoring of spreading criminal actions in political, economic and social spheres at the state and local levels. 2. to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine: 1) to urgently draft and submit bills within 3 months for processing by the President of Ukraine that concern the following: a) identifying such positions in the system of executive authority those agencies that are political, and establishing a simplified procedure for dismissing people who obtain such positions; b) clarifying the definition of “corruption”, the types of corrupt actions and the subjects of these actions, and other corruption infringements; c) determining the mechanism of assigning property that belongs to officials who obtain political posts, and members of their families under the control of specialized independent legal entity, and also prohibiting the above mentioned officials from receiving presents in the form of goods or services, the value of which exceeds an amount determined in the law; d) identifying and define conflict of interests during the performance of duties by the officials, and propose arrangements for preventing such a conflict;

President of Ukraine Viktor YUSHCHENKO November 18, 2005

e) toughening criminal liability for interference in investigating respective agencies, prejudicial inquiry, and court processes; and establishing responsibility for the interference in activities of the respective bodies that are considering cases of administrative violations involved in disciplinary proceedings;

i) making changes to the legislative acts so as to ensuring freedom of entrepreneurship activities, limitation on state regulation of economic processes, eliminating the causes favouring corruption, deviation from tax payments, dues, compulsory payments, and carrying out economic activities with violations of legislation;

f) improving the procedures for income and property declaration by the officials and persons who obtain or expect to obtain political posts, introduce obligatory declaration of expenditures by officials who obtain political posts, prosecutor’s office staff, security service, customs, internal affairs bodies and state tax administration staff, judges and their families, and also entrust the state tax administration to confidentially control the information provided in the declaration on incomes and expenditures, and establish mechanisms for assessing whether income is consistent with the declared expenditures;

j) providing state (administrative) services to the natural persons and corporate entities using the electronic information system, “Electronic government”;

g) legalizing the incomes of natural persons and corporate entities, which were obtained with the violation of the tax and currency regulations set by the legislation, forecast mechanisms for their realization including one time declaration of all the property and money, prohibition for the examination of taxing and other obligations by state authorities of the respective natural persons and corporate entities, which are liable for legalization and which emerged before its implementation; h) providing mechanisms for ensuring stability and inviolability of property rights, gained according to the procedure set by the legislation in the process of privatization of state property in period 1994-2004;

2) to ratify, within two months, the methodology and the order of conducting public monitoring of corruption cases in political and social spheres at national and local levels, forecasting annual release of this monitoring results; 3) to implement, within two months, measures to improve the electronic system of document circulation in the state and local authorities; 4) to ensure involvement of the representatives of the scientiﬁc and sociological institutions, enterprises, citizens’ unions, international organizations, independent experts to the process of drafting respective laws and regulations in order to put into eﬀect paragraphs 1-3 of this article, and also to submit for public discussions draft laws mentioned in the point 1 of the article

International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

Special Days

New York, Secretary-General’s message on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

...”

Violence against women remains pervasive worldwide. It is the most atrocious manifestation of the systemic discrimination and inequality women continue to face, in law and in their everyday lives, around the world. It occurs in every region, country, and culture, regardless of income, class, race or ethnicity.

At the World Summit in September, leaders pledged to redouble efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls child. We know that this requires us to change the mindset, still all too common and deepseated, that violence against women is acceptable. That means leadership in showing, by example, that when it comes to violence against women and girls, there are no grounds for tolerance and no tolerable excuses. On this International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, let us rededicate ourselves to that mission. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has issued a comprehensive plan for reinforcing and integrating women’s issues into the world body’s peacekeeping and post-conflict operations with the aim of strengthening the commitment and accountability of the United Nations to gender equality.

Gender-based violence is also damaging to society as a whole. It can prevent women from engaging in productive employment, and girls from attending school. It makes women more vulnerable to forced and unprotected sex, which plays a key role in the spread of HIV/AIDS. It takes a deep and enduring toll on the entire The new report prepared by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Women and Peace and Security tackles the broad application of gender equality as well as the protection of women through all phases of peacekeeping, humanitarian and post-conﬂict operations, addressing such issues as gender balance, gender-based violence, sexual exploitation and abuse. The plan which was mandated by a landmark Security Council resolution on women, peace and security adopted in 2000 draws on contributions from 37 diﬀerent UN agencies and provides a blueprint for action to deliver concrete changes in how they conduct their activities in the years to come.

Volunteers – Peaceful Army of the World

25 November 2005 family, including and especially the next generation. That is why this year’s 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence, starting today, will be used by Governments, United Nations entities and civil society activists to focus on the detrimental consequences of violence against women on the well-being of the world as a whole.

“...

The Task Force aims to ensure women’s full participation in all stages of a given peace process, such as negotiating and implementing peace agreements as well as drafting and negotiating constitutions. The report lays out in detail, by agency, how the UN will enhance gender equity with speciﬁc dates for attaining each goal. The plan also includes several measures earmarking budget allocations for gender-based initiatives – that is, making sure the ﬁnancial resources to achieve these ambitious goals are available when needed. More information and the full report is available at www.un.org/womenwatch

5 December 2005

The United Nations volunteers serving in Ukraine along with the local community celebrated the International Volunteer Day by organizing press-conference and Volunteer Organizations’ Information Fair. UN volunteers invited the representatives of leading volunteer organizations along with Ukrainian celebrities to encourage further development of volunteer movement in Ukraine. The speakers of the press-conference “Volunteerism and achievement of Millennium Development Goals: the importance of volunteers in the development process” were Mr. Francis M. O’DONNELL, UN Resident Coordinator in Ukraine, and himself a former United Nations Volunteer (1976-1978), Ms. Ani LORAK singer and previous UN Goodwill Ambassador, Mr. Karl BECK, US Peace Corp Director,

Ms. Alla KHABAROVA, Director of Red Cross Ukraine, Ms. CristinaTURCI, UNVolunteers Programme Oﬃcer.The participants talked about their experiences as supporters and representatives of the volunteers’movement and underlined the importance of volunteers’engagement in order to eradicate extreme poverty at a global level. As important actors of the Ukrainian development process, they also highlighted the achievements accomplished by the volunteers so far in Ukraine and the future prospective for a strengthened a fruitful cooperation among Volunteers Involving Organizations (VIOs) in Ukraine.

Background information on the UN Volunteers Programme The United Nations Volunteers programme (UNV) is the volunteer arm of the United Nations. Created by the UN General Assembly in 1970 to serve as an operational partner in development cooperation at the request of UN member states, it mobilizes qualified UN Volunteers and encourages people to become active in volunteering in their countries. It is administered by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and works through UNDP’s country offices around the world. Some 7,300 qualified and experienced women and men of nearly 160 nationalities are serving each year in developing countries as UN Volunteers. Since 1971, some 30,000 UN Volunteers have worked in about 140 countries. Currently, nearly 70 per cent are citizens of developing countries while the remaining 30 per cent come from the industrialized world. What do they do? They work in technical cooperation with governments, with community-based initiatives, in humanitarian relief and

rehabilitation and in support of human rights, electoral and peace-building processes. They are professionals who work on a peer basis. They listen and discuss, teach and train, encourage and facilitate. Volunteers also share and exchange ideas, skills and experience. In which sectors do they work? The UNV programme involves a wide spread of sectors: it maintains a roster covering 115 professional categories. Agriculture, health and education feature prominently, as do human rights promotion, information and communication technology, community development, vocational training, industry and population. Where are they working? Over the years, they have served in about 140 countries.Today 40 per cent are at work in Africa, 26 per cent in Asia and the Paciﬁc, and 15 per cent in Central and Eastern Europe; the remainder is to be found in

Also, the Volunteers Organization Information Fair was opened to demonstrate activities of more then 20 local and international VIOs operating in Ukraine including US Peace Corps, Ukrainian Red Cross Society, International Foundation Caritas Ukraine, Ukrainian Association for Youth Co-operation ALTERNATIVE-V, Dobra Volya Volunteers, Age Concern Ukraine, Network of PLWHA, School of Equal Opportunity, others. The representatives of these organizations informed Kyiv community about the great potential of volunteers’ activities through different communication tools and visual arts, including little performances. the Arab States, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. Thirty per cent serve in the world’s poorest nations -- the least developed. Half work outside capital cities, frequently in remote towns and villages. This is in response to expressed needs, and it reflects the commitment which volunteers bring. Included here are the field workers serving at the grassroots level in Asia, the Pacific and Africa. These are practitioners with excellent track records in village-level community work; they exchange skills and knowledge among countries of those regions. UNV in Ukraine The first UNV served in Ukraine in 1993. Since then 38 UN volunteers (25 International UNVs and 13 National UNVs) have served in our country. Currently there are 20 UNVs serving in Ukraine: 9 International and 11 Nationals. 12 are based in Kiev and 8 in different regions of Ukraine. All of them are actively involved in different development projects related to the areas of: fight against AIDS/HIV(4), community development in Chernobyl affected areas (11), Human Rights (4), UNV Program development (1).

The 3rd International Human Rights Festival in Kyiv ‘Fight For A Larger Freedom!’

Special Days

10 December 2005 This year the festival took place on December 10-16 in Kyiv at O.Dovzhenko ﬁlm studio and Budynok Kino. Every year the slogan of the festival and the topics are selected based on important recent trends in nationally and the world at large. 2005 was a very important year for UN as well as for Ukraine, since on its 60th anniversary UN has launched a new reform process ‘time for renewal’. At the same time Ukraine was going through the Orange Revolution where the people of Ukraine were ‘demanding for renewal’. Both of these were aiming to achieve one single desire ‘to have more freedom and rights for people’. Therefore, the slogan of the third annual International Human Rights Film Festival-2005 is ‘Fight for a larger freedom’.

On the Human Rights Day, the International Human Rights Film Festival was launched with the opening gala at O. Dovzhenko Film Studio.

On 10th December there was a gala opening and screening of two gala-films: “It’s Our Country” (directed by Ludmyla Nemyria, Ukraine, 2005) is about recent freedom movements in Ukraine and “Living Rights: Lena” (directed by Duco Tellegen, Netherlands & Belarus, 2004/2005) is about a young girl living in the Chernobyl affected area. The film “Living Rights” won many awards from the following festivals: Parnu International Documentary Film Festival, 58th Locarno International Film Festival, BUSTER Copenhagen International Film Festival for Children and Youth. In total 28 films from Ukraine, Kenya, Uganda, USA, Great Britain, Netherlands, Belarus, Japan, Peru, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium were screened during this festival including 10 films made by Ukrainian Directors. The International Human Rights Film Festival is aiming to raise public awareness on human rights using the powerful medium of films and was a result of a combination of efforts of the UN system agencies in Ukraine, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Ukraine, Ukraine Cinema Fund, Dovzhenko Film Studio, Budynok Kino, Amnesty International in Ukraine, OSCE, Human Rights Culture Association, Kyiv Parliament of Children, Leo Burnett, Verum. The Festival organizers wish to express their gratitude to the event sponsors, particularly to DHL and media partners ICTV, What’s On, Gala Radio, Radio Еra, Kino Kolo, Ukraina Moloda, Site Maidan.

The festival programme was based on three main topics: peace, dignity and prosperity. After screening in Kyiv, in January-February the festival will travel to other regions of Ukraine including Donetsk, Lviv, Odesa, Kharkiv. Besides the awarded human rights films on peace, dignity and prosperity from all around the world, the festival also offered public debates giving the audience an opportunity to appreciate films and to discuss the human rights topics on election rights, rights of minorities, rights of people living with HIV/AIDS, and others. This year the festival devoted a special section for the 20th Anniversary of the Chernobyl catastrophe.

More information is available at www.ihrﬀ.org.ua

Statement by Kemal Dervis Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme On the Occasion of International Human Rights Day language of human rights has become ...” Thewidelyinternational accepted and spoken in the ﬁfty-seven years

since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This was underlined in September, when global leaders at the 2005 World Summit firmly stated that human rights along with development, peace, and security are the pillars ofthe United Nations system. These pillars are interlinked and mutually reinforcing, and provide the foundation upon which to build our collective security and well-being. The decision taken at the Summit to strengthen the UN Human Rights machinery by establishing a Human Rights Council, replacing the Commission on Human Rights, and by strengthening the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, are among a series of vital steps that will allow us to move ahead with the promotion and protection of human rights for all. UNDP recognises that human rights are not only an objective but also an important development tool, with which we can support national efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and to prevent discrimination or exclusion from the development process on the grounds of race, religion, or gender.

A human rights-based approach to development insists that women and men have equal access to development, equal access to health, an education, employment, and dequate housing. Today, International Human Rights Day also coincides with the final day of 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence, which gave focus to the damaging effect of genderbased violence on society as a whole. It highlighted the plight of women subjected to the systematic sexual violence that has characterized so many armed conflicts; or exposed to HIV because they do not have the powerto say o to unprotected sex with their partner. Injustices continue to take place, despite the fact that the recognition of women’s rights is strongly enshrined in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, and the Beijing Platform for Action. If the pervasive culture of the abuse of women’s economic, social and political rights is to change, women must have equal representation and the recourse to hold the powerful to account. To this end, UNDP strongly supports national efforts to develop women’s access to the political system, where they have long-since been under-represented.

In Afghanistan, for example, UNDP’s intensive advocacy resulted in a Presidential decree allocating two seats per province to women on the Constitutional Loya Jirga, the body responsible for writing the country’s new constitution, which today grants women and men equal rights before the law. In Honduras, UNDP advocated for the adoption of a National Policy on Equal Opportunities, which in turn led to new legislation that now reserves 30 percent of parliamentary seats for women. There are positive signs that the culture is changing. In November, UNDP provided support and training to Liberia’s electoral commission in advance of the country’s historic presidential election – the first since the end of its 14-year civil war - which saw the first ever election of a woman as an African head of state. This is a momentous step forward for Africa, and my hope is that it will empower women and girls around the Continent to insist upon the realisation of their individual human rights. The principles enshrined in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights will never be realised if women and girls - along with their talents and potential – are left out of the equation. As UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has stressed, “What begins as a failure to uphold the dignity of one life, all too often ends as a calamity for entire nations”.

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Special Days

The UN Country Team along with other donor organizations

On November 17, 2005 Lilia Podkopayeva was designated as the next UN Goodwill Ambassador on HIV/AIDS in Ukraine.

On December 1, 2005 A ceremony dedicated to the Worlds AIDS Day took place near the the Red Ribbon memorial.

On December 14-24, 2005 The photo exhibition “DOORS!?..” telling about the real facts from the life of a HIV positive young girl from Belarus

The UN Resident Coordinator Francis M.O’Donnell publicly announced the appointment at a pressconference in the UN House in Kyiv. Other speakers of the event were Mr. Jeremy Hartley, UNICEF Representative in Ukraine and Chair of the HIV/AIDS Theme Group and Mr. Yuriy Subbotin, UNAIDS Project Manager. Mr. O’Donnell presented Ms. Podkopayeva with an oﬃcial certiﬁcate designating her as UN Goodwill Ambassador on HIV/AIDS in Ukraine for 2005-2006.

The ceremony was jointly organized by the Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS along with other partner organizations in the frameworks of the campaign “Understanding is a real action!”. This campaign took place not only in Kyiv, but also in 42 cities of Ukraine.

was organized in Kyiv by the UNDP Governance of HIV/ AIDS project. It was the joint initiative of the UNDP in Ukraine and Republic of Belarus with the ﬁnancial support from UNAIDS. The exhibition was held with great success in such cities as Minsk, Moscow, Riga, Vilnius and this December in Kyiv.

United Nations Goodwill Ambassadors are famous personalities which draw public attention to key contemporary issues and promote UN values and ideals in their countries. Goodwill Ambassadors are usually celebrity musicians, sport stars and actors. Due to their personal reputation and professional achievements, their status as Goodwill Ambassador is an important symbol for the national audience. The United Nations encourages Goodwill Ambassadors to use their highproﬁle status to advocate for much needed attention and support for key issues, such as HIV/AIDS. Diﬀerent UN Agencies nominate the Goodwill Ambassadors at the global level include Angelina Joli, Jacky Chan, Ronaldo, Anatoliy Karpov and others. Goodwill Ambassadors in Ukraine have included Walid Harfouch – UN Goodwill Ambassador on HIV/AIDS (2001-2003), Andrey Medvedev – UN Goodwill Ambassador on HIV/AIDS (2003), Ani Lorak – UN Goodwill Ambassador on HIV/AIDS (2004), Ruslana Lyzhychko – UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador (2005), and Slava Vakarchuk – UNDP Goodwill Ambassador for Youth (2005). The Goodwill Ambassadors are designated for a period of up to two years, renewable. The Goodwill Ambassadors are not paid salary, although a symbolic payment of $1 per year or equivalent may be granted to them. The Goodwill Ambassadors are engaged in public advocacy and in public awareness activities.

The speakers of the ceremony were Minister of Health of Ukraine Yuriy Polyachenko, UNICEF Representative in Ukraine Jeremy Hartley, Head of the Coordination Council of the Network Of People living with HIV/AIDs Volodymyr Zhovtyak, Lilia Podkopayeva UN Goodwill Ambassador on HIV/AIDS in Ukraine, USAID Mission Director Earl GAST, Executive Director of the International HIV/AIDS Alliance in Ukraine Andriy Klepikov, President of Transatlantic Partners Against AIDS John Tedstrom, founder of the ANTIAIDS Foundation Elena Franchuk, Director of the Ukrainian AIDS Center Alla Shcherbynska. At the end of the ceremony the participants placed the ﬂowers to the Memorial and joined hands as a sign of their solidarity with HIV-positive people.

Overall, 23 000 people attended the exhibition. This exhibition is aimed at building up a human and tolerant attitude to people living with HI/AIDS and protecting their dignity. With the help of the specially designed space, photos, diary’s entries, light and music a unique atmosphere was created to tell about the life of one of the million and remind that everyone may have an incurable disease such as cancer or AIDS. And everyone may experience discrimination – you, your beloved, friends and relatives. Hence, the art project “DOORS!?..” helps everyone realize the value of life.

On November 30, 2005 The joint statement for World AIDS Day was released by the international donor agencies supporting HIV/AIDS programmes in Ukraine. During a joint press-conference the participants addressed the latest Government’s initiatives to ﬁght against HIV/AIDS and presented recommendations based on international experience. The Speakers of this event were Ian BOAG, Head, Delegation of the European Commission in Ukraine, Paul BERMINGHAM, Director for Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova, World Bank, Jeremy HARTLEY, UNICEF Representative in Ukraine, Earl GAST, Mission Director, US Agency for International Development (USAID). The text of the joint statement “International Donor Support for an Intensiﬁed National Response to HIV/AIDSin Ukraine” is available at http://www.worldbank.org.ua

UN Asisstant Secretary-General Kalman Mizsei Salutes Launch of Community of Democratic Choice Forum. UN Lauds Ukrainian Reforms, EU Market Economy Status and Launch of New Community of Democratic Choice Forum

Events

The CDC was formed following on a joint statement signed by Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko and Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili last August in the Georgian town of Borjomi.The ‘Borjomi Declaration’ envisaged the forum as a “powerful tool for releasing our region from all remaining divisions, violation of human rights, any confrontation, and any ‘frozen’ conﬂicts.”

On December 2, 2005 the leaders of the Balkan, Baltic and Black Sea regions along with the delegates from the other East European nations, the US, as well as representatives of the international and civil society organizations gathered in Kyiv for the Forum of the Community of Democratic Choice (CDC). UN Secretary-General Koﬁ Annan sent a top UN oﬃcial to represent him at the Forum: UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP Assistant Administrator, Director of the Regional Bureau for Europe and the CIS, Kalman Mizsei, well known in Ukraine and the region as a leading expert in the economics of transition. ”Democracy and development are mutually reinforcing, and both are vital if countries in Eastern Europe and the CIS are to avoid a “trap of partial reforms”, said Kalman Mizsei, at the founding forum of a new regional grouping to promote democratic values, stability and economic growth.

Mr. Mizsei, who addressed the CDC forum on behalf of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, congratulated Georgia and Ukraine on their impetus to reform and underscored the value of robust democratic institutions. “Democracy is an end in and of itself,” he said. “However, the experience of our region shows that democracy is also a means to achieve successful economic transition from the ruins of the command economy to a sustainable system that delivers rising living standards, durable livelihoods, and fair opportunities to its citizen. “The creation of the Community of Democratic Choice offers a splendid opportunity for the countries that have grasped this message to encourage countries that are struggling to find the strength to forge ahead.” Delegates at the Kiev forum adopted the Declaration of the Countries of the Community of Democratic Choice, and agreed follow-up meetings for 2006. The Black Sea Forum for Dialogue and Partnership will take place in Bucharest in March, and will be followed by additional meetings in Vilnius and Tbilisi.

Mr. Mizsei welcomed opportunities for continued cooperation between UNDP and the CDC members. “At UNDP we look forward to working with the countries in our region, and with collective undertakings such as the Community of Democratic Choice,”he said. He also congratulated Ukraine and Moldova for their cooperation in enabling the launching of the new EU BorderAssistance Mission based in Odessa, and thanked the European Commission for its confidence in contracting UNDP as its implementing partner in this. Over the past several weeks, UNDP has contracted and supported the deployment of 119 personnel, complete with vehicle fleet and a range of fully-equipped offices in the area. “This would not have been possible without the confidence of the European Commission, the Council of Ministers, and the active cooperation of EU member countries in seconding customs and border experts at short notice”, said Mr. Mizsei. “Flexible, on the ground, and with an established trust of Governments in the region, UNDP has a solid track record of cooperation with the EC in fields like this in several countries” he said “It fits squarely with our support to regional organisations in their efforts to promote the values enshrined in the UN charter, and to forge regional peace, integration, and stability”. Mr. Mizsei was also the initiator of the Blue Ribbon Commission for Ukraine, which has offered several reports, recommendations, and continuing high-level policy advice to the President and his Government in managing a second wave of sustainable economic and institutional reforms.

Community of Democratic Choice Statement on behalf of United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan by Kalman Mizsei 2 December 2005 Dear President Yushchenko, Presidents, Excellencies, representatives of civil society, ladies and gentlemen, It is a particular pleasure to be here with you today, representing the United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan. The Secretary-General sends his regrets that he cannot attend the Forum owing to longstanding prior commitments, and he wishes every success to your deliberations. It is also a special professional distinction to me to be able for participate at this Forum, given UNDP’s long-term engagement with virtually all of the countries represented at the Forum. UNDP is honored to be involved with the economic and governance reforms of Georgia and Ukraine as well as many other countries represented here by their presidents, such as Macedonia and Moldova. I should also say that, as a Hungarian, I am proud of my country’s democratic and economic transition successes. The speakers before me talked a lot about the relevance of democratic revolutions - indeed, again as a Hungarian I can say that I am proud of our, however unsuccessful, revolution of 1956, a first in the whole region against totalitarian communist rule that, as Mr. Barsony pointed out, has triggered a lot of positive processes in Hungary and in the region. As President Yushchenko mentioned in his introductory speech, democracy is a deeply entrenched value of the United Nations. One of the most important achievements of the World Summit in September this year in New York

was, ladies and gentlemen, the global community’s agreement of the Millennium Development Goals as the fundamental tool of the international community to fight poverty around the globe. The MDGs are the offspring of the wonderful Millennium Declaration of the year 2000. In this Declaration almost 189 heads of state and government established the most explicit correlation between democracy and development. It is crucial to remember that, by adapting the Millennium Declaration, the United Nations member states committed themselves to democratic rule. That pledge is also binding for all countries across the region of the Baltic, Black and Caspian Seas – without exception! Dear Delegates! We at the United Nations also feel that our organization needs to do more to realize the goal of making democratic rule universal on the planet. The outcome of the World Summit, we feel, has taken us closer to that goal. A new Human Rights Council will replace the dysfunctional and discredited Human Rights Commission. The budget of the High Commissioner for Human Rights will be doubled. Efforts will be made to ensure that the Security Council acts on warnings from the UN human rights body. The ‘responsibility to protect’ populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, or crimes against humanity – by use of force if necessary – will henceforth override even the entrenched concept of state sovereignty. Honesty also compels us to take a look at the state of democracy in our region. Here it is crucial to remember the Secretary-General’s admonition that “creating democracy means much more than holding elections”. Referring to President Basescu’s

remark this morning, I would add that elections in our region too often don’t meet international standards. The outcome sometimes is foregone conclusion, played out against the backdrop of the neglect of the rule of law and human rights abuses. Too often farcical elections go hand in hand with stalled economic reforms, leaving predatory elites in sole charge of a country’s valuable assets. Citizens find themselves in a trap of partial reforms – with their way to both freedom and prosperity barred. This is a situation that both Georgia and Ukraine, the two sponsors of this Forum, know well. Yet both countries found a way out of this trap. In both cases, fraudulent elections so violated the spirit of democracy that citizens rose up in peaceful revolutions to demand genuine elections. In the process, a chance was created for a new wave of political and economic measures aimed at completing the economic and state transition so successfully implemented in the new EU member states. Ladies and gentlemen! Democracy is an end in and of itself. However, the experience of our region shows that democracy is also a means to achieve successful economic transition from the ruins of the command economy to a sustainable system that delivers rising living standards, durable livelihoods, and fair opportunities to its citizens. Evidence shows that the more robust a country’s democratic institutions, the better its prospects for long-term growth. As the Secretary-General has observed, “democracy and development reinforce each other”. This is a message that our region needs to heed. The creation of the Community of Democratic Choice offers a splendid opportunity for the countries that have grasped this message to encourage countries that are struggling to find the strength to forge ahead. This mirrors the mandate of the UN and we look forward to fruitful cooperation.

Regional Aspect

Community Development Surges in Crimea: UN Resident Coordinator, Representatives of Diplomatic Missions, International Donor Organizations and the Government of Ukraine Visited Crimea On October 25-28, 2005 A delegation of country-partners of the UNDP Crimea Integration and Development Programme visited the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. During this visit the UN Resident Coordinator in Ukraine Francis M. O’Donnell, the Ambassador of Switzerland Christian Fassler, the Ambassador of Sweden John-Christer Ahlander along with other members of the delegation met with the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea Boris Deich, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea Anatoliy Bordugov, other ministers, and heads of diﬀerent committees of the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, as well as rayon and community leaders. During this trip, the Ambassadors of Sweden and Switzerland, the representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Aﬀairs, the Ministry of Economy, the Embassies of Austria, Canada, Norway, Netherlands, Turkey, Finland and the Delegation of the European Commission to Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus had a chance to see preventive healthcare centre functioning in Trudolyubovka settlement, to take part in performance of youth development centre in Arkadyevka settlement, to learn about community-based water management and operation in Novonikolaevka settlement and the business-enabling “One Stop Shop” project of Regional State Administration in Sovetskiy Region.

Following on-site meetings, the participants took part in Stakeholders Advisory Panel Meeting to discuss the current achievements of the programme and to agree on its future operations. “I was very impressed by what the local authorities were doing, by what the private sector was doing. I think is our duty to the other partners including ourselves to give full support to those eﬀorts. I can guarantee you that my country Switzerland remains very much committed to this cooperation based on the community approach. We have worked with CIDP and it was an excellent cooperation, we are ready to pursue our cooperation in this sector”, stated the Ambassador of Switzerland. Several other donors echoed these sentiments. “The most important thing, is that local communities are now motivated to shape their own futures, with enthusiasm”, said Francis O’Donnell, at the conclusion of the visit. “We must spread the beneﬁts of this approach to the rest of Crimea and Ukraine overall.” The UNDP Crimea Integration and Development Programme was initiated in 1995 in response to the complex challenges faced by Ukraine with the mass return of more than 260,000 people, including Crimean Tatars and smaller groups of Armenians, Germans, Greeks, Bulgarians and others, who were forcibly deported from Crimea in 1944 by the Soviet Government.

In 1995 CIDP started activities in two regions of Crimea; by 2005 it expanded to 12 regions. CIDP aims to consolidate stability by promoting sustainable development, human security and good governance, as well as encouraging self-help initiatives in communities where large numbers of formerly deported people live. In partnership with the international community and Governments of Ukraine and Crimea, CIDP works in ﬁve major areas: promotion of good governance and participatory decision-making; income and employment creation with emphasis on SME development; tolerance and social cohesion through education and culture as well as improvement of quality and accessibility of basic infrastructure in needy areas. A human security and development monitoring system was set up to observe and analyze trends and changes in Crimean society to respond to potential conﬂict through timely actions by the Government of Crimea. Over the past decade, hundreds of projects have been implemented on the basis of community initiatives, including water and gas supply, reconstruction of roads, creation of health posts, youth and educational centres, business promotion centres and tolerance promotion projects.

 For further information, please contact: Elvina Mustafaeva UNDP/Crimea Integration and Development Programme Tel: (380 652) 248 002 e-mail: elvina@undp.crimea.ua

Ivano-Frankivsk and Rivne: Launch of Awareness Campaigns on Sustainable Development (SD) Awareness campaigns on sustainable development were launched in the partner municipalities of IvanoFrankivsk and Rivne. It was suggested that the most eﬃcient way would be to disseminate the idea through the partner school network. Therefore, trainings of trainers from Ivano-Frankivsk and Rivne school networks was organised within the framework of appropriate awareness campaigns on SD principles, MDGs, Loval Agenda 21 (LA-21) and related issues. It is expected that the trained teachers will explain and teach principles of SD and related issues to their colleagues and to students, and advocate these polices and practices among other target audience. The objective of the training sessions “Sustainable Development and Activities of United Nations Development Programme in Terms of Their Implementation” was to make participants knowledgeable in SD principles and policies, LA-21, major objectives and role of The Municipal Sustainable Development Programme (MSDP), MDGs, role of the school network in implementation of SD principles.

Training was held on September 7th in Ivano-Frankivsk and September 23rd in Rivne. The event took place in participation of 46 persons in Ivano-Frankivsk municipality and 35 in Rivne (school directors and deputy director, municipal authorities, school networks, education department etc.). Thus, the ideas of sustainable development will be communicated to 80 agencies on average. The introductory speeches were given by the municipal authorities, namely O.Synyutka, Deputy Mayor (in Ivano-Frankivsk) and T.Nakonechna, Deputy Head of Directorate of Investments (in Rivne), who substantiated the vitality of SD for the municipalities. It was followed by the presentations on SD, LA 21, activities of MSDP in the cities. Municipal Sustainable Team members were encouraged to present their experience in order to build their capacity as trainers. Afterwards, the local resource persons presented their reports on the most vital issues for appropriate municipalities, identiﬁed by the schools themselves during the initial meetings in the 2nd quarter of 2005.

At the end of the training its participants ﬁlled a questionnaire to evaluate the knowledge gained and visualize its further dissemination. Most of the school directors consider usage of new knowledge as supplementary materials to existing school subjects to be the best way of introducing them to the school curriculum (70%); though, they also suggest initiating an appropriate optional course (26,7%). Mostly, the knowledge gained is suggested to be further disseminated through thematic talks, meetings, roundtables, open classes and lectures with teachers, parents, students, reporting on the issue during the meeting of the pedagogical council, disseminating publications, providing them to libraries, holding seminars, trainings, inviting resource persons for giving lecture, and issuing and disseminating the thematic information bulletin. 86,7% of the participants consider cooperation with MSDP to be necessary for the schools of municipality, and would like to get detailed information on possibilities of joint projects.

Beyond Chernobyl – Moving on to Regional Prosperity On October 31 – November 2 2005 In Chernihiv an important regional conference took place: the International Conference “Chernobyl-affected regions in Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine – from recovery to a new developmental approach”. The event was organized by the UNDP Chernobyl Recovery and Development Programme (CRDP) in cooperation with the Chernihiv Oblast State Administration,andwasopenedbyFrancisM.O’Donnell,UNResident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Ukraine. Participating in the conference were representatives of the Ministry of Emergencies of Ukraine; the heads and representatives of oblast and raiyon state administrations; delegations of the UN Representative Offices in Belarus and Russia; Minamino Daisuke, Embassy of Japan in Ukraine, and other representatives of the diplomatic corps in Ukraine; representatives of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus; renowned experts; Ukrainian and Foreign businessmen and representatives of corporations; scientists; journalists; and the UNDP CRDP team. The objective of the conference was to analyze the current state and future prospects of cooperation between Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, the United Nations, international organizations and donor countries whose assistance contributes to the mitigation of the Chernobyl Catastrophe consequences and to the recovery of the Chernobyl-affected territories. The conference made a significant contribution to strengthening sub-regional partnerships between governmental bodies, institutions and organizations on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl Catastrophe. “Conference participants discussed the recommendations of the report ‘Strategy for Recovery’ and exchanged experience and successful examples of addressing Chernobyl-related issues involving local communities and applying economic incentives.

Those are just the first steps and our major task is to ensure these models are used on a regular basis in our countries”, said Pavlo Zamostyan, Programme Manager of the UNDP Chernobyl Recovery and Development Programme. The Chernobyl Economic Development Forum (ChEDF) was established at the conference in Chernihiv, with the goal of contributing to the economic recovery of the Chernobyl-affected territories. The objectives of the ChEDF are to build a platform for elaboration of a coherent sustainable economic development strategy to be implemented in the Chernobyl-affected territories, as well as to increase investments in the region. “I think the importance of the forum was to see that there is a need for change in the approach to the results of the catastrophe. We need to change priorities so that less attention is given to humanitarian aid, and far more to provide solid foundations for economic recovery. And such a foundation could give back to people their dignity and the feeling that they are the hosts of their future”, said professor Jerzy Osiatynski, Former Polish Minister, UNDP and World Bank Expert.

The ChEDF activities will focus on implementation of recent recommendations to the governments of Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine from the International Chernobyl Forum in Vienna. ChEDF will particularly be focused on economic and social policy and adoption of a new approach to economic development of the aﬀected regions to combat poverty. As Francis M. O’Donnell, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Ukraine emphasized, “Today’s event has basically indicated that we have truly turned the page in the region, including Belarus, Russia and Ukraine, and we have recognized that time has come to get away from depressive dependency. We have a clear vision where we have to go with economic development. The signed Memorandum of Understanding and adopted Resolution of the Conference are two instruments that will guide our future activities.”

 For further details, please contact Mykola Movchan, UNDP/CRDP

tel: (38 044) 253 5068 e-mail: Mykola.Movchan@undp.org.ua

Donbass: Addressing Challenges and Revealing Opportunities On November 15-16, 2005

Government of Ukraine for the period of 2006-2010.

UN Resident Coordinator in Ukraine Francis M. O’Donnell, the IMF Senior Resident Representative Jeﬀrey Franks and other members of UN country team visited Donetsk and Lugansk regions to meet the representatives of local governance, civil society organisations and business sector.

During this visit the priorities of Donetsk government policy for the upcoming years, as well as economic reforms, health and environmental challenges, strategy of regional development were discussed with the representatives of the local authorities. Besides, the delegation visited the Donetsk Metallurgical Plant and met the representatives of business sector to discuss economic aspects of regional development. Also, the delegation had a chance to talk to the representatives of the Donbass non-governmental organisations to discuss and to assess perspectives and future initiatives on empowering civil society, ensuring gender equality and increasing environmental sustainability in this region.

During visit to Donetsk, they met the Governor of Donetsk Oblast Mr. Chuprun, the Mayor of Donetsk Mr. Lukyanchenko and the First Deputy of Donetsk Oblast Council Mr. Zats. The United Nations continues to support the people and institutions of in developing and implementing eﬀective and sustainable policies targeted at civil society empowerment and nation’s prosperity. This year the United Nations system in Ukraine and the Government of Ukraine signed the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) elaborated on the basis of a recent Common Country Assessment. This concept is a core document for coordinating UN agencies’ programmes and

On November 15, 2005 Mr. Francis O’Donnell was a guest of live information and analytical program “V Kourse” at the TV company “Kiev Rus”. Talking about localisation of Media Development Goals as well as UNDAF joint programming for ﬁve upcoming years, Mr.O’Donnell

emphasized importance of citizens’ active position and committed the participation in building their own future In Luhansk Mr. O’Donnell and colleagues met with local media community in the frameworks of the press-club “Localisation of Media Development Goals”. This discussion took place in the threshold of the upcoming public hearing on Millennium Development Goals to be held on November 19, 2005 in Luhansk. Natalia Sitniova, Manager of UNDP Project “Millennium Development Goals” and Irina Akimova, Director of Information and analytical centre “Blue Ribbon” also took part in this discussion and answered the questions of journalists, as well as presented analytical materials produced by the respective projects. The UN delegation also visited Teplogorsk city and talked to the acting mayor to learn about the situation at the depressed territories and major challenges faced by the local communities.

Events

Ukrainian Youth Expands Its Capacity to Fight HIV/AIDS 25-28 October 2005

training on sustainable development youth-led organizations.

For several years two UNFPA projects Youth Peer Education Network (Y-PEER), and Global Youth Partners (GYP) Initiative have been active in Ukraine. These projects target HIV/AIDS problem among young people from diﬀerent perspectives. While GYP Initiative is advocating for placing young people at the centre of the response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, Y-PEER is providing expertise and technical support to peer educators in accomplishing prevention and counselling work in the ﬁeld and reaching out to under-served youth.

The Forum provided young leaders with an opportunity to combine theoretical learning with hands-on experience in developing advocacy projects. Over ﬁve days of the Forum, participants have developed and presented project concepts for advocacy actions devoted to the World AIDS Day.

39 representatives of non-governmental and student organizations that are involved in the projects have participated in the Youth Forum that took place in Yalta from 10 to 14 October 2005. At the Forum, young activists and peer educators have expanded their knowledge of advocacy for sexual and reproductive health and rights of young people, improved the skills of peer-to-peer education and safe behaviour promotion, and participated in the

Out of twelve presented project concepts six have been voted by the participants to be the best and were further supported by UNFPA. As a result of creative work at the Forum, NGOs from Zaporizhzhya, Kherson, Chernigiv, and Mariupol along with two student organizations from Kharkiv will conduct various public advocacy events on 1 December 2005. To follow-up on the cooperation initiatives started at the Forum, a UNFPA Ukraine Country Oﬃce Youth Advisory Panel has been established. The Panel membership is open to all individuals and organizations that share UNFPA’s commitment to improvement of sexual and reproductive health and promotion of safe behaviour among Ukrainian youth.



For further information, please contact: Yevgen Bezvushko UNFPA Tel: (38 044) 536 0824 e-mail: bezvushko@unfpa.org

Government of Ukraine, UNHCR and the Council of Europe discussed the new draft legislation of Ukraine on refugees 23-24 November 2005 The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Council of Europe (CoE) organized a seminar on “International and European norms and standards related to refugee protection and current legislative developments in Ukraine”. Members of the Parliament, representatives of the Ombudsperson’s Secretariat, President’s Secretariat, Prosecutor’s General Office, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, Administration of the National BorderService, Security Service of Ukraine, State Committee for Nationalities and Migration, regional migration services took part in the event. In January 2005, the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine began to draft a comprehensive Law “On the legal status of aliens,” which is also meant to establish, in a specific chapter, the protection regime for refugees. When the draft law

was developed, the Ministry of Justice asked UNHCR as the mandated international organization and the CoE to provide legal expertise to the draft Law. The draft law was also shared with all relevant branches of the executive and legislative power of Ukraine. The seminar served as a platform for initiating a consultation process on the draft law with the participation of international and national experts, authorities concerned as well as practitioners from regional migration services and NGO lawyers. Leading international experts presented the experience of selected European countries and analyzed compatibility of the draft law with the relevant international and European standards. It is expected that the recommendations of the seminar would be reﬂected in the updated draft, which could be soon submitted for consideration to the Cabinet of Ministers and later sent to the Parliament of Ukraine for adoption.

UNHCR and the CoE hail positive developments mentioned in the draft law. Thus, persons, who do not fall under the definition of the 1951 Geneva Convention but nevertheless have special humanitarian needs - people who found themselves in refugee -like situations i.e. coming from war, military conflicts and zones of public disorder or risk of torture, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment – would benefit from introduction of subsidiary forms of protection. UNHCR and the CoE perceive this seminar as a very useful opportunity to address the current gaps and shortcomings in the existing Law on Refugees.

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For further information, please contact: Natalia Prokopchuk UNHCR RR Kyiv Tel: (38 044) 288 8424 e-mail: prokopch@unhcr.org

Brieﬂy about the UN Refugee Agency The UN Refugee agency (UNHCR) provides protection and assistance to the world’s refugees. Its founding statute, as well as the 1951 Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 New York Protocol - the two most important instruments of international refugee law - deﬁnes a refugee as a person who cannot or does not want to return to his/her home country because of a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group.

Since its creation, UNHCR has helped around 50m refugees, earning two Nobel Peace Prizes in the process. Currently there are 20m people of concern to UNHCR. UNHCR established its presence in Ukraine in March 1994. As of January 2004, UNHCR Kyiv assumed Regional Representation for Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova. UNHCR’s current main role in Ukraine is to advise, assist and monitor the country’s implementation of its responsibilities for the protection of refugees. Working

with the government, parliament, central and regional authorities as well as with NGOs, UNHCR supports the development of a comprehensive asylum system. Ukraine adopted the ﬁrst Refugee Law in 1993 and started to implement it in 1996. In 2001 the Refugee Law was revised. Currently about 2,500 recognized refugees reside in Ukraine. In January 2002, Ukraine acceded to the 1951 Convention and its 1967 Protocol. More information can be found at www.unhcr.org.ua

Events

UNDP & EC Make Judges Learn at Home and Abroad October-November 2005

Courts and Support to Court Administration” during October and November 2005.

Judicial reforms in Ukraine are expected to enhance the quality of judicial legislation and justice delivery towards achieving European standards.

More than 100 Judges of commercial courts from various regions of Ukraine participated in those events. They proﬁted from the opportunity to learn about diﬀerent European Countries legislative and judicial systems, and they were able to discuss and compare the most vital issues of the judiciary in Ukraine, as well as perspectives of the judicial reform.

The United Nations Development Program organized and conducted in-country training sessions and European study tours on diﬀerent aspects of Ukrainian and International legislation relating to the judicial sector with a view to improving training and professional information for the beneﬁt of the Ukrainian judiciary. These activities have been performed within the framework of the Project “Reform of Arbitration

Study Tour participants visited Lithuania and The Netherlands where they were able to receive information on the organisational structure of Court administration. in these two countries

Two training workshops on Competition Law were held in Kiev, November 7-11, 2005; in terms of added value, they were among the most successful activities of the Project. The participants had a chance to learn and discuss issues pertaining to the current developments and perspectives of Ukrainian, European and US Competition Law; the activities of the Anti-Monopoly Committee of Ukraine; and the problems experienced by the Ukrainian judiciary in applying Anti-Monopoly legislation.

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For further information, please contact: Olga Bala Project “Reform of Arbitration Courts and Support to Court Administration”UNDP/EC tel.: (38 044) 230 3143; (38 044) 561 6720 e-mail: olga.bala@undp.org.ua

Opening of the EU Border Mission to the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine 30 November 2005 The EU Border Mission to the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine was launched. The United Nations Development Programme implemented the program, and it is ﬁnanced by the European Commission. The Mission was oﬃcially launched after the European Commissioner Dr. B. Ferrero-Waldner, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Moldova A.Stratan and the Foreign Minister of Ukraine B.Tarasyuk signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 7th October to establish the mission.

The press-conference and opening ceremony took place at the Operational Headquarters of the EU Border Mission in Odessa with participation of the European Union High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy Dr. Javier Solana and the European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighborhood Policy Dr. B. Ferrero-Waldner as well as UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Ukraine Francis M. O’Donnell, UNDP Deputy Resident Coordinator Joanna Kazana-Wisniowiecka, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Moldova Bruno Pouezat, the Foreign Ministers of the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine.

The mission comprising 69 EU staff including 50 national staff seconded by EU Member States will help enhance the capacities of Moldovan and Ukrainian border and customs sevices to adequately ensure customs and border controls and border surveillance along their common border, with a particular focus on Transnistrian section, including through on-the-job training. It is hoped that improving co-operation between the two countries on border issues can also help create the right climate for settlement of the conflict in Transnistria. For more information on the EU Border Mission to the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, please, visit the project web-site:http://www.eubam.org

Safe and Legal Migration Advice From IOM 17-19 October 2005 An estimated 2 million Ukrainians are currently living abroad. It is crucial to have accurate information when considering going abroad to work, study, or travel. The European Union funds a capacity building program for migration management. This has enabled the International Organization for Migration Mission in Ukraine (IOM Ukraine), in partnership with Ukrainian civil society and the Ukrainian Government, to open five Centres for Migrant Advice (CMAs). On 17 – 19 October, 2005, the IOM joined with European Union Member States, the Canadian and United States embassies in Ukraine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, and the State Committee on Nationalities and Migration and State Employment Service to provide a second round of CMA staff training.

These trained staff will counsel Ukrainians who are considering going abroad, and give them accurate visa information. Centres are located in Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv, Ternopil and Odessa. Information lines will be operated by the following non-governmental organizations: Regional Initiatives Fund, Kyiv (800) 505-5010, Western-Ukrainian Resource Centre, Lviv (032) 297-68-13, Caritas Kharkiv, Kharkiv (057) 752-81-25, Revival of the Nation, Ternopil (0352) 52-39-52 and Southern Ukrainian Centre of Young Lawyers, Odessa (048) 760-16-16 Ukrainians can now get information themselves via phone consultations and the internet website: www.migrantinfo.org.ua Staff are trained to advise clients who come to the offices with issues related to moving abroad.

The goals are to provide accurate information about the current realities and possible dangers that labour migrants could face outside of Ukraine and the consequences of irregular entry and stay in foreign countries. This information can minimize potential risks individuals face abroad. CMA staﬀ can inform clients on workers’ rights overseas, legal methods for migration and information on the dangers of irregular migration abroad, and other topics such as pre-departure visa information and prevention in human traﬃcking. The Centres will assist Ukrainians looking for work in European or other countries or returning from working abroad, and third country nationals in Ukraine.

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For more information, please contact Wendy Lu McGill IOM Kyiv: Tel: (38 044) 568 5015 e-mail: pr@iom.kiev.ua

UN Days

2006 UN Days January 2006

27 January

International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust

February 2006

21 February

International Mother Language Day

March 2006

8 March 21 March 21 March 22 March 23 March

United Nations Day for Women’s Rights and International Peace International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination Beginning of the Week of Solidarity with the Peoples Struggling against Racism and Racial Discrimination World Day for Water World Meteorological Day

April 2006

7 April 23 April

World Health Day World Health Day World Book and Copyright Day

May 2006

3 May 15 May 17 May 21 May 22 May 25 May 29 May 31 May

World Press Freedom Day International Day of Families World Telecommunication Day World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development International Day for Biological Diversity Beginning of the Week of Solidarity with the Peoples of Non-Self-Governing Territories International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers World No-Tobacco Day

June 2006

4 June 5 June 17 June 20 June 23 June 26 June 26 June

International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression World Environment Day World Day to Combat Desertiﬁcation and Drought World Refugee Day United Nations Public Service Day International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Traﬃcking International Day in Support of Victims of Torture

July 2006

5 July 11 July

International Day of Cooperatives (ﬁrst Saturday of July) World Population Day

August 2006

9 August 12 August 23 August

International Day of the World’s Indigenous People International Youth Day International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition

September 2006

8 September 16 September 21 September 25-30 September

International Literacy Day International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer International Day of Peace World Maritime Day

October 2006

1 October 2 October 5 October 9 October 10 October 11 October 16 October 17 October 24 October 24 October 24-30 October

International Day of Older Persons World Habitat Day World Teachers’ Day World Post Day World Mental Health Day International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction World Food Day International Day for the Eradication of Poverty United Nations Day World Development Information Day Disarmament Week

November 2006

6 November 16 November 20 November 20 November 21 November 25 November 29 November

International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conﬂict International Day for Tolerance Africa Industrialization Day Universal Children’s Day World Television Day International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People

December 2006

1 December 2 December 3 December 5 December 7 December 10 December 11 December 18 December 19 December

World AIDS Day International Day for the Abolition of Slavery International Day of Disabled Persons International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development International Civil Aviation Day Human Rights Day International Mountain Day International Migrants Day United Nations Day for South – South Cooperation