General Coordination Meeting – Sievierodonetsk (Luhansk Oblast) 28 May 2015 Discussion Action Points/Decisions 1. Information about UN OCHA activities OCHA to follow up UAM receiving IDP certificates together with UNICEF and UNHCR UN OCHA together with humanitarian partners is in the process of finalization Contingency Planning for emergency response. Also the work on the new Law on humanitarian assistance is underway; this should be finalized by the end of June. The steps taken on the issue of unaccompanied minors (UAM) related to receiving IDP status were noted. The Governor’s office has been informed about the problem but the issue can’t be address at the Oblast level. Appropriate information has been passed to the Ministry of Social Policy and Ministry of Education (via Child Protection sub-cluster). UNICEF also met with the State Ombudsperson for Children’s rights for recommendations to amend appropriate Laws and Regulations. UN OCHA encouraged humanitarian agencies to update their regional activities (via 3W/4W forms) and underlined that more acute information has to be delivered to donors including local needs and gaps. 2. Update by LOCMA representative of the current IDP situation Partners to keep informing LOMCA and Coordinating Centre about movements in the area of contact line. The Deputy Governor provided update about the current information under the following headings: Draw the attention of WASH cluster partners to the needs in the Oblast. th Security: On the 27 of May 27 there was a direct hit on the Schastya power station causing electricity UNHCR to consider possibility of supporting “social cuts in the northern parts of the oblast. It was noted that the number of shelling has increased recently houses for IDPs” Project. OCHA to refer to UNDP the within Stanytsa Luhanska, Schastya and Popasna Raion (along the conflict line) as main targets. It was need for support on this issue. also underlined that the non-state actors use all types of weapons. A direct hit on a private home took WHO to consider the possibility to cover the needs in the place near Stanytsa-Luhanska in the village Artyoma, there were no victims reported. There are numerous hospitals. villages left without water supply because the main pipeline was damaged (ICRC and NRC were informed). The Governor made a decision that whoever damages a pipeline will be responsible to fix it. The 9-months nonpayment from NGCAs is another reason for involvement of maintenance teams from the other side of the line of contact into renovation of the infrastructure. This will require a mutual exchange of utility workers across the line of contact. The Deputy Governor requested for monitoring of this process. OSCE SMM explained that though it can’t take any commitments the observers are ready to ensure monitoring in the places of repairs. The situation in the rest of the Oblast is stable. The international organizations are active in the reconstruction of damaged houses along the contact line (Novoaydar, Popasna and Stanytsa-Luhanska Raions). Village and Raion councils are expressing their appreciation for the provided support. Crossing points. There is only one approved humanitarian corridor (Zolote-Pervomaysk) and only United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) | Ukraine Coordination Saves Lives | www.unocha.org humanitarian vehicles are allowed to cross it. The areas around Stanytsa-Luhanske and Tryokhizbenka have been banned for any crossing by the recent Resolution of the Governor due to security reasons. Still the Oblast Administration will continue to assist the aid agencies to expedite their paperwork. Any organization delivering humanitarian aid has the contact numbers to report about difficulties encountered at the checkpoints and in delivering humanitarian aid. Food Security. ICRC delivered over 3,000 food packages in Stanytsa-Luhanska Raion. The Austrian Red Cross covers Novoaydar Raion with the same type of assistance. PIN delivered food vouchers in Popasna Raion and provided financial support to specific category of IDPs. The Deputy Governor stressed that the most of assistance is along the conflict line, but the partners should also focus on northern areas located away from the contact line, because these regions still have an increasing number of IDP arrival and they need food. Healthcare. There is a list of hospitals with the high needs of emergency surgical kits as well as with the needs for broad-spectrum antibiotics. There is a short supply of specialized medicines (AIDS/HIV) and the government’s inventory is stocked until end of June but the issue is being addressed at the level of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. The support from humanitarian actors in arranging mobile clinics (WHO and MSF) is highly appreciated by healthcare authorities. The initiative will be supported with 2 additional mobile teams funded by the Oblast Administration, including mobile X-ray equipment. The situation with TB is being controlled in GCAs but there is no information from NGCAs. The LOMCA asks for assistance from humanitarian actors operating in NGCAs to share information about TB situation there as it is well understood that any TB outbreaks in NGCAs will spread to GCAs sooner or later. The stock of insulin is sufficient for 2 months; tenders are announced and managed at the national level. Special attention was paid to the need of mental health support. Many people with fragile mind have been affected by the situation and require help; the assessment of the needs is requested. The state has funds to support operating psycho-neurological services. In Popasna the Psych-Neurological Clinic is under reconstruction. Patients have been evacuated and will return when repairs are completed. WASH: The Deputy Governor specially emphasized the need for hygiene kits for newborns. Newborns need more than just diapers but complete natal kits which the Oblast Administration is trying to arrange. Large numbers of mothers and newborns have crossed over from NGCAs and there are already 448 registered births from IDP mothers. Big need for the diapers for adults. According to the Deputy Governor in case parents want to get Ukrainian birth certificate, but they reside in NGCA, mother with her newborn does not need to come to GCA. The father of the child or its grandparents could do this. They only need to bring the “Spravka” (certificate) from the hospital where the child was born. Then the authorities in GCA will provide normal birth certificate. The issue of an unaccompanied minor is the main concern. The Oblast Administration has proposed a system to legally recognize temporary custodianship based on a letter from children’s natural parents declaring that they are unable to fulfil their parental rights due to conditions (family separation, hardship etc) caused by the conflict. In this case immediate family members can become legal representatives of children. Still this approach won’t cover the children who moved to GCA with the educational institution. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Coordination Saves Lives | www.unocha.org The Deputy Governor addressed UNHCR for the assistance in developing social houses for permanent accommodation IDPs vs collective centers. There are several buildings to be considered for this conversion in Sievierodonetsk and Rubizhne. The Oblast Administration has already received over 200 applications from IDPs ready to move to this type of houses. 3. Security issues OCHA to undertake the mission coordinating role in case of humanitarian organizations’ joint visits close The issue of security when crossing the contact line and operating in the areas along the conflict line was to the conflict line. raised by the NRC (80% of activity of the organization is along the contact line). NRC team got under Partners to keep informing authorities and OCHA cross fire when they were crossing the Pervomaysk (NGCA) to GCAs via checkpoint in Zolote. Though about plans for better coordination and further the organization underlines that the NRC wasn’t the target of shelling but rather appeared “in wrong place support. at the wrong time”. UNHCR also had to stop NFI distribution in Zolote 3 after shelling started. The OCHA to propose facilitated and fast track procedures proposal from the partners is to arrange joint missions to areas with preliminary agreement about “silence” to the LOMCA for obtaining permits for the with both parties of the conflict. This raises a number of issues including preparation of documents for humanitarian cargoes. humanitarian cargo and for movement of humanitarian vehicles, seeking agreement with the parties of the conflict and monitoring observance of the “silence”. It was pointed out by NRC that planning is a challenge as sometimes they don’t know how long they can wait for the permit from the Coordination Center (CC) though it was underlined that there are no delays in receiving letters of support from LOCMA. The Deputy Governor stressed that LOCMA can’t influence decisions of the CC. Getting joint original letter signed by both LOCMA and the CC that is accepted by all checkpoint may be problematic due to lines of communication. It was suggested to the humanitarian actors to seek for “silence” through its own contacts in NGCA. OSCE SMM proposed to act as an observer in case if such agreements are achieved. NRC also requested for step-by-step description of procedure for obtaining permits for the humanitarian cargoes. 4. Education DRC/DDG to be contacted by the partners especially operating close to contact line for MER training. DRC/DDG starts “train the trainers” 3 day workshops the next week that will be carried out in cooperation with the Educational Department. The venue for the training is school #8 in Sievierodonetsk for training of 20 selected trainers for Luhansk Oblast. Then it is planned to train another group of 20 trainers for Luhansk and Donetsk Oblast and finally 20 trainers for Donetsk Oblast.