UN allocates $2 million for humanitarian activities after Karabakh war

By Azernews

By Vafa Ismayilova

The United Nations has released $2 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to support the UN’s ongoing humanitarian response to temporarily displaced people in the conflict-affected areas of Azerbaijan, the UN office in Azerbaijan has said.

A report posted on the office's official website on February 2 said that following the November 9, 2020, trilateral statement, UN resident agencies in Azerbaijan have been providing initial support in the areas of food, shelter, hygiene, preparation for winter, mine risk awareness, access to healthcare, psychosocial support, and education.

“The CERF funding will scale up UN agencies’ ongoing activities to help the conflict-affected people return to normal life,” Ghulam Isaczai, UN Resident Coordinator in Azerbaijan, said. 

“We will continue working closely with the Government of Azerbaijan, civil society, and other stakeholders to meet the urgent needs of the highly vulnerable population, including women and children,” the UN official added.

The CERF allocation builds on the results of a rapid inter-agency assessment that the UN Country Team conducted in the conflict-affected areas with the support of the Azerbaijani government. The funding will help to provide shelter and non-food items to the affected population; assist in the coordination of demining activities; and deliver essential medicines and medical equipment, as well as mental health and psychosocial services.  

The UN Country Team in Azerbaijan in partnership with government agencies carried out several preliminary needs assessment missions in conflict-affected areas and has been providing its assistance in the following areas:

Health: WHO and UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund) have delivered personal protective equipment and emergency kits to families in conflict-affected areas, as well as supporting the continuation of primary healthcare services despite the COVID-19 and conflict-induced strains on 60 medical facilities.

Shelter and core relief items: UNHCR mobilized $ 1.5 million to secure non-food items, including tents, blankets and mattresses, and is currently mobilizing $400,000 to provide as cash-based interventions.

Psychosocial support:  Most of the 40,000 temporarily displaced people have suffered immense stress and anxiety, especially children. Given the severe shortage of medical staff and absence of psychology professionals in the conflict-hit areas, both WHO and UNICEF are training psychology counsellors to support mental health services at hospitals and schools.

Mine risk action: A joint UNDP-UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) assessment mission was undertaken recently in close coordination with ANAMA, the national mine action agency, to assess mines and unexploded ordinance contaminations in several of the conflict-affected districts. UNDP, UNMAS, and UNICEF are currently working with the government to improve awareness of mine risk;  support the Government’s demining strategy, and strengthen ANAMA’s capacity.

CERF – managed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator on behalf of the UN Secretary-General - is one of the fastest and most effective ways to help people affected by crises. Since its creation, it has assisted hundreds of millions of people with more than $6.5 billion across 104 countries and territories. This would have not been possible without generous and consistent donor support.

The November peace agreement ended the 30-year-old conflict between Baku and Yerevan over Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region that along with the seven adjacent regions came under the occupation of Armenian armed forces in the war in the 1990s. For nearly three decades, Armenia failed to implement the UN Security Council resolutions (822, 853, 874 and 884) demanding the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of its troops, which was the main obstacle to the resolution of the conflict.

The OSCE Minsk Group co-chaired by the United States, Russia and France had been mediating the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict since the signing of the volatile cease-fire agreement in 1994. The Minsk Group’s efforts resulted in no progress as Armenia refused to abide by the UN Security Council resolutions.