ACT Alliance

Ethnic Uzbek refugees, fled from clashes in the city, carry a boy who has been disabled since his early childhood, on the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border, as they intend to escape to Uzbekistan, near Osh, southern Kyrgyzstan, June 15, 2010.

Photo: Reuters/Shamil Zhumatov courtesy www.alertnet.org

The flaring of conflict in southern Kyrgyzstan since last Thursday has displaced an estimated 300,000 people from their homes, with at least 75,000 Uzbek refugees fleeing across the border into Uzbekistan, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) today. People caught in the violence from both ethnic groups remain in desperate need of humanitarian assistance, say aid agencies.

In a statement released today (see below), the ACT Alliance, a global network of churches and related aid organisations, has called upon the provisional Kyrgyz government to guarantee the safe transportation of life-saving assistance and access for aid workers to avert a humanitarian crisis. ACT is represented in Kyrgyzstan by Christian Aid, DanChurchAid (DCA) and ICCO en Kerkinactie, working with local partners.

‘We are losing time, people are dying, and we need to find a way to distribute aid as soon as possible,’ said Ray Hasan, Christian Aid’s head of region for Central Asia. ‘We are very concerned that the situation is getting worse for those most vulnerable.’

UNHCR estimates that 200,000 people are displaced within Kyrgyzstan, while at least 75,000 have fled to neighbouring Uzbekistan. The UN Human Rights Commissioner has pointed to strong evidence that the violence was not a spontaneous flaring of inter-ethnic conflict, but was well planned and orchestrated with political or criminal motivations.

Hundreds of homes have been destroyed leaving thousands living in makeshift conditions. Human rights workers have said that Uzbek communities in the worse-affected cities are too traumatised to accept medical aid from Kyrgyz health workers.

‘Many people haven’t eaten for days, with women and children suffering the most. They are in desperate need of international assistance,’ said Tatiana Kotova, regional manager of Danish ACT member DCA.

‘Those affected by the crisis think that the interim government has not been objective and the distribution of humanitarian aid by the authorities has not been impartial; nor has it been effectively coordinated. The majority of the population affected by the crisis has not been reached. The government needs to guarantee safe transportation and impartial distribution of aid’ said Pepijn Trapman, regional manager of ICCO and Kerk in Actie, a Dutch member of the ACT Alliance.

‘ICCO en Kerkinactie, DCA and Christian Aid have a wide network of local partner organisations that have been able to distribute some aid, but many are running short of basic supplies such as food, water and shelter,’ John Nduna, ACT Alliance General Secretary said. ‘The priority must be to save lives and protect all people affected by the crisis.  We urge the interim government to enable the impartial delivery of assistance, working with the UN and NGOs who have professional staff able to ensure this.’

ACT ALLIANCE STATEMENT:

IMMEDIATE PROTECTION AND HUMANITARIAN ACCESS NEEDED FOR CONFLICT-AFFECTED AND DISPLACED PERSONS IN KYRGYZSTAN

The situation in southern Kyrgyzstan remains unpredictable and volatile. Tens of thousands of people have been affected by the recent crisis, and it appears that organized campaigns of murder, banditry, rape[1] and forced displacement have been carried out. According to the principles of International Humanitarian Law, the affected population has the right to protection and humanitarian assistance.

Many hundreds have died since the night of 10 June. Hundreds of thousands have been displaced and are now living in makeshift conditions in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Local officials in the south have told the International Crisis Group they fear they cannot guarantee the security of refugees encamped along the Kyrgyz side of the border with Uzbekistan. Preliminary information indicates that the destruction in Osh is widespread, with hundreds of buildings and homes destroyed,[2] and that this is a massive humanitarian crisis.

While the available data provides rough estimates and indicates the need for immediate action, a comprehensive and objective joint needs assessment is required to determine more accurate needs to ensure that those in need of support are covered by the interventions.

Many of those affected are located in isolated and border areas, and have little or no access to food and basic protection. Whilst some humanitarian aid has been made available, distribution has been irregular and has not been able to meet the needs of those affected by the crisis; there also remain concerns over the impartiality of these distributions.

We, the undersigned humanitarian agencies call upon the provisional government to:

We the undersigned humanitarian agencies call upon the EU/UN to use its offices to work with the provisional government to:

• Focus its full attention on security concerns and the restoration of the rule of law, ensuring urgent and immediate protection of people affected by the crisis, and;
• Develop a secure humanitarian corridor for the provision and distribution of humanitarian assistance, and;
• Ensure that humanitarian assistance is provided impartially and solely on the basis of need, by agencies that are viewed by the affected population as impartial and independent; and
• Work towards achieving a long-term solution to the humanitarian issues that have resulted from the crisis in southern Kyrgyzstan;

Signed by ACT Alliance[3]:

John Nduna, ACT Alliance General Secretary

Jan van Doggenaar, ICCO & Kerk in Actie International Programme Director

Henrik Stubkjær, Dan Church Aid General Secretary

Paul Valentin, Christian Aid International Director

[1] ICRC: 16-06-2010  News release 10/110 Kyrgyzstan/Uzbekistan: scope of humanitarian crisis is immense

http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/kyrgyzstan-uzbekistan-news-160610

[2] (ICG report: 16 June 2010)

[3] The ACT Alliance is a coalition of 100 church-related humanitarian and development organizations working in 130 countries worldwide.