Interfax's Interview

 Russia, and before the Soviet Union, has always been very active in assisting other countries, both financially and technically. So, in this respect, there is really nothing new. Moreover, your country is traditionally a highly committed member of the United Nations, its programmes and bodies, as well as a major contributor to many other multilateral initiatives: ranging from environmental protection to emergency assistance to cultural exchanges. For instance, the Russian government has committed itself to providing annual financial contributions to the World Food Programme for the delivery of food assistance to the needy countries in the amount of 11 mln dollars. Another example is the support of UN High Commissioner for Refugees projects in different parts of the world, which amounts to 2 mln dollars annually since 2005.

 The real news is that Russian Federation for the first time after the collapse of the Soviet Union has started to conceptualize a mechanism and a unified framework for what in international language is called - Official Development Assistance. This mechanism should ensure that the assistance is channeled in a transparent, efficient and coordinated way and reflects both Russia’s strategic interests and the internationally defined development priorities. UNDP is proud to be supporting this initiative through its joint project with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and we see our role in making all the best international experience and expertise available to our Government partners, as well as in facilitating the contacts with other donor countries and UN agencies.

 When will the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Moscow become fully functional? 

 As you know, Louise Arbour, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights visited the Russian Federation twice, in 2005 and 2006, which provided an opportunity to consolidate and strengthen cooperation with national partners. Already during the first visit, an agreement was reached with the Government that a representative of the Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights will be permanently stationed in Moscow. The process of recruiting the Senior Human Rights Adviser is under way, and we hope that the selection process will soon be finalized. In the meantime, OHCHR had deployed Senior Human Rights Officers a.i to the UN Country Team on temporary basis. As a result, comprehensive consultations concerning the content and forms of cooperation relevant to human rights have already been carried out with governmental, civil society, and international partners with a view to designing the most adequate and sustainable programme.

Recently Russia has embarked on improving its demographic and migration policies. Do you think the efforts have been successful?

 It is of course too early for me as a newcomer in the country, to assess how successful Russia is in handling what is major challenge for its development in the longer term. I think it is crucial that the Russian Government has identified the demographic situation as one of the priorities, and that a number of important social policy initiates have been launched in this regard, like the mother capital or housing support to young families. We all understand however that both extreme mortality rates and insufficient fertility are consequences of broader socio-economic problems, and thus only comprehensive social and economic policies can help reverse the population decline. This is why UN in Russia sees as its priority to support the governmental efforts with research, analysis and capacity building measures - that would enable elaboration and implementation of a wide range of tools - from balanced migration policy, which is naturally part of the solution, to socially stabilizing employment generation, which is a key factor of demographic situation in depressed regions to making the existing safety nets more effective, so that people with so to say “shaky” income and social status could be encouraged to create families.

The problem of HIV/AIDS is one of the most serious in Russia. How can UNDP assist in this area?

To begin, the Russian Federation is experiencing one of the fastest-growing epidemics of HIV/AIDS in the world. In a country facing demographic decline, it is important to note that Russia’s youth bear the greatest burden - nearly 80% of all People Living with HIV people are under the age of 30, many of them teenagers. And women of reproductive age in particular are increasingly vulnerable to infection, accounting for nearly 40% of newly registered cases.

In recent months the Russian Government has significantly stepped up its response. While in the past we talked about millions or tens of millions of dollars of federal and regional public spending per year, now we can speak of hundreds of millions. The President has spoken openly about HIV/AIDS, which also featured as an agenda item at the G8. Via the National Priority project on Health, it is now possible for a limited number of civil society organizations to receive government support for their work. And towards the end of last year, a National AIDS Commission was established.
 
Yet there is lot to be done as the epidemic continues to mount, with nearly 40,000 new infections in the past year alone. As a co-sponsor of the UN Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS or UNAIDS, UNDP works to broaden the range of partners responding to HIV/AIDS beyond the health sector. For example, we work with the Ministry of Defense to increase awareness of young soldiers and conscripts of HIV; we support faith-based organizations including the Russian Orthodox Church to support initiatives on caring for People Living with HIV and AIDS; we help civil society groups in their important work to reach the most vulnerable populations, and of course we also work with key health authorities to enhance the effectiveness of the medical response, including promoting Universal Access to prevention of HIV infection and care and treatment for people living with HIV.

 What about UNDP support to economic and democratic governance reforms? What economic projects will be promoted by UNDP, in particular in the North Caucasus? Does UNDP still plan to open an office in Grozny?
 
 Today, the Russian Government undertakes comprehensive administrative and budget reforms. Clearly, these reforms are necessary, and it is encouraging to see that the Government takes it seriously - for instance, in the past year, it approved changes in the Budget Code and ratified the UN Convention against Corruption. The reforms lead to challenges, including transformation of the whole system of public finance management, new administrative and territorial division of municipal self-government bodies and others.

UNDP works with the Russian Government to provide on-demand policy support to Russian government’s and civil society initiatives in the sphere of local governance, budgeting, fight against corruption, development assistance to poor countries, gender mainstreaming and civic engagement from Kaliningrad to Kamchatka. Whatever we do, Human Development remains in the heart of our work. For example, we educate librarians and municipal servants from distant and rural municipalities in Buryatia and Karelia Republic how to use computers and Internet in order to timely provide vital information to the citizens. We also publish and widely discuss annual human development reports, looking at the most acute problems in Russia’s regions and proposing a common action plan for authorities, business and civil society.

 Supporting Russia in economic development, UNDP, with its mandate of helping people build a better life, supports projects aimed at attracting foreign direct investments to Russia’s regions as well as promoting export of goods and services to foreign markets with a focus on CIS countries. As an example, a number of high profile events (conferences, exhibitions, roundtables) have been conducted in Russia and abroad to present the investment opportunities in the North West Federal District of the country.

 Another joint initiative of UNDP and the Moscow City Government foresees provision of advisory support to the Moscow based enterprises in strengthening their export capacities. Within the framework of this project, the “House of Moscow” has been established in Kyrgyz Republic in 2006 on a pilot basis to facilitate trade relationships between Moscow and countries of Central Asia.

In the North Caucasus, where our activities are focused on supporting economic growth and employment creation, it initiated over 30 projects in 2006 alone. They include the development of small and medium-size enterprises, business education and training, the creation of business incubators and business centers, supporting microfinance and other forms of local entrepreneurship. Income generation activities are based on agricultural development, which is one of the most important sectors of the local economy.

 Thanks to the decision of the Secretary General in July 2006 to reduce the UN security phase in the Chechen Republic from 5th to 4th, we have increased the number of monthly UN missions to the Republic and by this, improved coordination, planning and monitoring of our projects there. However, for the time being, the decision about the opening of a UN office in Grozny has been deferred and will possibly be reviewed in the future.

What are your first impressions of Moscow and your new appointment?Compared to other countries where you worked, to what extent is the UN presence relevant in Russia?

 I do recognize the challenges associated with the position of the UN ambassador in the Russian Federation. When I started working for the UN, my boss told me that there were two ways of successfully performing these duties: to love the country you are serving and to recognize you are a guest in this country. My attitude, when coming to Russia has been and will always be to get in love with the country and to respect its sovereignty. I am sure that by applying these two criteria my stay and work here will be pleasant and rewarding.

 It is not the first time that I work in a large country, where, for instance, the role of the UN Development Programme is not fully obvious. I personally think that in a country like Russia a UN aligned to its principles and mandate can assist it to better fulfill its obligations to citizens. This is the role the UN should play working with the authorities on the federal and regional levels to assist them to work better for their constituents.

More Interfax’s interviews...