PRESS CONFERENCE ON CHERNOBYL BY OFFICE FOR COORDINATION OF HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS

PRESS CONFERENCE ON CHERNOBYL BY OFFICE FOR COORDINATION OF HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS

A United Nations report entitled The Human Consequences of the Chernobyl Nuclear Accident:  A Strategy for Recovery was launched at a press briefing sponsored by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) at Headquarters this afternoon.

Presenting the report were Kenzo Oshima, United Nations Coordinator of International Cooperation in Chernobyl, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, and Emergency Relief Coordinator; Mark Malloch Brown, Administrator, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); Carol Bellamy, Executive Director, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF); Kalman Mizsei, Deputy United Nations Coordinator for Chernobyl and Assistant Administrator of UNDP; and Douglas Gardner, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Ukraine.

Mr. Oshima said the report had been prepared 15 years after the Chernobyl disaster and contained the findings of a study completed in July-August 2001.  That study was based on initiatives by UNDP and UNICEF country offices in the three most affected countries, namely Belarus, Russian Federation and Ukraine.  The OCHA and the World Health Organization (WHO) also lent support to the study, which was undertaken by a group of acknowledged internationalist specialists and national experts on health, ecology and economics.

Mr. Oshima went on to say that there were a number of reasons for a fresh needs assessment of Chernobyl 15 years after the disaster.  First, the world needed to know as much as possible about, not only the immediate, but also the long-term effects of such accidents, so it would be better prepared in the event of another.  Second, Chernobyl was an issue that could foster wide-ranging cooperation within the international arena among individuals, communities and governments.

Third, and most importantly, he continued, “we must not turn our backs on the people and governments of the three most affected countries after a decade and a half of involvement and assistance”.  The job could not be left half done when there were still outstanding needs.  It was incorrect to assume that, with the closure of the nuclear power plant and generous funding by donors for a new shelter constructed around the destroyed reactor, the international community could now close the file on the people who continued to live in the shadow of Chernobyl.

Mr. Oshima said that in 15 years the nature of the problems related to Chernobyl had evolved.  In recognition of that, a change of direction was considered necessary, and a new process had been initiated in which the role played by UNDP, UNICEF and other development agencies would be more prominent.  The three governments in the region supported the direction change and the new emphasis on development.  Of course, the basic humanitarian dimension of the problem had not been forgotten.  The current study was therefore commissioned to revisit the issue of Chernobyl from the new developmental angle in order to obtain a clear picture of the present situation and make concrete recommendations.

According to Mr. Oshima, the most important finding of the report was that the consequences of the radioactive contamination  –- thyroid cancer, internal irradiation due to the consumption of contaminated food, psychological effects of the accident and other health problems -- were still very much felt in Belarus, Russian Federation and Ukraine.  The report did point out, however, that not all health problems in those countries could be attributed directly and exclusively to the effect of radiation.  Significantly, it found that health problems linked to Chernobyl reflected complex interactions between health, ecology, economics and community development.

Based on its findings, continued Mr. Oshima, the report made recommendations aimed at recovery and sustainable development.  It proposed among other things that special targeted attention be accorded to the health needs of the victims of thyroid cancer as well as other direct victims of the accident.  It also recommended a long-term, well-funded and recognized programme of research on the environmental and health consequences of Chernobyl.  “The objective of the new strategy is to make sure that resources are directed to those most in need thus encouraging and enabling the majority of the population to progress to a stage of self sufficiency."

Mr. Oshima also informed correspondents that in early spring, he intended to make his second visit to the region to obtain first-hand information on the current conditions there and to finalize the preparation of concrete proposals for donor support.  Shortly after his visit to the three countries, OCHA was thinking about organizing a series of meetings that would bring together members of the United Nations Inter-Agency Taskforce on Chernobyl, regional and intergovernmental organizations, the governments of most States, the donor community and the voluntary sector.  “Together we hope to energize support for this programme and to infuse fresh impetus into the international cooperation on Chernobyl through the effective implementation of the proposal presented in the recovery strategy."

Mr. Malloch Brown said that 15 years later the people of Chernobyl had not moved on from the disaster, and there was a tremendous sense of fatalism among the

7 million people who lived in the broader area affected by the crisis.  A combination of depression, uncertainty about the future and an inability to find development solutions that moved things forward brought communities down.  It was therefore time to think about moving beyond the emergency phase to a much more developmental approach. 

The question now, continued Mr. Malloch Brown was “how do we help people in the region to really get beyond this tragedy and move forward”?  In that respect UNDP’s focus was on job creation and decentralized information sharing to find local solutions to critical issues.  It was also looking at establishing a more integrated and holistic approach for the region’s health problems.  “For us more than anything else, however, is having a sense that one chapter is closing, and a new one is beginning and that it is really time to move on”, he said.  By continuing to treat the region as an emergency problem “we are failing to send the right signal to the people.  “We have to say we can help you solve your own problems”.  That kind of self-sufficiency approach was the critical next chapter of Chernobyl.

Ms. Bellamy said UNICEF hoped that the governments of Ukraine, Belarus and the Russian Federation would recognize that the time had also come to redirect the very substantial resources that they provided, based on a benefits approach towards investment in basic health services, basic economic development and protection of the environment.  She said one of the recommendations of the report was that immediate action be taken to eliminate iodine deficiency disorders.  In the three affected countries, endemic iodine deficiency substantially increased the absorption of radioactive iodine released by the accident, thus increasing the risk of thyroid cancer.  It was estimated that at least 2,000 people were already suffering from the disease and in need of continuing care.  That figure is estimated to rise to 8,000-10,000 in the coming years.

The UNICEF, continued Ms. Bellamy, was already implementing a number of activities aimed at eliminating iodine deficiency disorders (IDD) and would continue to accord the issue high priority in the next programme of cooperation with the three affected countries.

A representative of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) welcomed the report, stating that it would provide a useful framework for collaboration between the United Nations system and the concerned States.  It advocated a holistic approach to addressing the needs of all concerned by integrating the socioeconomic, health and ecological measures that needed to be taken.

Answering a correspondent's question on life in contaminated areas, Douglas Gardner, United Nations Resident Coordinator in the Ukraine, said unemployed people could not sell agrarian products in the cities, as that was forbidden.  Able and trained mechanics did not want to open their own shops because they would lose their Chernobyl benefits.  Elderly people had returned to live in the exclusion zones, as they felt happier in their own home, choosing to risk their health.  The people were forced to live with an "invisible enemy", which caused, for instance, a fear to have children.

Kalman Mizsei, United Nations Deputy Coordinator for Chernobyl and Resident Coordinator, said, regarding the health of people living in restricted zones, that information was hard to get.  There was a high occurrence of thyroid cancer, but leukemia was much less prevalent than expected.  Much more research needed to be done.  As the affected areas provided a sort of "natural laboratory", local research needed assistance from the international community.

Ms. Bellamy remarked that the system was based on benefits.  There was an incentive to be sick, with little preventive health care.  Thyroid cancer could often be prevented with iodized salt, which was a rather cheap way of dealing with the problem.  Resources needed to be redirected into ongoing health-care systems.

Asked about money already spent on Chernobyl, Mr. Oshima said that Ukraine had suffered over $100 billion in damages over the last decade, and had spent     $6 billion in 2000 on the problem.  Belarus had allocated 6.4 per cent of its national budget to the problem.

Mr. Mizsei noted that the international community had spent more than

$1 billion on radiation related issues.  Raising 5 to 10 per cent of that amount for the benefit of the victims would be an effective way of addressing the current

problems.  Not only would the Chernobyl-related problems be addressed, but the economic transition could be accelerated.  Targeted programmes, for instance in health care, could also better address problems in the past such as misappropriation of funds and corruption.

Answering a question on ecotourism in the area, Mr. Mizsei said people would know where they could not go because accurate maps of contaminated areas were available.  Authorities, however, needed technical assistance in dissemination of information.  As restricted areas had been abandoned for a long time, nature had taken over, creating an extraordinary ecology.

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