1-15 March 1999, No. 35

Ø UN ACTION FOR WOMEN: UN actions for the advancement of women began with the signing of the UN’s founding Charter. In its Preamble, the members of the UN declared their faith " in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small...." This happened 54 years ago, in October 1945, when the Charter entered into force and the UN was formally set up. Since then, the UN has been at the center of a growing global movement for women’s rights. By adopting international laws and treaties on women’s rights , the UN has helped set a common standard for measuring how societies advance equality between men and women. The UN observed 1975 as International Women’s Year and held the first world conference on women in Mexico city. Subsequently, two other UN conferences were held : Copenhagen (1980) and Nairobi (1985). The Fourth World Conference on Women was held in Beijing, China in September 1995.The Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women to the year 2000, adopted at the Nairobi Conference, is a blueprint for women’s advancement. Its 372 paragraphs deal with the entire spectrum of women’s role in society. In Beijing, the countries of the world reviewed advancement of women in light of these guidelines. They also adopted a Platform For Action, addressing the challenges and demands of the next century. Many countries, including Tajkistan, observed the 8th of March International Women’s Day as their national holiday.

On 7th March, UNMOT held a concert on the occasion of Women’s Day in the Opera & Ballet of Dushanbe in conjunction with UNDP and UNHCR. Apart from this, the PIO and Media sections of UNMOT held a special luncheon on 5th March to which some of the famous women, who have been active in Tajikistan over the issue of women’s rights, such as Mrs Kalanova and Mrs. Babanazarova, as well as famous poets and singers of the Republic were invited. On 8th March, the SRSG sent congratulation cards to over fifty Tajik women in Dushanbe, including important officials and women NGOs as well as women looking after orphanages and supporting organizations for women who have lost their husbands during the years of war.

Ø HCA EXHORTS TO WORK TOWARDS EDUCATING THE WOMEN: On 07 March 1999, UNDP in conjunction with UNMOT and UNHCR organized a concert on the eve of the International Women’s Day at the Opera Theater. HCA, Mr. Yogesh Saksena, on behalf of the SRSG, exhorted the Women’s organizations to work towards educating the women about their electoral rights and ensure that maximum women exercise their free choice on the election day. He also encouraged them to promote the peace process even in their roles as wives and mothers. He echoed Secretary-General Annan’s line that women are not an ornament for the men. In relation to Tajik society, HCA said that abuse and mistreatment of women could not be attributed to culture but must frankly be termed "wrong" and efforts made to stop it.

Ø THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE "OSCE - A STRATEGIC PARTNER OF TAJIKISTAN ON THE WAY TO PEACE, DEMOCRACY AND DEVELOPMENT": On 9 March, the International Conference "OSCE - a Strategic Partner of Tajkistan on the Way to Peace, Democracy and Development" took place in Dushanbe. It was organized by the OSCE Mission to Tajikistan in conjunction with the visit to Dushanbe of Ambassador Kai Eide, Chairman of the OSCE Permanent Council, who also attended and addressed the Conference. During this short visit, Amb. Eide met among others with President Rakhmanov and a number of Tajik dignitaries.

In his message to the Conference, President Rakhmanov stressed the irreversibility of the Tajik peace process and underlined the important role the OSCE and other international organizations play in this regard. The Conference was also addressed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Nazarov, UN SRSG to Tajikistan, Mr. Kubis, Chairman of the CNR , Mr. Nuri, Head of the OSCE Mission to Tajikistan, Mr. Buhoara, Acting Chief Judge of Dushanbe Court, Mr. Vatanjon and Ms. Dodkhudoeva- Director of the Non-Governmental Organization "Navras". In his speech at the Conference, SRSG emphasized the role the United Nations plays in assisting the peace process in Tajikistan and said among other things: "Currently, two areas in particular need urgent and courageous steps to be undertaken by Tajikistan, supported by the UN and OSCE. In a fully democratic system, each political party should be able to perform on political markets and compete equally in elections. Even when this stage is reached , experience shows that political parties may be unduly restricted in the election process through practices of legislators, election administrators, media and authorities. Such restrictions may be discriminatory, politically biased or manipulative if adopted in disregard of applicable standards of democracy and fairness. Although all parties may face such problems, practice in many countries all over the world shows that in overwhelming majority of cases discriminatory practice and electoral manipulation favors the Government, the ruling party or the incumbent candidate and turns against opposition parties, groupings and candidates. It also goes without saying that media plays an important role in every democratic society. The same applies in conducting election campaigns. Journalists are important communicators of politicians since only with their help can politicians win the broad masses of their electorate. Mass media also performs the function of observers to keep control over the strict implementation of legislation and must make public all possible cases of infringement of the rights of citizens. Again, OSCE takes lead in both these areas which obviously, in case of today’s Tajikistan must be seen in broader context".

Ø PRESIDENT DISCUSSES WITH CONTACT GROUP, CNR LEADERSHIP, AND HEADS OF POWER STRUCTURES WAYS TO EXPEDITE PEACE PROCESS: On 2 March 1999, a joint meeting of the President, Contact Group, CNR members and the heads of the government power structures was held. It focussed on the ways and means to speed up the implementation of the Military Protocol and other pending issues of the General Agreement.

President Rakhmonov tasked the Heads of the relevant government power structures to take all necessary measures to overcome the existing problems concerning the reintegration of the UTO military personnel into government power structures , disarmament and disbanding of UTO armed formations and their attestation, reform of the government power structures, amnesty of UTO supporters and their reinstatement to previous jobs by 12 March.

He also drew the attention of the international community to the problems of financing of the permanently functioning parliament.

At a regular meeting with Messrs Nuri and Dostiev, on 3 March, SRSG Kubis exhorted the leaders that they should not aim at a comprehensive overall revision of the Constitution but finish the tasks of preparing amendments to the Constitution quickly otherwise holding of Referendum and General Election could be delayed.

Ø ELECTORAL EXPERT VISITS UNMOT: Mr. Horacio Boneo, Interregional Advisor UN/DESA, visited UNMOT to assess the feasibility of electoral process in Tajikistan. During his stay, he held discussions with several Tajik dignitaries (of both the Government and Opposition) among them CNR Chairman Nuri, Deputy Chairman Dostiev, FDPM Turajonzoda, and DPM Vazirov, Chairman of the CEC.

Mr. Dostiev pointed out during the meeting that the CNR had achieved some progress in the deliberations upon constitutional amendment and had reached an agreement concerning executive, legislative and judicial powers. He noted that, after completing the work on the constitutional amendments, CNR would start discussions on the Electoral Law. Mr Turajonzoda on his part remarked that a referendum on constitutional amendments could be held by the end of April, parliamentary elections in September and the presidential one by the end of November 1999. He also expressed the view that the international community should not only observe but prepare and conduct the elections so that people would have confidence in the results. Mr. Vazirov, the DPM, confirmed the President’s firm commitment to hold elections this year. He also underlined the problems that needed to be solved and added that the support and assistance of the international community during preparations and conduct of the elections would be a guarantee for their success.

Ø A SURVEY OF POLITICAL PREFERENCES AND AWARENESS IN THE TAJIK CAPITAL: To ascertain the preferences and awareness of political voters, as requested for by USAID, a survey for public opinion in Dushanbe was conducted from 5-15 January 1999. During the survey, 533 individual interviews of adult respondents were conducted.

On the matter of number of parties that should exist in the Republic, 42% of the respondents supported one party system, 38% multi- party system, 9% said there should be no political party and 10% did not have any opinion.

As to which type of society they wanted to live in, 43% preferred a western type democratic society and 35.6 % a communist society. The parameters for the choices were ethnic or regional belonging as well as social economic status. To a less extent, sex and level of education also influenced their choices.

The survey showed that the Communist Party is the most popular with some 28% support. Two Democratic Parties enjoy almost equal support of about 12% and they are followed by the National-Democratic Party backed by 11% of those interviewed. 5% voiced support to the Islamic Revival Party, 1 % more than the support given to the Free Labour Party.. According to the survey , the Socialist Party could be backed by 2.4% of the electorate and other political parties were not able to gain more than 1-1.5% support.

71 % of respondents believed that the President could help in overcoming the crisis the country is faced

with. Equal number believed that this could be achieved by local businessmen and other representatives of the national economic elite, while 53 % maintained this could be done by the government of the Republic. Only 33% count on international assistance in this respect, 31% on the Parliament, 28 % on the CNR, 25 % on the regional governments, 24 % on power structures, 16 % on political parties, 9 % on UTO and 7 % on clergy, the survey disclosed.

Only 1 % of the Dushanbe inhabitants characterized their socio- economic condition as very high. 5 % believed they had high standard of living, 56.6 % as average, 22.5 % as low and 13 .5 % as very low.

Ø UNDP EXECUTIVE COUNCIL APPROVES PROGRAMMES IN TAJIKISTAN: The DSRSG/ UNDP Resident Coordinator in Tajikistan, Mr. Paolo Lembo and the Tajik Prime Minister Yahyo Azimov met on 3 March 1999 to discuss issues related to further improvement of mechanisms of interaction and cooperation between UNDP and the Republic of Tajikistan, as well as the implementation of UNDP projects in the country. Touching upon his visit to UNHQ, Mr. Lembo briefed the Tajik Prime Minister that the UNDP executive council had approved a cooperation programme in Tajikistan. Mr. Lembo also informed Mr. Azimov that he held meetings with representatives of a number of donor-countries during his stay in New York.

Ø SRSG AND JAPANESE AMBASSADOR HELD TALKS ON TAJIK PEACE PROCESS: During a meeting between SRSG and Japanese Ambassador, the latter informed that the Tajik President had given him a very positive assessment of the situation and the ongoing development of the peace process in Tajikistan. The Ambassador mentioned that the Japanese assistance to Tajikistan depended on the genuine progress of the peace process. The Ambassador also informed SRSG that he had emphasized at a meeting with Mr. Nuri that Japan expected full and rapid cooperation in the case of the four UNMOT personnel killed at Labizar.

Ø CARE-USA INTERESTED IN EXPANDING ITS ACTIVITIES IN TAJIKISTAN: CARE-USA Regional Director for Asia and Europe, Mr. Isam Ghanim informed SRSG that his organization intended to extend its activities in Tajikistan. He notified that it considers creating a full fledged country representation here, reporting directly to its HQ and not through its Caucasus office, as was the case until now. He also added that CARE wished to collaborate more closely with the UN in supporting the peace process in Tajikistan. In response to Ghanim’s inquiry about areas of CARE’s possible direct involvement, SRSG mentioned demobilization of UTO fighters and assistance to the return of Tajik refugees. Mr. Ghanim responded by informing about successful CARE projects for demobilized fighters in Somalia and Uganda.

Ø CLOSURE OF CRIMINAL CHARGES AGAINST TAJIK OPPOSITION MEMBERS: According to the press-center of the Prosecutor-General’s Office, it has been reported that in accordance with the relevant amnesty documents, criminal proceedings against Opposition Leader Nuri, Mr. Turajonzoda (First Deputy Leader of UTO and First Deputy Prime Minister), Mr. Ghoziev, Mr. Usufov (leader of the Democratic Party), Mr. Mukhammadjon and Mr.Davlat Khudonazarov (former presidential candidate), had been closed and the warrants for search and arrest of the above mentioned persons had been cancelled.

Furthermore, in line with the application of the amnesty document of 1st August 1997 concerning the participants in the military and political confrontation in the country, 360 UTO members had been granted exemption from prosecution (among them Mr. Himmatzoda-CNR member, Mr Davlat Usmon- currently Minister of Economy and Foreign Economic Relations and Mr Atobek Amirbekov).

Again, with a view to normalizing the political and social situation and establishing peace and national accord in the country, the Tajik government adopted six international amnesty documents between 1992 and 1998, and to date, over 15000 persons have been granted exemption from all forms of prosecution.

Ø USA TO SEND WHEAT AS HUMANITARIAN RELIEF TO TAJIKISTAN: An agreement on humanitarian relief aid to Tajikistan had been reached at a recent meeting between Tajik PM Yahyo Azimov and US Ambassador to Tajikistan Robert Finn. According to Tajik Presidential Press Service, USA would send 85,000 tons of wheat to Tajikistan as humanitarian relief. In addition, the Tajik Republic would also receive wheat-seed for cultivation, according to Ambassador Finn.

Tajikistan produced 231,000 tons of grain in 1998, as compared with 320,900 tons in 1997. The amount of its land planted with cereal crop shrank by 50,000 hectares to 241,000 hectares in 1998.

Military Issues

_ INTEGRATION OF UTO FIGHTERS: On 2 March 1999, the Minister of Defense held a meeting with some Field Commanders from Kofarnikon and Leninsky districts. They discussed the formation of a temporary motorized rifle battalion which would be composed of UTO fighters from these two districts. MOD has requested the Presidential Administration for the integration of these fighters into the Tajik Army. Subsequently, this temporary unit will be disbanded and its officers and other ranks will be assigned to different regular army units.

Similarly, integration of 414 UTO fighters from Gorno Badakshan into Tajik Border Forces has been proceeding smoothly; these fighters were initially earmarked to join the Ministry of Interior.

_ CNR REHABILITATION CENTER’S ACTIVITIES GRADUALLY EXPANDING IN THE REINTEGRATION PROCESS: The Director of CNR Rehabilitation Center, Mr. Murodov informed UNMOT representative that the Center’s activities were gradually expanding in the process of reintegration of the UTO fighters. The Director said that about 1600 former UTO fighters and personnel from power structures were interviewed during the attestation in order to prepare necessary database for the Center’s future work. He added that 200 former sick fighters had been given medical treatment and another 500 were expected to be treated by the end of May. At present, 10 medical centers with 130 beds in total were operating in different parts of the country, he said. He also mentioned that discussions with ICC were in progress for the procurement of prostheses, crutches and wheel chairs for disabled persons. Mr. Murdo also apprised UNMOT of negotiations underway with WFP for the provision of food for 312 demobilized fighters and dependents (bringing the total to 1700 persons) as well as for more than 100 ex-fighters who would be working in Khatlon Province’s industries and agriculture fields, and also for 45 ex-fighters who would undergo short-term training as professional drivers in Vanj.

The Director of the Center emphasized that the current funds to support the Center’s activities would last only up to May 1999. No visible measures had been taken by the government following the recommendations of the CG-CNR meeting of last month, he maintained.

The UNMOT representatives, in the meeting, were notified that the future activities of the center, including the reintegration requirements, could not be sustained by the government alone and therefore the international community must assist in solving the problem, and that any further delay in obtaining such funds might slow down the progress of demobilization and other related activities of the Center, affecting the implementation of the Military Protocol, as a whole.