Former Soviet republics: UN interim offices promote transition.

United Nations interim offices in seven former Soviet republics are facilitating a "practical and effective dialogue" to build the human and institutional capacity required to consolidate an early transition to democracy and a market economy, Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali reported to the General Assembly's Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) on 23 March. The new units in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan, established in 1992 to provide a unified UN presence in those States, were making "a valuable contribution" to the Organization's activities, he declared. The deteriorating situation in some members of the Commonwealth of independent States in the first three months of 1993 continued to draw UN attention. Following is an overview of the world body's involvement in that area.

Armenia, Azerbaijan

Security Council members on 29 January expressed their "deep concern" at the devastating effect of interruptions in the supply of goods and material, in particular energy supplies, to Armenia and to the Nakhichevan region of Azerbaijan. Combined with an unusually harsh winter, the Council stated that that had "brought the economy and infrastructure of the region to near collapse and created a real threat of starvation".

All countries in a position to help were urged to provide fuel and humanitarian assistance. Governments in the region were also asked to allow humanitarian supplies to flow freely".

Full support was reaffirmed for the efforts of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) to achieve peace in the region. Parties in the dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh--a small Armenian-populated enclave in Azerbaijan--should agree to an immediate cease-fire and to an early resumption of talks within the CSCE framework, the Council said.

Georgia, Abkhazia

Fighting in Abkhazia--an autonomous republic in Georgia--continued unabated between the Georgian and Abkhaz forces, the Secretary-General reported (S/25188) on 28 January. Tens of thousands of civilians were displaced, creating a "serious humanitarian situation" aggravated by the winter season.

The Council on 29 January called (S/25198) on all parties to cease fighting immediately and implement the 3 September 1992 agreement stipulating a cease-fire and reaffirming the territorial integrity of Georgia. The text was agreed to in Moscow by Russian Federation President Boris Yeltsin and Eduard Shevardnadze, Head of State of Georgia, and by the leaders of Abkhazia.

Also, an inter-agency appeal for some $20 million in emergency humanitarian assistance for nearly 100,000 displaced persons in Georgia was launched by the UN on 2 March. An inter-agency mission visited Georgia from 30 January to 16 February and concluded that the internal strife in Abkhazia and South Ossetia--another separatist autonomous republic--combined with the economic decline, had been devastating.

Central Asian republics 

On 11 January, another appeal for $20 million in emergency humanitarian assistance was launched by the UN for the Central Asian State of Tajikistan. Civil strife in the area had displaced some 400,000 of its citizens, with large numbers of refugees crossing the border into Afghanistan.

Also, a fact-finding survey mission is to be sent to five former Soviet republics in Central Asia--Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan--to develop a training programme on the legal aspects of financial management for that region, to be financed by the Swiss Federal Office of Foreign Economic Affairs.