News block
Published: 23 May 2014 г.
From May 22 to May 23 the Ministry of Emergency Situation of the Kyrgyz Republic and UNHCR – the UN Refugee agency conducted a joint simulation on mass influx of refugees in the southern oblast of Jalalabad.
The joint exercise envisaged to an estimated number of 2500 refugees from neighboring countries, two camps were set up in Suzak and Bazar Korgon rayons. A total of 22 government agencies, coordinated by the MES, like Ministry of the Interior, Border Services, local authorities and others, provided various services to refugees at the two sites.
The Ministry of Emergency Situation officially requested UNHCR to coordinate the humanitarian response to the simulated refugee crisis. As mandated by the United Nations General Assembly, UNHCR leads and coordinates the response of the international community in case of a refugee crisis. In addition to UNHCR, various UN agencies like UNICEF and WFP were on site to provide essential services like water, health and sanitation and food item in support to the government authorities.
The recent joint simulation is a testimony of the continuous close cooperation between the Ministry of Emergency Situations and UNHCR. During a joint workshop in April 2013, Kyrgyz authorities and UNHCR drafted the 1st joint contingency plan on a mass influx of refugees which lays out various potential scenarios for refugee situations and appropriate response mechanisms. In December 2013, a High Level Working Group on Contingency Planning took place in Bishkek. During this meeting, various government agencies and UNHCR jointly planned concrete steps to enhance emergency preparedness level in the country. The Representative of UNHCR in the Kyrgyz Republic, Mr. Johann P. Siffointe, stated his appreciated for the work of the Kyrgyz authorities: “The establishment of the two camps has been managed in record time. This is strong evidence of the willingness and capacity of the Kyrgyz Republic to maintain a high level of preparedness for humanitarian crises.”
The latest joint simulation shows the commitment of both the Ministry of Emergency Situations and UNHCR to work jointly toward achieving the goal of maximum preparedness, the provision of asylum space and adherence to international standards for refugee protection.