WHAT IS THE NEW APPROACH?

The New Approach to IDP Assistance was launched in 1999 as a joint effort by the Government of Georgia, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the World Bank. Later it was joined in by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

WHAT DOES THE NEW APPROACH DO?

The New Approach is aimed at improving the lives of displaced persons in Georgia, as well as the conditions of host communities by reforming the government policy and developing more appropriate assistance programs.

WHY DOES THE NEW APPROACH NEED TO DO THIS?

About 42% of the displaced in Georgia live in crowded collective centers, some of which were renovated several years ago to serve as temporary dwellings. Many others continue to live in crowded conditions with host families. Most displaced are also unemployed and are unable to afford quality health care or education. In addition, IDPs have been unable to vote in elections conducted through majoritarian election system until 2 November 2003. At the same time, lack of job opportunities, non-affordable health care and low quality education affects a large number of persons in Georgia who are not displaced. Yet a wide range of policies and programs exist, in theory if not in practice, specifically to support the displaced. These programs, however, have often done little to help displaced people restart their lives and take care of themselves, thus adding to the burden of their host communities. This combination of laws and programs that are supposed to help the displaced, but in fact only hurt them and everyone else, is creating an ill feeling between the different communities in the Georgian society, and is preventing Georgia from attaining its full potential. The laws and programs therefore, need to be changed.

HOW IS THE NEW APPROACH DOING THIS?

The Georgia Self-Reliance Fund

In order to determine more appropriate assistance programs that will help displaced people and host communities take care of themselves, the New Approach partners established the Georgia Self-Reliance Fund (GSRF) to test potential projects for modalities that could be utilized at a latter stage. The Fund is currently capitalized by contributions from SDC, UNDP, UNHCR, USAID and the World Bank, totaling approximately US$ 1.2 million. The participation of additional donors is welcome.

Through a series of grants competitions, the Fund will award a maximum of 20 grants. Each grant will range from US$10,000 to US$100,000. Projects supported by the Fund should be completed within one to two years.

The first competition was held from October 2000 to April 2001. Out of totally received 267 proposals, three applications were selected for the final negotiation. One project was eliminated during this phase. Another project from the Individual Entrepreneur “Otar Khvistani”, concerned with utilizing abandoned houses in Tsalka region for IDPs to live and work on agricultural activities for income, was approved. Its implementation was completed in February 2003. The other project from the JSC “Orgtekhnika”, to provide housing and jobs for IDPs at a tea factory in Tskhaltubo, was the pilot test of a loan mechanism agreed between the GSRF partners and a local bank to provide capital on favorable terms to projects with business components. Since it took almost a year for the applicant to secure the bank loan, the project was accomplished only in December 2003.

The second round was announced in June 2001 and finished in May 2002. Based on lessons learned in the first round, the eligibility criteria were modified to allow only non-governmental organizations with sufficient programming experience to participate in this round. A total of 85 proposals was received. Projects from four applicants - Accion Contra el Hambre (ACH), Charity Humanitarian Center “Abkhazeti” (CHCA), Counterpart International and Lazarus - were finally approved by the Steering Committee. The project from HVA International, initially approved with preconditions proposed by the Steering Committee, was eliminated from the competition, since the preconditions were not met by the applicant. Later on three projects from the first two rounds (Lazarus, ACH and Tsalka projects) got the extensions with provision of additional funds.

The third round was held from July 2003 to November 2003. This time the GSRF did not announce the competition publicly, but reviewed the proposals submitted during the first two rounds. GSRF reviewed the proposals from legally constituted entities, as well as individuals or groups of individuals comprised of and/or targeting the IDPs. Seventy-eight shortlisted proposals from the previous rounds, as well as 8 new proposals, solicited by the Support Unit and other UN agencies, were reviewed. Finally, 9 projects were approved by the Steering Committee: Integrated Regional Development Center (IRDC), NGO Coalition in Imereti - Abkhazinterconti and Foundation Sukhumi, Accion Contra el Hambre (ACH), Zugdidi based Association Atinati, Association of Radio Journalists “Postfactum”, UNV Project “White Crane”, Civil Society Development Center – Counterpart, Abkhazian Union of Blind, Deaf-and-Dumb People “Hera” and non-governmental organization “Momavlis Tskhinvali”. Currently projects from the following agencies are still being implemented: ACH, IRDC, Hera, UNV and Momavlis Tskhinvali.

The New Approach Assessment

In 2000, the New Approach began its pilot phase of activity with a series of assessments to learn more about the conditions faced by IDPs and their hosts. These studies concerned shelter, access to social services, participation in the job market, community resources, and the law – all issues from IDPs’ perspective. In addition, in 2000 the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies conducted a detailed study of displaced and non-displaced households to learn more about how they live, and the difficulties they face.

In 2003, the New Approach Support Unit, created as per the decision of the Steering Committee, together with its Governmental counterpart, developed the Study on IDP Rights. The Study on IDP Rights was the first attempt to review and analyze all normative acts related to IDPs’ rights. It covers all existing rights, benefits and restrictions pertaining to IDPs in Georgia.

The New Approach Support Unit and UNDP Program Analyst undertook concrete steps to implement the recommendations of the Study on IDP Rights: Public Awareness campaign for IDP Voting Rights was launched and implemented to promote and stimulate IDPs’ participation in Parliamentary elections of 2 November 2003 (e.g. TV advertisements and a poster campaign), Information/Public Awareness and Legal Working Groups were created. Comprehensive Public Awareness Strategy was prepared. The Legal Working Group prepared amendments to the Tax Code of Georgia and the “Law of Georgia on Internally Displaced Persons – the Persecuted” as recommended by the Study on IDP Rights. In addition, the Legal Working Group launched a comprehensive policy discussion on IDP rights, challenges to their enforcement, as well as lack of public awareness. In line with the recommendation of the Study on IDP Rights, the Legal Working Group drafted the bill on ecological migrants displaced as a result of natural and/or human made disasters. As a result of consultations with relevant ministries, it was agreed to strengthen the insurance component and revise the draft law accordingly. As a result, the Legal Working Group has developed the Concept of Insurance System Against Natural Disasters, which proposed four different models of ecological migrants’ insurance. Based on the meeting held with representatives of pertinent ministries and Parliamentary Committees, the first model of insurance (i.e. insurance of physical persons’ property in an insurance fund created by the State) was chosen. Thus, starting from December 2004 the Legal Working Group started drafting the bill on Mandatory Insurance Against Natural Disasters. This draft law will be submitted to the Parliament for ratification in spring 2005, once it undergoes an examination by experts from relevant ministries and Parliamentary Committees.

In 2003, a Working Paper on IDP Vulnerability and Economic Self-Reliance was developed by external consultants within the New Approach to IDP Assistance framework. The Paper aimed at describing and analyzing the key issues of vulnerability and the potential for developing the self-reliance among IDPs in Georgia. In the same year the New Approach Support Unit contracted BCG Research to review and analyze results of 28 March Parliamentary elections, provide an accurate and comprehensive report on IDP participation scale and voting preferences, precise gender and age breakdown of IDPs that voted in elections on the territory of whole Georgia and according to regions most densely settled by IDPs.

In May 2004, the New Approach Support Unit initiated the Study of Financial Instruments Used to Assist Entrepreneurial Activities of IDPs to review, evaluate and analyze all financial instruments offered by the state owned and private financial institutions, as well as by local and international NGOs to IDPs. Other primary tasks of this consultancy were to increase IDPs’ awareness on their eligibility to financial instruments, obtain necessary feedback from the relevant governmental, private and NGO sector representatives, point to drawbacks existing in various micro credit/grant programs and propose amendments to the relevant Georgian legislation. In June 2004, the New Approach Support Unit initiated IDP Health and IDP Education Profile Reviews. The objectives of both studies were to identify major health/education problems and needs of IDP population in Georgia, as well as explore desegregated data for IDP families living in collective centers vs. private sector, study advantages and disadvantages of desegregation of educational facilities for IDPs, identify key capacity gaps in ensuring equal accessibility of IDP population to available health services and social benefit packages, and to quality education vis-à-vis provisions envisaged by the “Law of Georgia on Internally Displaced Persons – the Persecuted”.

In August 2004, the Support Unit intern compiled the information on Shelter Assistance and Shelter Rehabilitation Programs in Georgia and IDP Assistance Partners 2004 in Georgia, which are quite solid reference documents on current IDP programs in the country.

In November 2004, the Support Unit contracted the Georgian Opinion Research Business International (GORBI) to raise awareness and promote solutions to bridge the gaps of inequality between the IDP community and the host population, particularly the disparities of access to basic human rights and needs, such as quality shelter, education, healthcare, and employment opportunities. The PA campaign is targeting IDP communities, host communities and relevant government agencies/officials and aims at raising their awareness on IDP rights, disparities between the IDP community and the host population, key capacity gaps in the current policy frameworks that affect the lives of IDPs, etc.

In January 2005, the tender for the Study on Privatization of Collective Centers was jointly initiated by the New Approach Support Unit and SDC. The Study will make an overview of the Georgian legislation on privatization, identify and analyze different forms of privatization allowable by the Law, study cases of privatization of hotels by IDPs/private investors, explore IDPs’ specific expectations related with the privatization, inquire with the Government about its overall strategy towards the privatization of collective centers by IDPs themselves in order to improve their living conditions, find out about the Government’s future strategy towards IDPs residing in the private sector or in regions.

Presidential Commission

To help reform the government policy and support more appropriate assistance programs, a Presidential Commission was established and is chaired by the State Minister on Conflict Matters. The Commission is composed of Ministers, as well as technical experts, including many from the IDP community. The technical experts will help the Fund choose new programs by providing specialist comments on proposals. The experts will also help the assessment by providing access to government sources of information.

 New Approach Support Unit

The New Approach Support Unit (SU) was created in October 2002. It is providing secretariat support to the Steering Committee (i.e. the function earlier fulfilled by UN OCHA), coordinating needs assessment and research, developing proposed strategies and options for New Approach actions, doing GSRF project development/review and monitoring, facilitating New Approach policy and advocacy efforts, elaborating New Approach public participation and awareness strategy. Until late 2003, the SU was a combined UNDP/OCHA entity. As of 2004, the Support Unit is fully absorbed by the UNDP project working under the direct supervision of UNDP Programme Analyst in charge of the Crisis Prevention and Recovery/Special Development Situations portfolio. It includes the Unit Coordinator, and UNV team of Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Driver and Administrative Assistant.

Looking Ahead

In June 2003, the review was undertaken by WB/UNDP to assess success of pilot phase, which recommended further expansion of the project and moving from pilot to the main phase of the project. The focus of the New Approach in 2005 will continue to be on advocacy and policy together with the implementation of the GSRF small-grants projects.

In light of the summer 2004 developments in South Ossetia and considering the overall disposition of the South Ossetian IDPs towards their possible return home, the New Approach Support Unit identified the need to develop a thorough study on property restitution to complement and strengthen the Article 7 (“State Guarantees on Rehabilitation of IDP at the Place of Habitual Residence”) of the Georgian “Law on Internally Displaced Persons - the Persecuted”.

The Evaluation of the New Approach initiative is still on the agenda. The consultancy will envisage outcome evaluations on each GSRF project to determine its effectiveness and efficiency, be forward-looking to institutionalize the successful pilot project into a broader program making benefits accessible to more IDP communities and providing opportunities for IDP integration and capacity-development, conduct an additional outcome evaluation of IDP-related advocacy activities, provide recommendations for forward-looking policy options to propose to the Government of Georgia and international agencies in relation to the future of IDPs in Georgia and to the reduction of tension between IDP and host communities.

 Related Publications:

Working Paper on IDP Vulnerability and Economic Self-Reliance (English;  Georgian)

Study on IDP Rights (English; Georgian)

IDP Health Profile Review (English;  Georgian)

IDP Assistance Partners 2004 (English)

IDP Financial Instruments Study (English;  Georgian)

IDP Education Profile Review (English;  Georgian)

Internally Displaced Persons and Their Behavior During the Elections