I. A Founding Conference of a New Movement to Unite the Efforts of Nongovernmental Organizations Took Place in Moscow
On January 15 in Moscow the founding conference of the international, nongovernmental organization "The Humanitarian Forces Movement of the CIS" took place in Moscow. Representatives of the foundations "Confederation," "Politics," and "Social Ecology," of the movement "Reform--A New Course," The Strategy Center, the Council of Russian Women, the international Confederation of Artists' Unions, the Peace and Accord Federation and other social organizations as well as representatives of the UN, the embassies of the countries of the CIS, and national cultural centers in Moscow took part.
Analogous conferences are at the same level of formation in the Trans-Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Western region.
The organizers of the Humanitarian Forces Movement of the CIS believe that it is time to give a new impetus to the process of developing the Commonwealth of Independent States. This impulse must come from the social humanitarian and social diplomacy movements, emphasized Iu. Boken' and G. Burbulis in their presentations [at the conference]. According to G. Burbulis, the separation of the countries of the former USSR along national and state lines is advantageous only to certain politicians. Those active in the realms of science and culture, and ordinary people, feel their spiritual unity as before. In this connection he highly valued the accomplishments of the Soviet educational system and called the former USSR "a unique geopolitical entity."
The organizers of the new movement propose that the Russian President's idea of mutual reconciliation and accord requires the support of nongovernmental organizations. The strategic goal of the organization is to support the Council of Heads of State of the CIS, whose executive secretariat welcomed the idea of creating a new humanitarian movement.
The movement is created on the principle of a union of social organizations and offers the possibility of free entry (by written application to the leadership of the organization) as well as of withdrawing from it, which can be done without a special decision of the coordinating organs of the movement.
Despite the unquestionably favorable idea underlying the creation of the new movement, the participants in the conference were not of one opinion in their evaluation of it. Thus, the president of the Moscow House of Charity volunteer center G. Bodrenkova said in an interview with ASI that she fully welcomes the idea and that her organization is prepared to associate with the new movement. But Mrs. Bocharova, representing the international social informational and educational center "Good Without Borders" [Dobro bez granits] is in no hurry to decide on associating with the movement, since she is wary of the political undertones of the new initiative.
The conference participants adopted a program statement "For Humanitarian Development," heard an address to the conference participants by the heads of state of the CIS, and issued an appeal to the citizens of Russia, the President, the government and the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation in connection with an all-Russian action of collecting 1,000,000 signatures in defense of [Russian] culture.
Contact telephone: 206-8854 (Iurii Ivanovich Bokan')
II. The Russian Green Cross Has Created a Computer Information System on Radioactive Pollution in Russia as a Result of the Arms Race
The nongovernmental environmental organization the Russian Green Cross (RGC) is completing work on a project entitled "The Radioactive Legacy of Russia as a Result of the Arms Race." A large group of scientists and specialists, among them representatives of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Atomic Energy Ministry, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the State Atomic Oversight agency, regional departments of a series of environmental organizations, and independent experts took part in the project.
The project has created a single computerized information system containing a wide range of formerly unknown data on radioactive pollution in many regions of Russia produced by nuclear weapons tests (Altaiskii Krai, the Novaya Zemlya archipelago) and the nuclear fleet (the Northwest Region, including St. Petersburg, and the Primorskii Krai).
The system contains electronic maps showing polluted locations, storage sites of highly toxic nuclear wastes, regions containing nuclear and radioactive sources, and contains information on the condition of the health of the population in these and neighboring areas as well as the collective doses of radiation and the dynamics of [radiation- related] illnesses.
The information system that has been developed may be useful in developing environmental expertise, [for recording information] upon discovery of new radioactively dangerous factories and the closing of old ones, the utilization of wastes and equipment, the selection of sites for storing and processing nuclear wastes, etc. Using the data base makes possible the modeling of the process of the migration of radionucleides in the environment and permits the evaluation of the degree of the negative effects on nature and people.
The final stage of the project (first half of 1997) contemplates development of scientific recommendations for eliminating the negative environmental consequences of the development, creation, and testing of nuclear weapons directed to the administration of the regions creating programs for the rehabilitation of polluted territories, and to the legislative and executive branches of the government of the Russian Federation.
If similar information systems are created in the other countries of the nuclear club, this will enable the obtaining of information on the global environmental consequences of the development and testing of nuclear weapons and of other dangerous nuclear objects for military and civilian use and thereby make possible the organization of effective international cooperation in resolving these most difficult problems.
For further information [contact]: The leader of the project and leader of the group for systematic analysis of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences Valerii Nikolaevich Samosiuk (129-06-11), or the manager of the project Vitalii Grigor�evich Linnik (939-26-43), or the press secretary of the Russian Green Cross Anna Shcherbakova (927-84-79, 927-82-87).
III. The Social Organization "New Home" Provides Free Help and Invites You to Participate in its Charitable Programs
The social, charitable human rights organization "New Home" [Novyi dom] was created on September 23, 1994. Its activity is directed to the defense of human rights and the creation of a state based on law and of civil society in Russia.
At the present time, as part of its project "Justice For All...," New Home is providing consultation on juridical, social, and legal problems for the more defenseless groups of the population: pensioners, people with disabilities, the homeless, youth, people under surveillance, prisoners and their families, and for newly released convicts. All persons and legal entities receive free, qualified consultation with experienced lawyers on all questions of criminal, civil, family, residential, administrative, labor, customs, and tax law. They also receive assistance with questions in connection with violations of rights by law enforcement and state agencies. In addition, the staff at New Home provide assistance to prisoners in obtaining higher education through correspondence courses.
The organization participates in charitable activities on behalf of differently-abled workers and pensioners and plays an active role in providing expertise for drafting laws in the State Duma. It also prepares reports on violations of human rights for international human rights organizations. Thanks to financial support from the European Human Rights Foundation, the Canadian Assistance Foundation [Kanadskii fond sotrudnichestva], the Small Grants Program of the embassy of the Netherlands, and the Soros Foundation, New Home has been able to publish a number of books on human rights issues.
Address: 111578, Moscow, ul. Saianskaia, d. 6B.
Contact telephone/fax: 288-3916
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