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By KENZO OSHIMA
U.N. undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs and
U.N. coordinator of international cooperation for Chernobyl
Special to The Japan Times
Saturday, August 31, 2002
Almost half a world away, in a remote corner of Ukraine, a routine safety
experiment at a nuclear power station went terribly wrong in 1986, resulting
in what in human history became universally recognizable by a single word:
Chernobyl. Hiroshima and Nagasaki should never be repeated, and it is up to
the political leaders of today to ensure that they are not. Chernobyl was an
accident, but humankind needs to ensure that it, too, is never repeated.
Sixteen years have passed since that tragic accident, yet a multitude of
problems remain, affecting an area that is home to more than 5.5 million
people. The three hardest hit countries -- Belarus, the Russian Federation
and Ukraine -- have been shouldering the major burden of helping their
citizens over the years, while facing the challenge of building newly
independent democratic states and a market economy.
However, the international community has not been idle, either. Much has
been done to reduce the chances of repeat of such a tragedy, to provide
humanitarian assistance for the victims and to develop research on the
effects of large-scale low-level radiation exposure on human health,
especially children, and the environment.
The Sasakawa Memorial Health Foundation, for example, played an important
role in this work. For a number of years after the accident, international
and national efforts consisted to a large extent of reactor safety and
emergency humanitarian assistance: by encasing the destroyed No. 4 reactor
in a shelter, resettling the population away from highly contaminated areas
and providing immediate medical, psycho-social and other assistance to the
victims. While needs in these areas clearly continue to exist, there has
been time to take stock and have a fresh look at the problems.
Last year, the United Nations moved to undertake a fresh assessment of the
effects of the Chernobyl accident focusing on its human consequences. One
may well ask, why revisit the issue 15 years after the event? There are good
reasons. The world needs to know as much as possible about the effects --
not only immediate, but also long-term -- of such accidents on human health,
the environment and the communities affected, if only to be better prepared
should there be a next time.
Chernobyl is an issue that can foster wide-ranging cooperation within the
international community, among individuals, communities and governments.
Most importantly, the international community must not turn its back on the
people of Chernobyl -- after a decade and a half of involvement and
assistance, we must not leave the job half done, when there are still
outstanding needs.
In fact, people living in the contaminated areas continue to face the double
impact of a depressed economy and of radiation contamination. Many of those
in the villages and settlements directly affected are still trapped in a
downward spiral of living conditions. The findings of the U.N. report "The
Human Consequences of the Chernobyl Nuclear Accident -- A Strategy for
Recovery," published last February, clearly demonstrate this.
To address these lingering problems affecting the many victims of the
accident, young and old, the U.N. advocates the need to shift its strategy
from a focus on emergency humanitarian assistance to a new one that stresses
a long-term developmental approach and empowerment of individuals and
communities. It should target assistance to the most affected people and
communities and aim at promoting a return to normalcy.
I took the new strategy to Belarus, Russia and Ukraine for discussion during
my visit to the region last April. The three governments welcomed the U.N.
report and broadly supported the new approach and a shift in the focus of
international cooperation on Chernobyl. They agree that it could best be
achieved through a nationally driven process, which would include some of
their own policy changes and the creation of conditions for sustainable
economic activity. This could also have a broader developmental impact for
the three countries still struggling with transition to market economies.
A number of initiatives are already under way to support this process. A
new, Swiss-funded international Chernobyl Web site (www.chernobyl.info),
operated with the cooperation of the U.N., has been launched recently and is
expected to serve as an independent, credible information tool -- a
prerequisite for increased donor interest and support.
Also, several new pilot projects for community development and the creation
of favorable environment for investment are being developed by the U.N.
agencies in the affected countries and they will be presented to donors in
late autumn. The idea of an International Chernobyl Research Network to fill
in the gaps in our knowledge of the long-term effects of radiation is being
actively explored by experts at the International Atomic Energy Agency, the
World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization, linking
international and national research institutions working on these problems.
Hopefully, the new strategy will lead to renewed donor interest and
participation, backed by a healthy combination of compassion and enlightened
self-interest. Today there are close to 400 nuclear reactors in operation
around the world. Experts consider that the possibility of a major accident
is very small. Future designs will no doubt be safer, but even the best
designs can never assure absolute safety from accident or other events. We
will work closely with the three governments, the donor community and all
interested international organizations and other actors. We will seek
partnerships to strengthen the focus on the human dimensions of the
Chernobyl accident.
Japan is uniquely positioned to help. Notably, its public- and
private-sector contribution to the cause of Chernobyl over the past few
years total $100 million, including support from Hiroshima and Nagasaki in
the area of radiology and related sciences. We must not turn our back on the
people of Chernobyl with the job half finished. Hiroshima and Nagasaki and
Chernobyl are very different tragedies but common experiences bring them
together. None of them should be forgotten.
The writer of the article, Kenzo Oshima is U.N. undersecretary general for
humanitarian affairs and U.N. coordinator of international cooperation for
Chernobyl. Published in the The Japan Times, Saturday, August 31, 2002
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?eo20020831a1.htm
For personal and academic use only.
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