Working with the UN

As one of the organisations which has done most to focus attention on the terrifying reality of the Chernobyl explosion, the Chernobyl Children’s Project International has developed close working relations with the United Nations in its attempts to raise worldwide awareness. The relationship with the UN is ongoing and has, over recent years, involved co-operation and collaboration on a wide range of initiatives.

Launch of ICRIN - June 2003

The United Nations invited Adi Roche to be the keynote speaker at the launch of the International Chernobyl Research and Information Network (ICRIN) Implementation Plan at UN headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. The objective of ICRIN is to support the ongoing efforts towards a sustainable development in the affected territories by compiling, consolidating and coordinating relevant scientific research, commissioning further research where required, and ensuring the effective dissemination of its findings. Among the other speakers at this international event were: Mr. Kenzo Oshima, UN Under-Secretary General and Ambassador Walter Fust, Director-General of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).

UNESCO Conference 1994

In 1994 Adi Roche was the keynote speaker at the UNESCO Conference on Chernobyl at which she gave personal testimony of her experiences of meeting representatives of the ‘liquidators’ - the 600,000 men and women conscripted to ‘liquidate’ or ‘blot-out’ the radiation released by the accident.

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Adi Roche continues to exchange information and reports concerning the work of the Chernobyl Children’s Project International and the impact of the Chernobyl disaster with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) based at the UN Headquarters in New York. This work has included a number of keynote addresses at UN conferences at which she has provided advice and suggestions to the United Nations in their efforts to assess the damage resulting from the disaster and the needs of the people in the wake of the accident.

In Moscow in May 1997 Adi Roche addressed an historic United Nations Conference: ‘Chernobyl and beyond: International Humanitarian Assistance for Victims of Technological Disasters’. Adi’s recommendations were adopted in the Conference Report. At a follow-up Conference in November 1997 she delivered an urgent warning that unless funds for the repair of the Chernobyl sarcophagus were immediately forthcoming from the international community; this concrete tomb encasing 740,000 cubic metres of radioactive debris was in danger of imminent collapse.

Providing a Model for International Aid

The aid programmes developed and operated by the Chernobyl Children’s Project International provide a model for the United Nations to use in developing international aid programmes for the children of Chernobyl. The UN is now using the particular expertise of Adi Roche and the CCPI on an ongoing basis to help generate a meaningful response from the international community.

Remembering the Victims and Survivors of Chernobyl

In recognition of its continuing humanitarian work on behalf of the victims of Chernobyl, the United Nations invited the Chernobyl Children’s Project International to commemorate the 15th anniversary of a nuclear disaster which it described as “the worst environmental disaster in the history of humanity”. On 26th April 2001, multicultural art exhibition entitled Black Wind/White Land – Living with Chernobyl, was officially opened in the UN Plaza in New York.

Click here to enter the official website of the United Nations (www.un.org)

UN Exhibition Commemorates the Victims and Survivors of Chernobyl

To learn more on the work of Paul Fusco please click on the link below:
http://www.eyestorm.com/magnum/pfusco.asp

Letter of Commendation from the United Nations

The Chernobyl Children's Project International has received a letter of commendation from the United Nations paying tribute to the work the Project carries out and in particular to the exhibition "Black Wind White Land - Living with Chernobyl."
The Exhibition took place in the United Nations Headquarters in New York to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster. "Black Wind White Land - Living with Chernobyl" is a multi-cultural art exhibition that comprises photography, paintings, sculpture and digital imagery created by 17 artists from Ireland, Sweden, Britain, Belarus and the United States.
The Exhibition itself was a resounding success and the letter of commendation ensured that 2001 ended on a very positive note. The European premiere of the Exhibition is set to take place in Ireland later this year. Watch this space for details.

Click here to read the Letter