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FIRST
announcement
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
ON THE OCCASION OF THE 20th ANNIVERSARY
OF THE ACCIDENT AT THE CHERNOBYL
NUCLEAR POWER PLANT
1. BACKGROUND INFORMATION
On 26th of April 2006, twenty years will
have passed since the accident, which happened at
the Chernobyl NPP. Over the past years Belarus,
Russia and Ukraine, as well as UN agencies, European
Union, governments, scientific institutions and NGOs
of a number of countries have made intensive efforts
aimed at mitigating the consequences of the
Chernobyl disaster and studying their impact on
public health and the environment.
Results of these activities were discussed at
major international forums dedicated to the 10th
anniversary (Geneva 1995; Minsk 1996; Vienna 1996)
and the 15th anniversary (Kiev 2001) of
the Chernobyl disaster.
Conclusions
of those conferences vividly demonstrate that
radiation catastrophes, unlike other disasters, turn
affected territories into crisis zones, taking many
decades to be recovered. As stated by Mr. Jan
Egeland, UN Under-Secretary-General, Humanitarian
Relief Coordinator, “we must remind everyone that
the Chernobyl consequences will still be a problems
for many generations to come”.
The most challenging task of the post-Chernobyl
recovery at the moment is the integrated
radiological and socio-economic rehabilitation of
the contaminated areas. The main goal of
rehabilitation – real economic recovery and
sustainable development of the affected areas –
requires new approaches, scientifically justified
decision-making, considerable financial resources,
and, consequently, financial and technical
engagement of the international community.
The 20th commemoration of the Chernobyl
disaster must serve as an occasion to focus the
attention of the international community on the
problems of recovery and needs of the affected areas
and to mobilize the international assistance to
complement national mitigation efforts.
In this regard, during the 58th Session
of the UN General Assembly, the Republic of Belarus
initiated and announced the International Conference
on the occasion of the 20th anniversary
of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant
to be held in Minsk in 2006. It is planned to
organize a three-day conference during 17-23 of
April 2006.
To discuss preparation and conduction of the
Minsk International Conference a National Organizing
Committee chaired by Vice-Premier Vladimir Drazhin
was set up. An International Organising Committee
co-chaired by H.E. Cihan Sultanoglu, UN Resident
Coordinator/UNDP Resident Representative in the
Republic of Belarus, and Vladimir Tsalko, Chairman
of Chernobyl Committee, is under development.
2. OBJECTIVE
The main objective of the Conference is to
analyse the accumulated Chernobyl disaster
mitigation experience and to develop recommendations
defining the strategy of actions in this field for
the next decade.
3.
TOPICS OF DISCUSSION
The Conference will be organized in plenary and
topical panels, including:
long-term health effects of the Chernobyl disaster;
social and economic consequences of the disaster;
environmental consequences of the disaster;
improvement of coordination mechanisms of
rehabilitation;
information policy;
financial and budgetary issues.
4. AGENDA
The agenda of the Conference will have the following
composition:
opening of the Conference – Plenary Session;
topical panels presenting of invited and contributed
papers;
poster sessions;
concluding plenary session;
field trip to the affected areas.
5. ORAL PRESENTATIONS AND POSTERS
Papers and materials on issues falling within
the scope of the conference must be presented in
original form.
To ensure comprehensive discussion of the
topical issues a poster session will be arranged.
Authors may specify in what form they wish their
reports be presented (an oral presentation, a
contributed paper, a poster).
5.1 Submission of oral presentations:
A synopsis (no more than two printed pages) must be
submitted to the Conference Secretariat by 20
December 2005. A form for submission is enclosed.
Authors of the selected presentations shall be duly
notified.
5.2 Submission of posters:
The number of posters is limited. The final decision
on the acceptance of a contribution will be made by
the Scientific Committee of the Conference.
6. PARTICIPATION
All persons wishing to participate in the Conference
are requested to complete a participation form. The
completed participation form should be sent to the
organizers.
7. PARTICIPATION COST
No registration fee is charged to participants.
8. CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS
The proceedings of the conference will be published
shortly before the conference. The Conference
Resolution and other final documents will be
published after the conclusion of the Conference.
9. WORKING
LANGUAGE
The working languages of the Conference will be
Russian and English.
10. DISTRIBUTION OF DOCUMENTS
A preliminary programme of the conference will be
sent to participants well in advance of the meeting.
A final programme as well as extended synopses will
also be available on the conference web page.
11. ACCOMMODATION
Detailed information on accommodation will be sent
to participants before the meeting and will also be
available on the conference web page.
12. VISAS
Participants who require a visa to enter the
Republic of Belarus should submit the necessary
application to the nearest diplomatic or consular
representative of the Republic of Belarus as soon as
possible. Please note that the procedure could take
up to 7 days.
13.
CONFERENCE SECRETARIAT
phone/fax +375 17 2272110
e-mail: conference2006@komchern.org.by
14. CONFERENCE WEB PAGE
Information about the Conference will be on the
following web sites: www.chernobyl.info
and www.chernobyl.by.
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