New York, 15 November 2005 - The United Nations General Assembly yesterday adopted a resolution encouraging the international community to redouble its efforts to mitigate the consequences of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident. The body also took into account a report by the Secretary General on efforts to promote recovery in areas affected by the Chernobyl legacy.

Although the worst nuclear accident in history occurred almost 20 years ago, the impact continues to be felt today, particularly in Belarus, the Russian Federation, and Ukraine. The challenges have evolved over time, however, and the current UN strategy on Chernobyl focuses on building socio-economic opportunities and new livelihoods, rather than on the emergency relief that was the focus of earlier international assistance.

The Secretary General’s report chronicles the progress of international organizations in fulfilling this development mission over the past two years. Chief among the achievements of the UN system is Chernobyl Forum, an initiative launched by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and supported by the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and five other UN agencies, as well as by the governments of Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine.

The creation of Chernobyl Forum was spurred by the prevalence of misconceptions and deep-seated fears about the impact of radiation on the health of local residents and the state of the natural environment. To provide affected communities, governments, and international organizations with much-needed clarity on these issues, the Forum set out to examine the scientific evidence and issue authoritative statements on Chernobyl’s impact.

The findings of Chernobyl Forum, issued at an international conference in September 2005, contained a surprisingly reassuring message. Aside from the emergency workers who received high radiation doses through work on the damaged reactor in the first days after the accident, the five million residents living in Chernobyl-affected areas received low doses of radiation that are close to natural background levels. This level of exposure resulted in no observable radiation-induced health effects, aside from a rise in the incidence of thyroid cancer (successfully treated virtually all cases). Similarly, with the exception of a few restricted areas, most of the land that was contaminated by radioactive fallout is now safe for both human habitation and economic activity.

Chernobyl and its aftermath did have a profound impact on mental health, however. Many local residents perceive themselves to be in ill health and condemned by radiation to a shortened life expectancy, and this perception has yielded attitudes of helplessness and resignation. The Secretary General’s report and the General Assembly resolution have thus endorsed as a priority the provision to the affected populations of accurate, practical information that reflects the reassuring findings of Chernobyl Forum, so that local communities can overcome their fears, re-discover a sense of normality, and address the lack of socio-economic opportunity that is the real threat to the region.

As the coordinating agency for UN work on Chernobyl, UNDP has set information provision as a key priority for coming years, along with policy advice to the three governments on streamlining and targeting Chernobyl spending, and community-based recovery and development programs, which the Secretary General’s report cites as an encouraging template for the revival of Chernobyl-affected areas. The General Assembly’s next consideration of Chernobyl, in 2007, will assess how well UNDP’s efforts, and those of other UN agencies, have met these still-pressing needs.

For further information, contact:

Louisa Vinton, 212 906 6525,  

Oksana Leshchenko, 212 906 6734,

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