©UNHCR / S. Schulman

At the beginning of December, UNHCR wrapped up its emergency shelter programme in southern Kyrgyzstan, providing temporary homes for more than 13,400 people whose houses were damaged or destroyed during June’s violence. Getting people into proper accommodation before winter has been an important goal. June’s violence cost the lives of over 400 people, and displaced 375,000 others - 75,000 of them briefly into neighbouring Uzbekistan.

Now that this emergency shelter work is completed, our focus will shift to reconciliation, in particular promoting rule of law and human rights. The situation in this part of Kyrgyzstan remains fragile.

In all around 2,000 homes, of which almost 1,700 were completely destroyed, have been repaired or rebuilt over the past 100 days. UNHCR will continue to help with the restoration of documents and housing, land and property rights.

The response from those displaced has been enthusiastic. With winter starting, night-time temperatures in southern Kyrgyzstan are already around freezing and forecast to drop to minus ten degrees Celsius over the next few days. People have told UNHCR they did not expect to have a roof over their heads before winter, and only a few months ago there was talk of people seeking to leave the country.

Constructing emergency transitional shelters has cost UNHCR more than US$ 9 million, from a total budget in Kyrgyzstan for 2010 of US$ 23 million. Needs for 2011 are estimated at US$ 11.4 million. Most of the funds will go towards improving essential services, replacing personal documents, promoting livelihoods and protecting the rights of those displaced.