FM Alert, Vol II, Nos. 51, 52
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Subject: FM Alert, Vol II, Nos. 51, 52
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FM Alert, Vol II, Nos. 51, 52
FM Alert, Vol II, No. 51
December 23, 1998
ACADEMIC BULLETIN EXAMINES DEMOGRAPHIC AND MIGRATION TRENDS IN CIS
An academic bulletin, published by the Moscow-based Institute for
Ethnology and Anthropology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, is a
source of up-to-date information on migration trends in the former
Soviet Union. In its most recent issue, The Network of Ethnological
Monitoring and Early Warning of Conflicts features articles on
migration-related issues in several autonomous republics in the
Russian Federation, including Adygea, Bashkiria, Karelia and North
Ossetia. Additional articles examine migration trends and issues in
Armenia, Belarus and Ukraine. The publication utilizes information
researched and written by a network of experts, based in the region,
that has been assembled by the Institute, which is headed by Valery
Tishkov, who is a Forced Migration Projects consultant.
FMP PUBLISHES RUSSIAN TRANSLATION OF FORCED MIGRATION MONITOR ARTICLES
The Forced Migration Projects (FMP) is making available a compilation
of articles, translated into Russian, that have been previously
published in its bimonthly newsletter, the Forced Migration Monitor.
The 120-page compilation, entitled Forced Migration and Human Rights,
focuses on articles concerning population displacements in the former
Soviet Union, especially Russia. The book also contains photographs
previously published in FMP special reports. It groups translated
articles into five Sections: The Russian Federation, Refugees and
Forced Migrants; CIS Countries and Russian Compatriots; The World
Community and the CIS Conference on Migration-Related Issues;
Governmental Views Appraising Population Movements; and the Search for
Solutions. The compilation aims to increase understanding among
Russian speakers of FMP activities in the region, and potentially to
contribute to an improved response to the Program of Action, which was
adopted by the 1996 CIS Conference in Geneva. Translation of the
Monitor articles was coordinated by Moscow-based FMP consultant
Mikhail Arutyunov, a former member of Russia's State Duma who was
instrumental on early formulations of Russian policy on refugees and
forced migrants. Copies of the compilation can be obtained by
contacting the FMP office in Moscow, located at the Russian Academy of
Science's Institute for Ethnology and Anthropology. The phone number
is (7-095) 938-1815.
STRASBOURG MEETING FOCUSES ON CISCONF FOLLOW-UP IN THE TRANSCAUCASUS
A meeting in Strasbourg, France, on December 10-11 brought together
nongovernmental organization (NGO) leaders, international organization
representatives and government officials to examine legislative reform
designed to foster third sector growth in the Transcaucasus. The
gathering was held under the auspices of the follow-up to the CIS
Conference on migration-related issues. The Forced Migration Projects
are the lead agency of the Working Group on NGO Legislation.
Participants in Strasbourg paid particular attention to efforts to
streamline taxation and registration procedures in Armenia, Azerbaijan
and Georgia. Some local NGO representatives said convoluted
regulations stifle NGO development in the region. Experts from the
Czech Republic and Hungary also gave presentations aimed at sharing
the experiences of NGO development in Central Europe. The conference
broke into three working groups for substantive discussion on taxation
and customs treatment of NGOs, on freedom of association and on
government oversight and self-regulatory mechanisms for NGOs.
(For background information see FM Alert of November 5).
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FM Alert, Vol II, No. 52
December 30, 1998
RUSSIA REACTS ANGRILY TO USCR SURVEY CRITICISM
The 1998 World Refugee Survey, published by the US Committee for
Refugees, assails Russia for inadequately responding to issues
concerning forced migrants. "Implementation of the Program of Action
[adopted at the
1996 CIS Conference on migration-related issues] ... moved
sluggishly," the survey said in its section on the Russian Federation.
The Survey cited examples of restrictions placed on forced migrants
and asylum seekers. "About 30 regions out of 89 in the Russian
Federation currently restrict migration," it said. The Survey paid
special attention to abuse of the residency permit system, known in
Russia as the propiska system. "The system is quite difficult for
refugees and asylum seekers, who cannot afford the high fees," the
publication said. In a written commentary, the Russian Foreign
Ministry replied that accusations of "alleged discrimination against
.. far-abroad asylum seekers are absolutely baseless." The statement
goes on to say that: "Underlying all these misrepresenations and
distortions, it seems to us, that with the use of its latest paper,
the US Committee for Refugee editors seek to impose their own approach
to the solution of refugees' problems in the territory of the Russian
Federation."
MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING SIGNED ON FORMATION OF NGO ASSOCIATION
Five representatives of CIS-based nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)
have signed a memorandum of understanding on establishing an
association of migration-related NGOs. The memorandum, signed in
December in Moscow, envisions the formation an extensive network of
NGOs throughout the CIS to improve project implementation capacity.
The founding members of the association include: Natalia Ablova of the
Kyrgyz-American Bureau on Human Rights and the Rule of Law; Yuri
Buznytsky of the Migration Problems Research Center in Kyiv, Ukraine;
Gevork Pogosian of the Armenian Sociological Research Center; Marina
Murvanidze of Multiple Assistance in Georgia; and Natalia Voronina, of
the Forced Migration Projects in Russia. Further development of the
association will be aided by the compilation of a report on the
activity of CIS-based NGOs, operating within the context of follow-up
to the 1996 CIS Conference on migration-related issues.
(For background information see FM Alert of November 5, July 2 and
June 26).
FMP ARGUES FOR HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTION FOR NON-CITIZENS
In a letter to the editor, published in the December 19 issue of the
Economist magazine, Forced Migration Projects (FMP) Director Arthur C.
Helton urges greater protection for non-citizens. One of the main
spheres of FMP activity has been in advocating solutions to
citizenship dilemmas in the former Yugoslavia, where the collapse of
the formerly Communist state in 1991 has created thousands of
stateless people, either in fact or in law. In his letter, Helton
argues that non-citizens often find themselves vulnerable to abuse,
and thus are deserving of special protection under international human
rights law. He adds that citizenship should not be considered the sole
remedy. "Human dignity is not synonymous with citizenship, a vitally
important point in an era in which would-be immigrants are denied
family unity, non-citizens are detained arbitrarily for the purposes
of immigration control and refugees are denied access to asylum,"
Helton concludes.
For more information contact:
The Forced Migration Projects
400 West 59th Street, 4th floor
New York, NY 10019
tel: (212)548-0655
fax: (212) 548-4676
e-mail: [email protected]
website: www.soros.org/migrate.html
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