FM Alert, Vol. II, No. 2
Date: Tue, 20 Jan 98 09:30:48 -0500
From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
Message-Id: <[email protected]>
To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]>
Subject: FM Alert, Vol. II, No. 2
From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
Original sender: Allison Mindel <[email protected]>
FM Alert, Vol. II, No. 2
FM Alert, No. 2
12 January 1998
1998 APPEALS SEEK ALMOST $50 MILLION FOR CIS CONFERENCE FOLLOW-UP
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the
International Organization for Migration (IOM) are seeking almost $50
million 1998 for programs connected with follow-up to the 1996 CIS
Conference on migration-related issues. In separate appeals, UNHCR is
seeking $37 million from donor governments, while IOM requests just over $12
.5 million. "Close coordination with UNHCR, and taking account of the work
of other actors, have resulted in the development of activities for 1998
that avoid duplication," the IOM appeal says. Under its 1998 special appeal,
UNHCR is focusing activities primarily on five CIS states -- Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia and Ukraine. Georgia is slated to receive the
largest amount of UNHCR funds in 1998 at $10.3 million, mostly going towards
alleviating the lingering effects of civil strife in the regions of Abkhazia
and South Ossetia. Meanwhile, Ukraine is scheduled to receive the smallest
amount, $2.3 million, much of which will support programs that concern the
repatriation of Crimean Tatars. In addition to providing humanitarian
assistance to refugees and displaced persons, UNHCR programs aim to build
social infrastructure and local capacity on migration-related issues. The
IOM appeal pursues three strategic directions; technical cooperation with
CIS governments and nongovernmental organizations; humanitarian assistance
that is designed to promote the integration of displaced persons, or the
return of those desiring to go back to their homeland; and research that
allows policy makers to make better-informed decisions. The IOM plans to
have activities in every CIS country, except Moldova and Uzbekistan. In a
1997 joint appeal, UNHCR and IOM sought $88 million, but received only about
$17 million. (For background consult FM Alert of November 20, 1997).
HIGH REPRESENTATIVE DECREES NEW LAW ON CITIZENSHIP IN BOSNIA
High Representative Carlos Westendorp, utilizing authority claimed under the
Dayton Peace Agreement (DPA), has taken the unprecedented step of decreeing
a new Law on Citizenship of Bosnia and Herzegovina to be effective as of
January 1, 1998. The law, if implemented properly, could encourage the
return of refugees and displaced persons by clarifying naturalization
criteria and procedures. Governmental approval of Bosnia's draft citizenship
law has been held up by partisan politics, especially the virulent
opposition by nationalist political forces in Bosnia's entities -- the
Muslim-Croat Federation and Republika Srpska. Westendorp cited powers
granted him under Annex 10 of the DPA in making his decree. In effect, he
ordered Bosnian legislative bodies to ratify the citizenship law in its
current form. It is unclear how policy makers and legislators will react to
Westendorp's decree. The High Representative's move comes less than a month
after a meeting of the Peace Implementation Council (PIC) on December 10 in
Bonn, Germany, at which the international community severely criticized
Bosnian leaders over the slow pace of implementation of the DPA. The PIC
also encouraged direct action by the High Representative. (For background
information consult FM Alert of December 12, 1997).
EFFORTS TO REVISE BOSNIAN PROPERTY LEGISLATION HITS NEW SNAGS
Efforts to revise property legislation in the Muslim-Croat Federation of
Bosnia and Herzegovina have apparently stalled. In the weeks leading up to a
meeting of the Peace Implementation Council, held December 10 in Bonn,
Germany, efforts to revise wartime property legislation -- including a draft
law to make it easier for refugees and displaced persons, who fled their
homes during the 1992-95 war, to reoccupy their homes -- appeared to be
gaining momentum. However, legislative changes are now being stymied in the
Federation's House of Representatives, even though they have won passage in
the House of Peoples. Observers blame the delay on opposition by nationalist
political forces. The ongoing reliance on wartime property legislation is
effectively blocking the return of tens of thousands of refugees and
displaced persons. A Forced Migration Projects letter to US envoy Robert
Gelbard in November urged the international community to show firm resolve
and exert pressure on the Federation government, using economic
conditionality and sanctions, to ensure strict compliance with the Dayton
Peace Agreement. The letter also calls for the promulgation of a
comprehensive plan regarding the adjustment of property rights in order to
facilitate voluntary return. Such proposals will be discussed at a
conference on the "Impact of the Dissolution of the Socialist Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia on Property and Housing Issues," to be held February
27-28 in Zagreb, Croatia. The Forced Migration Projects are co-sponsoring
the conference, along with the Croatian Law Center and the City of Osijek.
(For background information consult FM Alert of December 23 and November 26
, and October 17, 1997).
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For more information contact:
Forced Migration Projects
Open Society Institute
400 West 59th Street, 4th floor
New York, NY 10019
tel: (212) 548-0655
fax: (212) 548-4676
[email protected]
www.soros.org/migrate.html
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