FM Alert, Vol. III, No. 9
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Date: Fri, 12 Mar 1999 13:12:25 +0200 (EET)
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Subject: FM Alert, Vol. III, No. 9
From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
Original sender: Paulette Layton <[email protected]>
FM Alert, Vol. III, No. 9
FM Alert, Vol. III, No. 9
March 5, 1999
FMP TO CO-SPONSOR MEETING ON PENSION RIGHTS AND REPATRIATION
The Forced Migration Projects will co-sponsor a meeting to discuss the
relationship of social welfare rights to the repatriation of refugees
and displaced persons in the former Yugoslavia. Up to 100
nongovernmental organization (NGO) representatives, academics and
government officials from across the former Yugoslavia are expected to
attend the meeting, titled "The Legal Consequences of the Dissolution
of the SFR Yugoslavia in the Field of Labor and Social Welfare Law,"
scheduled for March 26-27 in Zagreb, Croatia. The Croatian Law Center
will also serve as a co-sponsor of the gathering. The Council of
Europe and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees are also
likely to participate in the conference. Participants will discuss
past practices and the practical consequences of the Yugoslav collapse
on the legal frameworks governing employment and social welfare. "It
is increasingly clear that a regional framework is needed to address a
variety of legal policy issues such as pension rights on the
repatriation or displaced persons and refugees, and the need to reform
such provisions in order to facilitate voluntary return," said Arthur
C. Helton, Director of the Forced Migration Projects. The meeting is
the third in a series that examines issues related to forced migration
arising out of the dissolution of the former Yugoslavia. The first
meeting in February 1997 focused on the citizenship ramifications
arising out of Yugoslavia's collapse. The second, in February 1998,
discussed tenancy and property rights issues.
(For Background see FM Alert of March 13, 1998 and March 7, 1997).
UZBEK OFFICIAL CALLS FOR EXPLORATION OF CENTRAL ASIAN MIGRATION
FRAMEWORK
A top Uzbek diplomat suggested that Central Asian states should
explore the formulation of a regional migration management framework
as part of a comprehensive approach in addressing concerns about the
rising threat of terrorism. The most serious terrorist incident to
date occurred in the Uzbek capital Tashkent on February 16, when a
series of bomb explosions caused significant death and destruction.
Sodyq Safayev, Uzbekistan's ambassador to the United States, described
the bombings as an act of terrorism whose "aim was to challenge the
state's authority. Speaking at the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced
International Studies in Washington, DC, Safayev broadly hinted that
Islamic fundamentalists were the perpetrators of the February 16
events. He added that population displacements in Central Asia, in
particular in neighboring Tajikistan and Afghanistan, helped foster
the growth of terrorism in the region. "There is a certain spill-over
effect from those conflicts (in Tajikistan and Afghanistan)," he said.
"Population displacements help fuels the discontent that leads to
fundamentalist terrorism." Meanwhile, a few political observers
expressed concern that possible Uzbek government reprisals against
radical Islamic elements inside Uzbekistan could create circumstances
that might give rise to population displacement.
NGOS COULD PLAY VITAL ROLE IN PROMOTING STABILITY IN KOSOVO
A leading journalist from Kosovo says local nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs) can play a vital role in addressing population
displacements in the war-torn Yugoslav province, and help foster
lasting stability. International peace talks designed to negotiate a
political solution for Kosovo have stalled. But Aferdita Kelmendi, the
director of Radio-Television 21 in Pristina, Kosovo's capital, stated
that a majority of Kosovo Albanians supported international peace
efforts aimed at providing the province with autonomous powers. "If a
peace agreement is signed, the NGO sector would be crucial for
developing and supporting a sustainable peace in the region,
especially after the eventual withdrawal of international peacekeeping
forces," Kelmendi told the Forced Migration Projects (FMP) in an
interview. Kelmendi welcomed a FMP initiative to hold an
capacity-building conference for migration-related NGOs, schedule to
be held in Ohrid, Macedonia on June 17-18. She stated that "the
inclusion of NGOs from Bosnia in the conference, which will train
human rights NGOs from Kosovo, would allow NGOs from the region to
exchange valuable experience and ideas about human rights and
displaced person protection in conflict and post-conflict
environments."
(For additional information see FM Alerts of February 12 and January
29).
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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