FM Alert, Vol III, No. 20

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Subject: FM Alert, Vol III, No. 20

From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>

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FM Alert, Vol III, No. 20


FM Alert, Vol III, No. 20
May 21, 1999

New FMS Head Calls for New Policy Approaches

In an exclusive interview with the Forced Migration Projects, the new
head of Russia's Federal Migration Service (FMS) called for the
formulation of new policy approaches to better assist refugees and
displaced persons. "The most important thing is to work out - with the
broad help of representatives of the social scientific community,
government officials and representatives of civic organizations - a
framework for state migration policy," said Vladimir Kalamanov, who
replaced Tatyana Regent on March 30 as the head of the beleaguered
state agency. Kalamanov suggested that improvement efforts would
include the broadening of a NGO consultative council under the
auspices of the FMS, and the establishment of a working group would be
established to formulate and refine policy. The immediate task,
Kalamanov added, would be to improve the state agency's response to
the needs of forced migrants. "Between 50 percent and 60 percent of
the staff of the FMS will work exclusively on forced migrant-related
matters. For this, a special structure within the FMS will be
created," Kalamanov said. The FMS head identified the complicated
relations between federal and regional authorities as a major
difficulty for FMS activity. "It is a colossal problem," he said. (For
background see FM Alerts of April 9 and January 29).


FMP Director Lectures in Kyiv on Human Rights and Forced Displacement

Forced Migration Projects Director Arthur C. Helton gave a
presentation in Kyiv on May 18 on the international human rights
framework as it relates to forced displacement. The lecture at the
Institute of International Relations in Kyiv took an interdisciplinary
approach in the discussions of human rights mechanisms and their
implementation. Helton examined current trends in migration management
strategies, in addition to touching on the existing gaps in human
rights protections for forcibly displaced persons. A significant
portion of the talk was devoted to sources of legal protections,
especially human rights of refugees and humanitarian law. In addition,
Helton discussed the mandate and the strategies of the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees, which is "increasingly viewed as the
humanitarian arm of the United Nations." Other topics covered in the
lecture included the need for comprehensive approaches to migration
management and the evolving concept of humanitarian intervention.

FMP Identifies NGO Legislation Sources

The Forced Migration Projects (FMP) has identified internet sources
that provide information on legislation relating to nongovernmental
organization (NGO) activity in Central and Eastern Europe. Among
existing websites that provide information on NGO legislation is that
of the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law at www.icnl.org
<http://www.icnl.org>. In addition, several government-related
websites offer reference material on NGO legislation. They include;
the Law of the Republic of Armenia on Public Organizations, found at
www.arminco/homepages/ifes/ngolaw.htm
<http://www.arminco/homepages/ifes/ngolaw.htm>; and the Russian
Federation Law on Social Organizations (in Russian), found at
www.acc.ru.fci.zakon15.html <http://www.acc.ru.fci.zakon15.html>.  The
FMP is the lead agency of the Working Group on NGO Legislation, which
is working under the auspices of the CIS Conference on
migration-related issues to promote legislative frameworks in former
Soviet states that facilitate NGO activity. In some CIS countries,
burdensome taxation and registration procedures currently hinder NGO
development.

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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