FM Alert, Vol II, Nos.42, 43
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Subject: FM Alert, Vol II, Nos.42, 43
From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
Original sender: Paulette Layton <[email protected]>
FM Alert, Vol II, Nos.42, 43
FM Alert, Vol II, No. 42
October 23, 1998
FMS AND NGO FORUM IN RUSSIA REACH AGREEMENT ON COOPERATION
Russia's Federal Migration Service (FMS) and the Moscow-based Forum of
Migrant Organizations have concluded an agreement on cooperation that
is designed to improve responses to population displacements. The
September 28 agreement outlines as its main objective the protection
of human rights of refugees and displaced persons residing in the
Russian Federation. It also pledges that migration-related
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and government agencies will work
jointly to foster tolerance for forced migrants and explore ways to
accommodate newcomers more effectively. The FMS and the Forum said
they would promote information sharing and cooperate on improving the
migration-related legal frameworks. The two sides will also seek input
from affected individuals in seeking new approaches to accommodation
dilemmas. A top FMS official told a Forced Migration Projects
consultant that Russia's economic and political crisis increases the
need for greater cooperation among governmental agencies and the
independent sector. "There is no other way but to work closely with
public organizations," the FMS official said.
RUSSIA CRISIS IMPACTS FORCED MIGRATION TRENDS
The numbers of new refugees and displaced persons in 1997 fell to the
lowest level since current determination procedures were introduced in
1992, according to statistics obtained by a Forced Migration Projects
consultant. However, Russia's political and economic crisis this year
could stimulate new population movements, while limiting the ability
of governments in the former Soviet Union to provide adequate
responses. In 1997, Russia's Federal Migration Service (FMS)
registered 131,100 forced migrants. Just over 125,000 were classified
as displaced persons, and the remainder were accorded refugee status.
About 64,000 newcomers arrived from Kazakstan, making the Central
Asian nation the largest source of in-migration for Russia. The FMP
consultant adds that problems continue to hamper refugee determination
proceedings. During the first six months of 1998, 4,331 persons
applied for refugee status, including 2,324 persons who arrived from
other former Soviet republics. Of that total, only 355 received
refugee status, including 311 from the former Soviet Union.
(For background information see FM Alerts of October 16 and October
9).
FMP URGES NEW APPROACHES ON BOSNIA
The Forced Migration Projects (FMP) are urging the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to reevaluate programs designed to
promote the return of refugees and displaced persons in Bosnia and
Herzegovina. In an October 16 letter to High Commissioner Sadako
Ogata, FMP Director Arthur C. Helton said that prospects for
sustainable return appeared dim if existing policies were maintained.
"The modest success of international efforts to inspire substantial
voluntary return to Bosnia and Herzegovina, including significant
minority return, indicates the need for a broad policy re-assessment
prior to committing additional funds," Helton wrote in the letter.
"Any future return strategy should seek to enhance the individual
choice of returnees." About 1.8 million people remain without durable
solutions in the former Yugoslavia, including almost 1 million
internally displaced persons in Bosnia. The success of nationalist
candidates in Bosnia's recent election indicate that finding durable
solutions may become more difficult now than in previous years. In
order to facilitate voluntary repatriation, the FMP "recommend that
regional frameworks and mechanisms be established to facilitate the
implementation of property rights across state boundaries, and a
regional arrangement for dual/multiple citizenship to encourage
voluntary repatriation," Helton said. The FMP will sponsor a December
10-12 meeting on Bosnian return issues in Budapest.
(For additional information see FM Alerts of October 9, October 2 and
September 4.)
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FM Alert, Vol II, No. 43
October 30, 1998
FMP DIRECTOR URGES STRENGTHENING HUMAN RIGHTS MONITORING IN FORMER
YUGOSLAVIA
Warning that the underlying causes to forced displacements of people
in the former Yugoslavia have yet to be remedied, Forced Migration
Projects Director Arthur C. Helton called for increased human rights
monitoring by the international community. "Avoiding a humanitarian
catastrophe will require the continuing attention and resolve of the
international community," Helton said in a prepared statement read at
the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
Implementation Meeting on Human Dimension Issues, held in Warsaw on
October 30. In his remarks, Helton, a public member of the US
delegation, paid special attention to the unfolding forced migration
crisis in the embattled Yugoslav province of Kosovo, where about
300,000 persons, mostly ethnic Albanians, have been displaced by
recent fighting. Restoring stability in the region depends greatly on
"the commitment of OSCE participating states" in enforcing a peace
deal recently signed in Belgrade. In addition, Helton said local
nongovernmental organizations could play a greater role in the
formulation and implementation of durable solutions to
migration-related dilemmas. "A robust independent sector would assist
the uprooted and promote civil society - perhaps the optimal approach
to crisis prevention," Helton said.
FMP TO SPONSOR MEETING ON FORMER YUGOSLAVIA RETURN ISSUES
About 40 nongovernmental organization (NGO) leaders, experts and
diplomats are expected to gather in Budapest in December for
discussions that will explore breakthroughs on promoting the return of
refugees and displaced persons in the former Yugoslavia. The meeting,
co-sponsored by the Forced Migration Projects (FMP), is scheduled for
December 10-12. Topping the agenda will be talks on property rights
and citizenship legislation, which have been identified by the FMP and
other organizations as major obstacles to repatriation, especially the
return of ethnic minorities. The Budapest meeting offers the
international community an opportunity to begin reevaluating its
return policies in Yugoslavia. In an October 16 letter to United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Sadako Ogata, FMP Director
Arthur C. Helton urged the rethinking of existing approaches to
return. "Appropriate regional arrangements to uphold property and
citizenship rights will be crucial to securing solutions compatible
with fundamental notions of human dignity," Helton said.
(For additional information see FM Alerts of October 23, October 9 and
October 2).
FMP SPONSORS SENINAR IN BISHKEK TO EXAMINE CIS DISPLACEMENT
The Forced Migration Projects (FMP) are co-sponsoring a seminar in
Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, that will examine ways to strengthen the response
in Central Asia to the Program of Action, adopted at the 1996 CIS
Conference on migration-related issues. The November 3-6 seminar is
also expected to stimulate discussions on creating regional mechanisms
that would help regulate migration flows, as well as promote the
development national strategies for migration policies. The Soros
Foundation-Kyrgyzstan and the East-East program, also part of the
Soros foundations network, are the other co-sponsors of the meeting.
The seminar will additionally attempt to identify emerging migration
trends as a way to promote the rapid formulation
of potential preventive responses in coming years, and discuss the
activities of various international organizations, including the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International
Organization for Migration.
(For additional information see FM Alerts of October 23, October 2
and August 21).
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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