Kyrgyzstan: concerns over disappearances of Uzbek asylum seekers
Briefing Notes, 25 August 2006
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Jennifer Pagonis – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at the press briefing, on 25 August 2006, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
UNHCR is gravely concerned over the fate of five Uzbek asylum seekers who have disappeared in recent weeks in the southern Kyrgyzstan town of Osh.
The first Uzbek asylum seeker went missing in Osh on July 10. Despite repeated inquiries, UNHCR has received no information from the Kyrgyz authorities on his whereabouts. In the past ten days, four more Uzbek asylum seekers disappeared. All of them were registered with the Kyrgyz migration authorities and UNHCR. They were among the hundreds of Uzbeks who escaped their country in the aftermath of the Andijan events on May 13, 2005.
In two separate incidents on August 16 and 17, two of the asylum seekers were seen being forced into private cars by unknown men wearing civilian clothes who then drove them away to unknown destinations. We have received credible information that at least two of the abducted asylum seekers are currently in police custody in Andijan, Uzbekistan.
These repeated disappearances raise serious concerns regarding the security of asylum seekers in the Osh and Jalalabad regions of Kyrgyzstan.
In addition, UNHCR still has no news about another group of four refugees and one asylum seeker who were extradited to Uzbekistan on August 9.
We are also very concerned over repeated incidents involving Kyrgyz police and migration personnel harassing asylum seekers during document checks, including alleged verbal abuse and threats of forcible return to Uzbekistan.
We have shared our concerns with the Kyrgyz Ministry of Internal Affairs as well as with other relevant authorities, but we have seen no improvement to date.
UNHCR regrets the obvious erosion of the Kyrgyz asylum system, which until recently was an exemplary one in Central Asia.
Findings of surveys commissioned by UNHCR, Bishkek 2009.
Statelessness in Kyrgyzstan
Two decades after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, thousands of people in former Soviet republics like Kyrgyzstan are still facing problems with citizenship. UNHCR has identified more than 20,000 stateless people in the Central Asian nation. These people are not considered as nationals under the laws of any country. While many in principle fall under the Kyrgyz citizenship law, they have not been confirmed as nationals under the existing procedures.
Most of the stateless people in Kyrgyzstan have lived there for many years, have close family links in the country and are culturally and socially well-integrated. But because they lack citizenship documents, these folk are often unable to do the things that most people take for granted, including registering a marriage or the birth of a child, travelling within Kyrgyzstan and overseas, receiving pensions or social allowances or owning property. The stateless are more vulnerable to economic hardship, prone to higher unemployment and do not enjoy full access to education and medical services.
Since independence in 1991, Kyrgyzstan has taken many positive steps to reduce and prevent statelessness. And UNHCR, under its statelessness mandate, has been assisting the country by providing advice on legislation and practices as well as giving technical assistance to those charged with solving citizenship problems. The refugee agency's NGO partners provide legal counselling to stateless people and assist them in their applications for citizenship.
However, statelessness in Kyrgyzstan is complex and thousands of people, mainly women and children, still face legal, administrative and financial hurdles when seeking to confirm or acquire citizenship. In 2009, with the encouragement of UNHCR, the government adopted a national action plan to prevent and reduce statelessness. In 2011, the refugee agency will help revise the plan and take concrete steps to implement it. A concerted effort by all stakeholders is needed so that statelessness does not become a lingering problem for future generations.
Statelessness in Kyrgyzstan
The crisis in Kyrgyzstan
UNHCR was monitoring the returns of refugees and other displaced people to southern Kyrgyzstan as tens of thousands of people headed back to their communities. Violent clashes in Osh and other cities in southern Kyrgyzstan earlier this month had sent an estimated 300,000 fleeing to the countryside, while 100,000 had fled across the border into Uzbekistan.
Days after the attacks, Kyrgyz authorities were still trying to restore law and order in the south, where they reported that some 180 people were killed and 1,900 injured. Many of the internally displaced have been staying with host families with many also sleeping rough. In Uzbekistan, authorities reported more than 50 sites hosting refugees in the border provinces of Andijan, Ferghana and Namangan. Some refugees were staying in schools and other public buildings.
UNHCR has provided more than 300 tonnes of emergency assistance in a series of relief flights over the past week, working with the concerned governments and local partners in sometimes hazardous conditions.
The crisis in Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan: One Year On
A year ago, when violence erupted in Kyrgyzstan, Saliya and her family hid in their basement for three days as fighting raged overhead. Life is slowly returning to normal today.
Kyrgyzstan: The Need to Rebuild
Thousands of displaced people in the town of Osh are struggling to rebuild their homes and their lives.
Kyrgzstan: On the Move
Violence in early June in southern Kyrgyzstan forced some 400,000 people to flee their homes. In the Jalal-Abad region, some discuss their experiences.
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