CONFERENCE ON POPULATION DISPLACEMENTS IN CIS REGION OPENS WITH STATEMENTS BY SECRETARY-GENERAL, HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES
Press Release
REF/1142
CONFERENCE ON POPULATION DISPLACEMENTS IN CIS REGION OPENS WITH STATEMENTS BY SECRETARY-GENERAL, HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES
19960531 Draft Programme of Action Lauded as Blueprint for Helping 9 Million Displaced Persons; Cited as Example for Rest of WorldGENEVA, 30 May (UN Information Service) -- Cooperation, preparedness, prevention and respect for human rights were the keys to dealing effectively with massive population flows in the territory of the former Soviet Union, United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali said this morning as he opened a two-day conference on problems related to refugees, displaced persons and "returnees" in the region of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
The meeting -- formally termed "Regional Conference to Address the Problems of Refugees, Displaced Persons, Other Forms of Involuntary Displacement, and Returnees in the Countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Relevant Neighboring Countries" -- is jointly sponsored by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and was originally proposed in the General Assembly by the Russian Federation.
The purposes of the conference are to adopt a programme of action drafted over the last two years to cope with population displacements in the region; to provide a forum for the countries involved to discuss population displacement and refugees problems in a humanitarian and non-political way; and to review the population flows now taking place.
High Commissioner Sadako Ogata, in an introductory statement, said there was a pressing need to gather all the countries of the region to discuss the wide-ranging and complex patterns of involuntary displacement and migration in the area, which so far had set some 9 million people in motion. There also was potential for further displacement, and priority should be given to considering how it could be prevented, as security in the European and Central Asian regions was highly dependent on stability in countries of the CIS.
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Also making introductory addresses were IOM Director-General James N. Purcell, Jr., and OSCE Secretary General Wilhelm Höynck.
Mr. Purcell said that success in coping with population displacements in the region would depend on transparency, flexibility, openness, and fair representation among the countries concerned, and upon international cooperation.
Mr. Höynck stressed the importance of preventing additional massive involuntary population flows by addressing their root causes.
In statements from the floor, a number of countries called for adoption of the draft programme of action, international cooperation based on human rights standards, and greater efforts to prevent massive population displacements.
Elected Co-Chairmen of the conference were Rose Isakovana Otounbayeva, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan, and Jakob Kellengerger, Secretary of State of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland.
Addressing the morning meeting were representatives of the Ukraine, Russian Federation, Italy (on behalf of the European Union), Germany, United States and Switzerland.
Draft Programme of Action
The draft programme of action to address the problems of refugees, displaced persons, other forms of involuntary displacement and returnees in the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States and relevant neighboring States offers principles, an institutional and operational framework for dealing with population movements, preventive measures, and guidelines for cooperation, implementation, and follow-up to events in the CIS region. The principles include such internationally established standards as the right to freedom of movement; the right to choose where to live within one's own country; the right to have a nationality; and a citizen's right to citizenship in a successor State. It also reaffirms a wide range of minority rights and the rights of deported peoples to return to their ancestral homes.
The draft begins with a declaration that notes that the breakup of the Soviet Union has altered the political geography of the world, exacerbated existing inter-ethnic conflicts, and led to acute political, economic, and social problems. It states that the objectives of the Conference are to provide a forum for countries of the region to discuss population displacement and refugees problems in a humanitarian and non-political way; to review population movements taking place in the CIS countries; and to come up with a programme for coping with and ameliorating these population flows.
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Statement by Secretary-General
United Nations Secretary-General BOUTROS BOUTROS-GHALI, opening the Conference, noted that more than 9 million displaced persons in the CIS region still faced an uncertain future -- their living conditions were often marginal and their status was vulnerable.
While the status of refugee was now broadly recognized in international law, the situation of persons displaced or forced to migrate was not covered by any specific and well-defined international rule, he said. That showed the importance of the programme of action the Conference would be discussing: it constituted a major step towards the application of international law to all contemporary forms of involuntary and forced migratory movements.
Accordingly, the Secretary-General said, the Conference -- over and above the regional issue which it was addressing -- offered tremendous hope to the 30 million displaced persons awaiting help and support in numerous parts of the world.
A solid institutional framework, an effective operational capacity, a high degree of preparedness, governmental and non-governmental cooperation, and international solidarity offered the basis for an effective approach to the problems of refugees and migrants, and for ways to prevent further displacement from occurring, he said.
He termed the programme of action under consideration at the meeting the key to the success of the Conference, explaining that it stated the causes of the crisis and spelled out the consequences for international security and stability. The comprehensive strategy worked out in the conference process was grounded in universal human rights. Internationally accepted principles for dealing with population movements were reaffirmed, and international cooperation, solidarity and burden-sharing were clearly understood to be indispensable.
In implementing the programme, humanitarian and political action must be closely and constantly linked, he said. Recent experience with the immense humanitarian crises in such places as the Great Lakes region of Africa and in the former Yugoslavia demonstrated that lasting solutions required political will. And prevention would be all-important -- ultimately, even the best efforts could not succeed unless problems could be solved or contained at their source.
Other Statements
SADAKO OGATA, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said there was a pressing need to gather all the countries of the region to discuss the wide-ranging and complex patterns of involuntary displacement and migration in
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the area. Some of the most acute problems had arisen since the breakup of the Soviet Union, and they presented new challenges that had to be addressed in a comprehensive way. It was evident that there also was potential for further displacement, and that priority should be given to considering how such displacement could be prevented in future. Security in the European and central Asian regions was highly dependent on stability in countries of the CIS.
As a result of combined efforts and intensive research by UNHCR, IOM and the OSCE, the international community now knew much more about the displacement and migration problems in CIS countries, Mrs. OGATA said. The programme of action developed in consequence had its roots in universally accepted principles and was intended as a contribution to the body of values that underpinned the principles of tolerance, coexistence, democracy, and responsible governance. It showed how diverse the problems of displacement were in the region. They included formerly deported peoples now trying to return to ancestral homes, ecological migrants, irregular migration and large- scale trafficking in migrants, "involuntarily relocating persons", and persons fleeing armed conflict.
In today's world, where there was greater fluidity of population movements but also greater resistance to taking in new groups of people, especially on the part of the richer countries, those who fled because they needed protection became increasingly mixed with those who moved for economic or similar reasons, the High Commissioner said. The line between refugee movements and migration was becoming blurred, and questions of protection and those of immigration and migration in general increasingly interrelated.
Implementation of the programme of action would primarily be the responsibility of the CIS countries, said Mrs. OGATA, but its success also depended on sustained interest and support from the international community.
JAMES N. PURCELL, Jr., Director-General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said the Conference, the culmination of a long and complex process started more than two years ago, brought together for the first time all the countries of the CIS to discuss population displacement problems in a non-political and humanitarian setting. A habit of consultation had been established among them, as well as with other interested and concerned countries and relevant international organizations. These consultations had been based on the principles of equality among States, dialogue and cooperation, and had been held in an open and constructive spirit. It was hoped that such a habit would not only be maintained, but also developed further in the years to come.
The regional focus of these consultations was a novelty, and had proved to be a successful one which could serve as a model for future undertakings, he said. International experience had shown that ongoing and sustained
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dialogue at the regional level was particularly important in migration and refugee matters, which by definition cut across borders and could challenge State sovereignty. Indeed, national measures alone would prove ineffective if they were not complemented by bilateral and multilateral cooperation. Hence, cooperation between the States concerned was not just an option: it was a necessity, if migration and refugee-related challenges were to be tackled successfully. In that respect, a useful role could be played by international organizations, which could serve as facilitators of dialogue, and by the international community, which could share its experience and provide assistance.
Understandably enough, the Conference had focused on the most pressing migratory movements, those creating the greatest strain on individuals and States, he said. As a result, the "positive" side of migration had been somewhat overshadowed. But many of the movements taking place in the countries of the CIS were spontaneous rather than forced. Many contributed to the social and economic development of host regions, rather than disrupting it. Those movements also deserved attention, since they too could be instrumental in fostering social stability in the countries of the CIS.
The IOM was extremely pleased with the level of participation and commitment of all the actors in the preparatory process, he went on. Success lay in the approach adopted by the Secretariat from the very beginning: transparency, flexibility, openness, simplicity, ownership, and due representation.
WILHELM HOYNCK, Secretary-General of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), said that when the dimension of the migration issue in many OSCE States became apparent, the 1992 OSCE Helsinki Summit identified the most effective strategy for dealing with it: "preventing situations that may result in mass flows of refugees and displaced persons" and identifying and addressing "the root causes of displacement and involuntary migration". The OSCE's primary role was the provide political support to the multi-track efforts inside and outside the United Nations system. The OSCE could help to address migration as a comprehensive security problem. Migration could be indeed a serious challenge to internal and external peace. Without fully recognizing this dimension of the problem, countries would not succeed in generating the political will and the means necessary to deal with the issue. At the same time, it must be realized in all efforts that migration war not an abstract phenomenon in the realm of strategists. Migration was a key factor in the lives of millions of men, women and children.
One experience in the OSCE's short history of operative action was that close coordination and cooperation with the host countries, international organizations and non-governmental organizations was a key element for effective help, he said.
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The OSCE was ready to make its contribution to the follow-up to the Conference, he added. The OSCE had developed potential, experience and cooperative advantages in three areas relevant for this follow-up: political impulses and norm-setting; preventive and rehabilitative action through long- term democracy, rule of law and civil society-building; and operational conflict prevention and crisis management.
VOLODYMYR YEVTUKH (Ukraine) said the migration situation in Ukraine in the 1990s was complicated and acute; every year the number of persons crossing its borders exceeded the size of the Ukrainian population. Emigration from the Ukraine, meanwhile, had been characterized by the loss of highly educated, skilled professionals of working age. Migration had been taking place during a period of economic crisis and in a situation of undeveloped migration legislation and the unfinished formation of a migration service whose officers lacked essential experience. Priorities for the country included the return of Ukrainians who had found themselves outside its borders for various reasons; return of formerly deported peoples; relocation of ecological migrants; and prevention of further illegal migration.
The country understood the importance of protecting refugees, and would take practical steps to do so, he said. In general, it supported the strategy outlined in the Conference's draft programme of action.
T. REGENT (Russian Federation) said the President of the Federation, Boris Yeltsin, had sent a personal message saying that the convening of the Conference was a symbolic indication that the international community took seriously the problems of the CIS region and the sufferings of people subject to massive displacement. An unbiased analysis of the situation was needed in a cooperative, non-political atmosphere. Improving the social and economic situations of the CIS countries depended on resolving the problems of population displacements. The stability of those countries had implications for much of the rest of the world. The situation was complex and included categories of migrants and refugees that had not been encountered before. There was an urgent need for protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, for mutual respect among all sectors of populations, and for an end to discrimination against populations on the basis of geographical origin or language. Russia had opened wide its doors to former citizens of the Soviet Union who wished to enter the country, but bordering nations must be similarly cooperative. If there were no disregard for human rights, there would be no ethnic and migratory problems; Russia was struggling with limited resources to cope effectively and humanely not only with international population movements but with internal flows caused by internal conflicts, such as in Chechnya.
GIUSEPPE BALDOCCI (Italy), speaking on behalf of the European Union, said that what was new in the process leading to the conference was the conviction that such problems cut across borders and required comprehensive solutions going well beyond the concerns and capacities of individual
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countries and organizations. It was well known how uncontrolled, large-scale, irregular movements of populations were often a powerful root cause of instability and tension. By jointly addressing such problems in a preventive mode, particularly by focusing on human rights, it was possible to prevent crises that could well lead to events not only negative in human terms but also dangerous from the point of view of security and stability. The primary responsibility for resolving the problems at hand lay with the CIS countries, but the strains of economic and political transformation in those nations made international support and solidarity critical. The draft programme of action represented a basic framework that could benefit from the support of all; among other things it gave necessary high priority to development and stability of CIS countries. The European Union, for its part, had supplied various kinds of support to promote such development and stability, and it clearly was time for all to join together to identify and address problems of massive populations movements.
GUNTER PLEUGER (Germany) said that an important part of the programme of action dealt with the implementation of the agreed principles by national parliaments and governments, and Germany appreciated the resolve of the CIS countries to meet their obligations. National implementation of the normative requirements contained in the list of principles was of particular significance. The programme's chapter on prevention also was of particular importance. Germany had strongly advocated preventive diplomacy. To ease one of the principal causes of unregulated migratory flows, it was necessary to find solutions for regional conflicts on the territory of the CIS. Germany's refugee policy was centered on a comprehensive approach, with consideration given to general political and economic conditions as well as infrastructural measures and refugee assistance. Since the beginning of 1993, Germany had contributed 464.6 million deutsche mark to countries in the Central Asian/Caucasian region of the CIS, and since 1993 the country had proffered technical assistance to Russia, Belarus and Ukraine totaling 470 million mark.
PHYLLIS E. OAKLEY (United States) said population movements in the former Soviet Union were a kind of giant test case for the international community; if principles and standards could be adopted at this meeting, along with programmes and cooperation, then perhaps lives could be improved not only today but tomorrow as well, through the prevention of mass displacements. Tools available included the sponsoring agencies of the Conference, hundreds of well-motivated non-governmental organizations around the world, national experiences with migratory flows, and the tools of diplomacy. The United States felt that three issues were vital: protection of refugees and similar victims, full respect for the human rights of such people, regardless of legal status; and regional and global cooperation in creating humane and effective systems for managing migratory flows. The draft programme of action was well- conceived, far-sighted, and practical in nature, and should be adopted. While the principal responsibility for implementing it would lie with the CIS countries, extensive international assistance also was vital to achieving success.
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JAKOB KELLENBERGER (Switzerland) said that, clearly, stability and security in the region were threatened, and the international community had to pay attention. Cooperation among the countries in the region and throughout the world had led to such a well-conceived Conference. It was to be hoped that international standards and practices might come out of the meeting that could be applied not only in the CIS but elsewhere. Meanwhile, it was important for the CIS to focus on the root causes of such massive population flows -- the principal task was theirs, although extensive international assistance also was needed. Non-governmental organizations also would have an important role to play in the implementation of the plan of action; it was to be hoped that their activities would be encouraged. The contribution of OSCE was its expertise and mechanisms for resolving conflicts; however, such help could not be forcibly imposed countries had to agree to it.
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