FM Alert, Vol III, No. 17
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Date: Tue, 4 May 1999 09:56:10 +0300 (EET DST)
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Subject: FM Alert, Vol III, No. 17
From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
Original sender: Paulette Layton <[email protected]>
FM Alert, Vol III, No. 17
FM Alert, Vol III, No. 17
April 30, 1999
FMP AND SOROS ACTIVITIES IN YUGOSLAVIA
Several of the national foundations and network programs in the Soros
foundations network are responding to the war in Kosovo and the
displacement of Kosovars. In Albania and Macedonia, the foundations
are mobilizing existing resources and discretionary funds to undertake
a range of important initiatives. Network programs, including the
Forced Migration Projects, are working closely with the foundations in
their specialized areas. In addition to direct activities, the
foundations are also acting as a resource for international relief
organizations that lack on-the-ground experience in the region. In
Yugoslavia, where there is also a displacement crisis of serious
proportions, the main office in Belgrade and the branch offices in
Podgorica and Novi Sad are continuing their work so far as
circumstances permit. They have made contributions to the Red Cross of
Serbia and Montenegro to assist displaced persons, both with material
donations and with psychological counseling. The branch office in
Pristina has been unable to function - and thus the foundation has
been able to do little to address the problem of internally displaced
persons in Kosovo. However, most of the Pristina staff has regrouped
outside the country and are preparing projects to deal with aspects of
the crisis. As an institution, the Soros foundations network does not
take a stand on the political and military issues associated with the
crisis. While individuals within the network have their own views on
the subjects, and some may express those views, they do not speak for
the network in taking their positions.
DECREE ESTABLISHES GOVERNMENTAL COMMISSION ON MESKHETIAN REPATRIATION
A decree issued by Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze has
established a Governmental Commission to address issues relating to
the return of Meskhetian Turks (called Meskhetians by Georgian
authorities), a formerly deported people who were uprooted from their
homeland in Georgia in 1944. Since the collapse of the former Soviet
Union, Meskhetian Turks have sought unsuccessfully to gain
rehabilitation and the right to return. Presidential Decree #104,
signed March 14, acknowledges: "The solution of the deported persons'
questions is a matter of state importance for independent and
democratic Georgia." At an organizational meeting of the commission on
April 15, members of the commission decided to establish nine working
groups that will focus on specific areas of Meskhetian Turk
repatriation, including legislation, sociological research, social
welfare and adaptation. The Forced Migration Projects, in cooperation
with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the OSCE
High Commissioner on National Minorities, have promoted an ongoing
dialogue on Meskhetian Turk issues. At the most recent meeting, held
in March in Vienna, government officials from Azerbaijan, Georgia and
Russia pledged to work together with representatives of various
Meskhetian Turk civic organizations to promote solutions that stress
the humane management of outstanding issues relating to repatriation.
The dialogue's organizers are establishing a repository for project
proposals that promote the return of Meskhetian Turks.
(For background information seen FM Alerts of March 19 and January 15,
1999, and September 18, 1998).
INTERNATIONAL EXPERTS AND NGO ACTORS DISCUSS UN GUIDING PRINCIPLES ON
INTERNAL DISPLACEMENT
About 40 representatives of international organizations and
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) gathered at UN headquarters in
New York on April 30 to discuss a draft of the Field Handbook for
Applying the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement. The handbook
aims to improve the effectiveness of humanitarian aid worker responses
in the field. "The development of the handbook could provide
international organizations and NGOs with useful guidance on
protecting internally displaced persons," Forced Migration Projects
Director Arthur C. Helton wrote in an April 29 letter addressed to
representatives of the UN Secretary-General. Helton said that the
United Nations handbook should take care to incorporate the field
experiences of operational agencies. Helton also advocated the
establishment of permanent training programs, as well as a permanent
consultation on internal displacement.
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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