FM Alert, Vol II, No. 50
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Date: Mon, 21 Dec 1998 09:22:56 +0200 (EET)
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Subject: FM Alert, Vol II, No. 50
From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
Original sender: Paulette Layton <[email protected]>
FM Alert, Vol II, No. 50
FM Alert, Vol II, No. 50
December 18, 1998
CENTRAL ASIAN WEBSITE SPECIALIZES IN MIGRATION-RELATED ISSUES
A new website created and operated in Central Asia aims to emerge as
an important resource on regional migration-related issues. The
website is run by the Bishkek Migration Management Center (BMMC) and
can be found on the World Wide Web at http://bmmc.freenet.bishkek.su.
The Center was created in 1997 under the auspices of the Government of
Kyrgyzstan, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the
United Nations Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). BMMC aims to
facilitate the spread of accurate information on migration issues in
Central Asia, as well as foster local NGO development. The BMMC also
seeks to forge close working relationships with local NGOs. An
additional aim is to assist in the formulation of regional migration
policies and legislation. Still under construction, the website
features information in both Russian and English. It provides detailed
information about the proceedings of a meeting in Bishkek in November,
co-sponsored by the Forced Migration Projects and the Soros East-East
Program, that explored international responses to displacements in the
region.
(For background information see FM Alert of October 30).
IOM PUBLICATION EXAMINES DISPLACEMENT IN RUSSIA
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has published a
statistical study that provides data concerning the resettlement
patterns of refugees and forced migrants in the Russian Federation.
The 41-page report concentrates on population movements to Russia from
other countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States and the
Baltic states following the Soviet Union's 1991 collapse. The report
contains 19 statistical tables and provides analysis. "In order to
understand the resettlement phenomenon better, this study first
assesses the validity of the available statistics and the scope of its
inflows. The study then proceeds to analyze the regional patterns and
the rural and urban dichotomy of the resettlement process, and
concludes with a discussion of the major factors that influence the
process," the report's executive summary says. Among the report's
findings is that 75 percent of migrants changed locations without
receiving any support from state agencies or migration-related
nongovernmental organizations. The report is published by IOM. The
contact details are: Telephone (41-22) 717-9111 or e-mail [email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>. IOM's website is <http://www.iom.int>.
ESTONIAN PARLIAMENT APPROVES AMENDMENTS TO CITIZENSHIP LAW
Estonian legislators have approved amendments to the citizenship law
that will provide stateless children access to expedited citizenship.
According to the amendments, which were approved December 8, eligible
children must have been born in independent Estonia to non-citizens
who have resided in the Baltic state for at least five years. An
estimated 7,000 children qualify for expedited citizenship. The
amendments are scheduled to go into effect in July 1999 after
Estonia's Migration Office has designed implementation regulations.
The amendments are designed to promote inclusiveness in Estonia,
which, after regaining independence in 1991, reintroduced a
citizenship law that disenfranchized hundreds of thousands of
residents, most of them Russian speakers. "This is the only outcome of
the debate that is compatible with international human rights law,
specifically the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which
Estonia is a party," said Forced Migration Projects Director Arthur C.
Helton. The Estonian parliament currently is preparing for debate on
proposed amendments to the Language Law that would expand the Estonian
language proficiency requirement for naturalization. The Estonian
Presidential Roundtable on National Minorities planned to hold
December 18 discussions on proposals, which would require people
working in private sector jobs to be proficient in Estonian. One
Roundtable official has expressed concern that the proposed amendments
would be detrimental to efforts to forge greater inclusiveness.
(For additional information see FM Alerts of September 18, September 4
and August 7).
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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