FM Alert, Vol. I, No. 59
Date: Fri, 19 Dec 97 11:20:03 -0500
From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
Message-Id: <[email protected]>
To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]>
Subject: FM Alert, Vol. I, No. 59
From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
Original sender: Allison Mindel <[email protected]>
FM Alert, Vol. I, No. 59
FM Alert, No. 59
15 December 1997
HIGH REPRESENTATIVE CALLS FOR PRESSURE ON BOSNIAN ENTITIES
High Representative Carlos Westendorp and other officials have appealed for
increased international pressure on the leaders of Bosnia and Herzegovina's
two political entities to implement peace provisions contained in the 1995
Dayton Peace Accords. "Neither our patience nor our resources are infinite,"
NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana said at a two day conference of the
Peace Implementation Council, held December 9-10 in Bonn, Germany. The
Forced Migration Projects (FMP) have identified a major obstacle to Dayton
implementation as being the reluctance of both the Muslim-Croat Federation
and Republika Srpska to revise wartime property and tenancy rights
legislation, which has effectively prevented repatriation of refugees and
displaced persons. The return of those displaced during the 1992-95 Bosnian
war, as envisioned under Annex 7 of the Dayton peace agreement, is seen by
many observers as a key to lasting peace. A recent letter sent by FMP
Director Arthur C. Helton to US Special Envoy to Bosnia Robert Gelbard urged
that future reconstruction aid to the Bosnia entities be conditioned on the
revision of property rights legislation. (For background information consult
FM Alert of November 26, October 31 and October 17).
ESTONIA CONSIDERS AMENDING LAW ON ALIENS
The Estonian government has endorsed legislative amendments that could allow
up to 50,000 illegal residents to register officially. Under the government
proposal, finalized December 9, those who arrived in Estonia before July 1,
1990, and still have not obtained proper documentation, would become
eligible for residency permits after going through a registration process.
The Estonian Riigikogu, or parliament, must approve the amendments before
the registration of eligible illegal residents can begin. Many of those who
would be eligible are Russian speakers, including those who served in the
armed forces of the former Soviet Union, who arrived in Estonia before the
Baltic republic regained its independence in 1991. There are up to 70,000
persons residing in Estonia illegally, according to some estimates. (For
background information consult the Forced Migration Projects special report,
"Estonia and Latvia: Citizenship, Language and Conflict Prevention").
NGOS, AT UNHCR MEETING, PRESS FOR DIALOGUE WITH CIS GOVERNMENTS
A UNHCR-sponsored meeting of local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in
Moscow discussed ways to deepen independent-sector involvement in the
implementation of the Program of Action, adopted at the 1996 CIS Conference
on migration-related issues. About 80 NGO representatives attended the
December 4-5 meeting. Participating NGOs representatives urged greater
dialogue with CIS governments on migration-related issues of mutual concern.
Kirsti Floor, Policy Officer of UNHCR's Bureau for Europe, solicitied
suggestions on coordinating activities of UNHCR and local NGOs. Floor added
that the overall shortage of contributions to the Program of Action had been
a major factor in hindering UNHCR's ability to develop close ties with local
NGOs. She said the UNHCR would streamline its plans for 1998, concentrating
on such activities as building local NGO capacity and improving NGO
coordination. Five working groups have been established to facilitate
greater NGO involvement in Program of Action follow-up. The five working
groups and the lead organizations are: The Working group on
Integration/Resettlement/Return headed by Counterpart International; the
Working Group on Humanitarian Assistance, headed by the Norwegian Refugee
Council; the Working Group on Prevention, headed by OSCE/Office for
Democratic Institutions and Human Rights/ Working Group on Refugee Law and
Protection, headed by the Danish Refugee Council, Finnish Advice Center and
the European Council on Refugee and Exiles; and the Working Group on
Institutional Framework/NGO Legislation, headed by the Forced Migration
Projects of the Open Society Institute. (For background consult FM Alert of
November 20, October 31 and July 11).
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For more information contact:
Forced Migration Projects
Open Society Institute
400 West 59th Street, 4th floor
New York, NY 10019
tel: (212) 548-0655
fax: (212) 548-4676
[email protected]
www.soros.org/migrate.html
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