Chechen Refugees from Pankisi Gorge Have Temporarily Stopped Demonstration

Last night, Chechen refugees left the area in front of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) where they had camped down recently. They left the area after having reached some agreements with law enforcers. According to one of Chechen refugee, they had made some verbal agreement with law enforcers and decided to leave the area. Besides that, the refugees received an official notification from the UNHCR that they would receive an official reply to their demand to resettle to a third country within a week. Refugees stayed in Tbilisi and are waiting for the reply from the UNHCR.

The UNHCR denies the information spread by the media sources as if law enforcers tried to disperse refugees. The Chechen refugee also denied the fact. “They did not use force against us. Finally we left the area according to our wish.”

Giga Giorgadze, Deputy Public Defender said that the representatives of their office prevented the escalation of situation between law enforcers and Chechen refugees in front of the UNHCR office. “When we heard that the refugees had camped down near the building of the UNHCR, we arrived at the place to find out the situation. A group of policemen was on the place who blamed the refugees for breaching the law by camping in the area. They called upon the refugees to leave the place immediately. However, the law enforcers could not explain to us which law the Chechen people were violating. Later, when we arrived back to our office, the refugees called us for help. They said the police had brought buses and wanted to take them forcibly to Pankisi. We returned to the demonstrators together with journalists and the police did not dare to disperse the refugees in our presence. They reached the agreement in civilized methods,” said Giorgadze, who added that “As far as I know the refugees are still in Tbilisi in the homes of their relatives. They are waiting for the reply from the UNHCR.”

Human Rights Center has not found out who had called for the police in front of the UNHCR office. The center cannot realize what would have happened to the Chechen refugees if representatives of the Public Defender’s office had not arrived at the place to assist the demonstrators? However, it is fact that the Chechen refugees left the area after police had arrived there.

We would like to remind you that on May 14, seven Chechen families arrived in Tbilisi from Pankisi Gorge. Their essential demand was to let them resettle to a third country. The refugees handed the petition with two-paragraphs to the representative of the UNHCR, Huseinov. Vakh Arsanukaev, one of the demonstrators, said in his conversation with the Human Rights Center that they were not going to leave the area even if they had to wait for the reply for five months. “We have prepared our demands and handed it to the representatives of the UNHCR. We demand meeting with their officials and to discuss some concrete problems together. We also want the Geneva Commission to discuss our problem and to resettle us to a third country. We have lived in Pankisi for eight years without any occupations and it is too unbearable for us. We do not care which country they would resettle us to, we accept any European country.”

Yesterday, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees spread press-release where they defined the procedures and opportunities of resettlement into a third country.

MANDATE FOR RESETTLEMENT

Finding permanent solutions to resolve problems faced by refugees is a core element of UNHCR’s mandate. This includes voluntary repatriation to the country of origin, local integration in the country of asylum, and resettlement to a third country. Resettlement as a durable solution is a limited option available only to refugees who meet criteria of individual Refugee Status Determination (RSD) and criteria specified by potential countries of resettlement. Although asylum is an international right, refugees do not have a right to resettlement. Resettlement places are limited, and the number of refugees to be resettled in a given year is determined by resettlement countries themselves and not UNHCR. Resettlement to a third country solely depends on the willingness of the third country to accept a person for legal stay in its territory. UNHCR has no decision-making authority on resettlement cases. The resettlement countries’ officials make these decisions. Resettlement of Chechen refugees from Georgia is decided on a case-by-case basis, without the possibility of group resettlement.

RESETTLEMENT PROCEDURES

Based on the information provided by Chechen refugees, UNHCR calls individual refugees and their family members for resettlement interviews. After the interview, only if the individual case appears to meet both the Refugee Status Determination and the precise criteria set by the resettlement countries, a case is submitted by UNHCR to a resettlement country for its consideration. Based on the different countries’ quota level for resettlement, various admission criteria and the refugee’s personal and professional background, UNHCR determines as to which country the refugees’ application should be submitted for resettlement. Submission to a particular country does not mean that a refugee will be automatically resettled in that country. Decisions can take up to several months, due to the processing procedures of resettlement countries. If a refugee is accepted for resettlement, it can still take up to several years before the actual departure. Often, medical examinations, further documentation, and security interviews are required.