US embassy cable - 05GENEVA2713

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 GENEVA 002713 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR PRM/MCE, EUR, AND SS EXEC OFFICE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREF, PREL, KG, UZ, RO, UNHCR 
SUBJECT: UZBEK REFUGEES IN KYRGYZSTAN AND ROMANIA 
 
REF: GENEVA 2093 
 
1.  (U) Summary:  On 26 October, Ambassador received a letter 
from Anne Willem Biljeveld, Director of the Division of 
External Relations at the United Nations High Commission for 
Refugees (UNHCR), providing an update on the status of the 
refugees who fled Uzbekistan in May 2005.  Paragraph 4 
repeats the text of the letter, which includes financial 
aspects of the response to this outflow.  On November 2, 
UNHCR's Europe Bureau reported that the resettlement of Uzbek 
refugees currently housed in Romania should be completed by 
the end of January 2006.  The following day, UNHCR CASWANAME 
Director told RMA officers that the Kyrgyz government 
continues to cooperate with UNHCR, and that UNHCR is doing 
contingency planning for a massive outflow of refugees should 
political upheaval occur in Uzbekistan.  End summary. 
 
2.  (U) In a November 2 meeting of the Working Group on 
Resettlement, UNHCR Europe Bureau Representatives said that 
officers detailed to Timisoara, Romania, had completed 
Refugee Status Determinations on the 429 Uzbeks who were 
evacuated there on July 29.  Jose Belleza, who directed the 
UNHCR referral team at Timisoara for three months, said that 
UNHCR expects to resettle the refugees to countries which 
came forward, including the U.S., within 3 months.  He said 
that 338 names have already been &submitted8 (referred) to 
resettlement states for processing, and that 25 have already 
departed Romania.  None of the cases submitted thus far has 
been rejected by a resettlement state, and interviews are 
proceeding expeditiously owing to thorough case preparation. 
In response to a question, Belleza noted that the MOU between 
the GOR and UNHCR covered a six month period but also 
provided for up to two, six-month extensions.  He 
acknowledged that the resettlement process will extend at 
least one month beyond the initial six months and said that 
UNHCR Bucharest anticipated agreement from the GOR, which it 
has contacted regarding the likely need for an extension. 
 
3.  (SBU) CASWANAME Director Ekber Menemencioglu told RMA 
officers November 3 that UNHCR continues to be concerned 
about additional Uzbeks who fled to Kyrgyzstan and remain 
&underground,8 most often staying with relatives.  As 
winter approaches, some of these people are identifying 
themselves, but must be careful to avoid Uzbek security 
agents operating in Kyrgyzstan.  UNHCR has no plans to refer 
them for resettlement but tries to assist them in place. 
Menemencioglu confirmed that UNHCR continues to get good 
cooperation from the Kyrgyz government, despite the pressure 
it is facing from Uzbekistan, and that it continues to have 
access to the four remaining Uzbeks in Kyrgyz detention who 
have a pending extradition request from Uzbekistan. 
Menemencioglou, who tends to be one of UNHCR's more 
forthcoming (and sometimes alarmist) interlocutors, added 
that UNHCR is also doing &virtual8 contingency planning for 
flows of up to 500 thousand refugees in the event of 
political upheaval in Uzbekistan. 
 
4.  (U) Begin text of Biljeveld letter 
 
Dear Sir:  I am pleased to share with you a summary of the 
current situation of the Uzbek refugees who fled their 
country following the violent events in Andijan, Republic of 
Uzbekistan, in May 2005, including an overview of the 
management of the financial requirements of the refugee 
crisis. 
As you are aware, on 13-14 May 2005, several hundred persons 
sought refuge in the Republic of Kyrgyzstan due to violent 
events in Andijan, Republic of Uzbekistan. A group of 426 
were accommodated in Sasik camp in Jalal-Abad District and 
another group of 33 were separated from other arrivals. 
Following the Kyrgyz Prosecutor General's request, 29 of them 
were kept in detention in Osh. Four Uzbek asylum-seekers were 
forcefully returned to Uzbekistan to an uncertain fate. The 
precarious situation and insecurity of the camp close to the 
Uzbek border as well as danger of deportation for those in 
detention required immediate action to ensure their 
protection as the risk of their forcible return to Uzbekistan 
had dramatically increased. Despite laudable efforts of the 
Government of Kyrgyzstan and the international community, 
ensuring the protection of this group in Kyrgyzstan in line 
with humanitarian and refugee law principles was challenging. 
The Kyrgyz authorities had acknowledged this insecure 
situation and repeatedly intervened at various levels with 
UNHCR to help them identify and support a solution to the 
dangerous protection situation of the group. 
Thus, a humanitarian transfer operation was conducted 
starting on 27 July lasting for two days in which 439 
individuals were transported from Sasik camp in Jalal-Abad 
and the detention centre in Osh to the airport in Bishkek 
including 14 Uzbek refugees who were released from detention. 
Remaining 15 Uzbeks of concern to UNHCR were kept in 
detention in Osh. In the early hours of 29 July, the group in 
Bishkek boarded an airplane to Timisoara, Romania, the 
Government of which had accepted in an extraordinary 
humanitarian gesture to temporarily accommodate them as an 
urgent protection measure, pending emergency resettlement of 
the group to other countries. 
For the actual humanitarian transfer, UNHCR has collaborated 
with IOM and made use of the Rapid Response Transportation 
Fund, which was established in 2000 to respond to emergency 
situations requiring the rapid organisation of transport for 
people at risk, in an effort to mobilize existing resources 
rather than promptly appealing to the donor community for 
extra support. 
On 16 September, 11 of the 15 Uzbek detainees who were 
accepted for emergency resettlement were released and 
directly resettled to Finland, the Netherlands and Sweden. 
UNHCR remains concerned about the fate of the remaining four 
Uzbeks still in detention in Kyrgyzstan. 
Of the persons in Romania, all 439 had been recognized by 
UNHCR as mandate refugees prior to arrival on a prima facie 
basis. In Romania, the group has been undergoing further 
interviews to verify bio-data, family composition and refugee 
status including examination of any exclusion considerations. 
Two special UNHCR teams were deployed for these tasks. 
Verification of bio-data and family composition, which was 
undertaken by the resettlement team, was mostly completed on 
1 September. It emerged that a majority, if not all, of the 
refugees have close family members still in Uzbekistan and/or 
Kyrgyzstan. 
In-depth refugee status verification process of the cases, 
including examination of any exclusion considerations, has 
been undertaken by the refugee status verification team and 
completed on 14 October. All 439 Uzbek asylum-seekers 
currently in Romania were granted refugee status. The refugee 
status verification was initially delayed due in particular 
to difficulties in identifying sufficient qualified 
non-national Uzbek interpreters. 
The resettlement submission process is current in progress. 
Thanks to all the resettlement countries for their 
willingness in sharing the burden, a total of 25 Uzbek 
refugees have already departed. 
UNHCR assured the Government of Romania that the temporary 
stay will not represent a burden for the flood-struck country 
and that UNHCR will bear costs related to the temporary 
accommodation of these Uzbek refugees. 
Immediately after the influx, funds were mobilized within the 
emergency mechanism of the Operational Reserve of UNHCR to 
provide international protection and humanitarian assistance 
to the Uzbek population first in Kyrgyzstan, then in Romania. 
Resources within UNHCR were further carefully analyzed and 
funds from less urgent operations were reallocated to this 
emergency in an intra-organizational approach. The total 
budget of this operation amounts to a USD 2,505,700 (USD 
1,400,500 for the emergency in Kyrgyzstan and USD 1,105,200 
for the emergency in Romania). 
We wish to thank you for your unflagging diplomatic efforts 
and assistance during this emergency and would greatly 
appreciate your ongoing support. 
Please accept, Sir, the assurances of my highest 
consideration. 
End text of Biljeveld letter. 
Moley