UNHCR PROGRESS AND NEED FOR HELP IN TAJIKISTAN

UNCLAS DUSHANBE 001852

SIPDIS


EUR/CACEN
SA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREF PGOV TI
SUBJECT: UNHCR PROGRESS AND NEED FOR HELP IN TAJIKISTAN



1. (U) The UN High Commission for Refugees is shifting its focus
from emergency operations in Tajikistan for remaining refugees,
to development programs that will help to integrate the mostly
Afghan refugee community into Tajik society. The shift is made
possible by Tajikistan's political stability, but is threatened
by a demand for bribes by the State Migration Service, a
proposal to move refugees from Dushanbe and Khojand to the
countryside, and the arbitrary deportations that create new
emergencies.


2. (U) UNHCR has repatriated over 53,000 refugees from
Tajikistan to Afghanistan, Pakistan, and other CIS countries.
An unknown number of refugees returned home without UNHCR
assistance. Some 1,400 refugees have also been resettled in
Canada. Of the 1,500 refugees who remain in Tajikistan, 98
percent are Afghan, and the rest from Iran and Iraq. UNHCR is
working to find durable solutions for the remaining refugees.
Very few refugees, mostly the elderly, handicapped, and single
mothers, are given cash stipends. The rest UNHCR is hoping will
be considered for refugee status in the United States or fully
reintegrated into society. For those remaining in Tajikistan,
UNHCR intends to use UNDP as an implementer for assistance,
taking over the micro-credit, housing, and school programs that
benefit not only the refugees, but also their local communities.
UNDP is responsible for development programs, and UNHCR
considers itself more of an emergency response body, however,
UNHCR also plans to become more involved in border security
matters as well, particularly human rights and asylum case
training.


3. (U) The State Migration Service is often the main obstacle,
demanding bribes for refugees to stay in country, and now
threatening to move refugees from the major cities of Dushanbe
and Khojand, where they have access to UNHCR, schools, and
medical care, to the outlying countryside where they will be
more vulnerable than ever.


4. (U) Given this picture, the Embassy requests the next circuit
ride take place as soon as possible, and the Embassy will
actively join with UNHCR in its demarches to the Tajik
government, urging the Tajiks to allow these refugees, many of
whom have been here for ten years, to be resettled permanently
with either citizenship or legal resident status so that they
can become fully participating members in Tajik society.
HOAGLAND


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