Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07TBILISI1601
2007-07-05 13:00:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Tbilisi
Cable title:  

CHECHEN REFUGEES RECEIVE TEMPORARY RESIDENCE

Tags:  PREL PHUM PREF GG 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHSI #1601 1861300
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 051300Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY TBILISI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6896
INFO RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW PRIORITY 8071
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 4569
UNCLAS TBILISI 001601 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT. FOR EUR/CARC AND PRM

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PHUM PREF GG
SUBJECT: CHECHEN REFUGEES RECEIVE TEMPORARY RESIDENCE
PERMITS


UNCLAS TBILISI 001601

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT. FOR EUR/CARC AND PRM

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PHUM PREF GG
SUBJECT: CHECHEN REFUGEES RECEIVE TEMPORARY RESIDENCE
PERMITS



1. Summary: Georgian Minister of Refugees Giorgi
Kheviasvhili marked World Refugee Day on June 20 by
distributing temporary residence permits to 600 Chechen
refugees living in Georgia's Pankisi Gorge. The remainder of
the estimated 1,300 refugees living in the Gorge will receive
their permits within the next two months. The new temporary
residence permits replace older ID cards that simply
indicated refugee status, and carry the weight of a full
legal document. The permits will be valid for three years
and will enable refugees to purchase homes, open bank
accounts, and move freely about the country. In addition,
the Ministry of Refugees (MRA) has drafted legislation that,
if passed, will provide travel documents to all refugees,
allowing them to travel to third countries. End Summary.

Permits first step toward integration?
--------------


2. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
protection officer Edina Dziho told Poloff on June 29 that
the distribution of temporary residence permits to the
Chechen refugees living in Pankisi was an important step and
will likely lead to an overall improvement in the refugees'
quality of life. She thought that the permits would be the
first step toward local integration and full citizenship, but
added that she was waiting to see what restrictions the MRA
would place on the permits. Unlike earlier refugee cards,
she said, the new temporary residence permits are considered
full legal documents, allowing refugees to perform everyday
tasks, such as opening a bank account, that they were
previously prevented from doing. The permits also allow
unhindered travel throughout Georgia, whereas in the past,
refugees were limited to the Pankisi Gorge and Tbilisi.


3. In a separate meeting Irakli Kokaia, Director of the
Department of Migration, Refugees, and Repatriation at the
Ministry of Refugees, told Poloff that providing refugees
with legal documents enabling them to open bank accounts was
necessary to facilitate the distribution of state assistance.
On January 1, 2007, the Georgian government started
providing 14 lari (USD 8.40) a month in assistance to all
refugees, but apparently none of the refugees could collect
their money because they could not open bank accounts - the
funds were only available through a direct account transfer.
Once a refugee opens an account, he said, the total accrued
amount (from January onward) will be deposited into their
account.

Refugee travel documents by 2008
--------------


4. Kokaia also said that the Ministry of Refugees has
drafted legislation on the creation of travel documents for
all refugees living in Georgia. He said the existing
Georgian law on refugees contradicts the 1951 UN Convention
on Refugees, and was therefore rewritten. The documents
would adhere to guidelines established by the 1951
Convention, which calls for Contracting (host) States to
issue travel documents to refugees living in their territory
for the purpose of traveling to a third country. The
Ministry hopes to present the law to Parliament by early
Fall, he said, with a goal of issuing the first travel
documents to refugees by early 2008.

Comment
--------------


5. The Ministry's move to provide legal identity papers and
travel documents is a long overdue step, bringing Georgian
refugee law in compliance with the 1951 Convention (of which
Georgia is a signatory) while providing refugees with the
means to more fully integrate into Georgian society. The
residence permits will allow refugees to travel freely
throughout Georgia, providing them access to employment
opportunities outside the economically depressed Pankisi
Gorge. The presence of Chechen refugees in Pankisi has been
a source of tension between Georgia and Russia in the past,
with Russia accusing Georgia of harboring "terrorists" just
across its border. By permitting refugees to leave Pankisi,
the Georgian government can reduce this point of contention
between the two countries.
TEFFT