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Russia assures UN that displaced Chechens will not be forced to return

Russia assures UN that displaced Chechens will not be forced to return

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The Russian Federation has assured the United Nations that displaced persons in Chechnya will not have to return to their volatile Northern Caucasus homeland, a spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported today.

The Russian Federation has assured the United Nations that displaced persons in Chechnya will not have to return to their volatile Northern Caucasus homeland, a spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported today.

The pledge came after UNHCR officials asked Russian authorities in Moscow and local officials in Ingushetia about a new government plan for the return of Chechens who fled to Ingushetia almost three years ago, according to Kris Janowski.

“The Russian authorities on all levels assured UNHCR that only those willing to go back would be returned under the new scheme,” he said, adding, “UNHCR estimates that very few displaced Chechens are willing to go back at this stage. Indeed, there are still people who flee Chechnya.”

In stressing that returns to Chechnya must be voluntary, Mr. Janowski clarified that, “voluntary means that those who do not wish to return have options to allow them to remain in safety, including through winterization of accommodations, ongoing safe haven in Ingushetia, regularisation of their status where they are currently residing and, where opportunities arise, medium-term integration.”

Chechens displaced in Ingushetia tell UNHCR that they are afraid to return home because of general insecurity, fighting and so-called “mop-up” operations by security forces. Some also fear detention on return.

The agency, which is unable to work in Chechnya because of security concerns, is providing “some assistance on a case-by-case basis to a small number of individuals who do choose to return to Chechnya,” Mr. Janowski said. “We also provide some basic humanitarian assistance through our partners to some of the most vulnerable people affected by the conflict inside Chechnya itself.”