UN refugee agency helps resettle Uzbek refugees in permanent homes
More than 100 Uzbek refuges who fled their country after violence shook Andijan last May have slowly made their way to permanent homes in the third countries following temporary stays in Kyrgyzstan and Romania, the United Nations refugee agency reported today.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is working diligently to prepare the remaining roughly 340 Uzbek refugees now temporarily housed in a Romanian reception centre in Timisoara for their new homes in the United States, Canada, Australia and Europe.
“It is amazing, how positive and cooperative these refugees are, how gratefully they accept our assistance. They are prepared to learn and to adapt to the new situation although, only a few months ago, it never occurred to them that they might become refugees,” said a UNHCR resettlement officer in Timisoara.
Yet the relocation is a sad experience for some refugees. One elderly man who had been a shopkeeper in Andijan left behind his wife, children and grandchildren there. “Here they tell me that I will go to America,” he said, "But if I had a choice, I'd rather go home.”
The Romanian Government recently extended resident permits for the remaining Uzbek refuges for six more months so resettlement countries can prepare for their arrival. The Uzbek refugees were evacuated to Romania in July after officials in their home country pressured the Kyrgyz authorities to forcibly send them back.
Meanwhile, the UN refugee agency is concerned about the fate of four Uzbek refugees who remain in detention in Osh, in southern Kyrgyzstan. The four arrived there right after the violent events in Andijan and were part of a group of about 500 asylum-seekers recognized as legitimate refugees. But they were detained in June after an extradition order from the Uzbek authorities.
Last month, UNHCR asked the Kyrgyz Government to halt any action to forcibly move the four Uzbek refugees to their home country. The forced return of recognized vulnerable refugees is a violation of the 1951 UN Refugee Convention as well as international law.
There has been no independent investigation of the events that led to the deaths of a still unknown number of people in the town of Andijan in May 2005.
In December, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, urged the Uzbek Government to abide by international legal standards amid reports that dozens of defendants were convicted during closed-door trials.
The High Commissioner’s Office has also found strong, consistent and credible testimony indicting the Uzbek military and security forces had committed grave human rights violations in Andijan.