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Resolution 1879 (2012) Final version
The situation of IDPs and returnees in the North Caucasus region
1. The Parliamentary Assembly stresses
the continuing importance of addressing the humanitarian aspects
of protracted displacement in the North Caucasus. Towards the end
of 2011, there were at least 28 450 internally displaced persons
(IDPs), 350 000 returned IDPs and 30 000 refugees in the region.
Ongoing problems with security (terrorist threats) in some parts
of the region remain a major obstacle to obtaining durable solutions
for everyone.
2. The Assembly recognises the remarkable efforts undertaken
by the federal, regional and local authorities since the Assembly's
previous report leading to Resolution
1404 (2004) on the humanitarian situation of the Chechen
displaced population. The authorities in Moscow, North Ossetia-Alania
and Ingushetia appear to have an increasingly practical and realistic
approach to normalising the living conditions of people internally
displaced by conflict.
3. However, the authorities’ response to internal displacement
still needs to be improved. The pervasive problem of lack of accountability
and control over spending mentioned in previous reports remains.
There has mostly been a narrow focus on housing assistance, which
has not always been adequate or consistent.
4. The Assembly acknowledges that the lack of authoritative data
on the number and situation of IDPs and returned IDPs poses a major
challenge to resolving internal displacement in the North Caucasus.
Durable solutions cannot be achieved until accurate data is collected,
according to the international definition of IDPs, to determine
whether the specific needs and vulnerabilities from displacement
persist. Defining, counting and monitoring IDPs is essential to
ensuring the response addresses all remaining displacement-related
assistance and protection needs.
5. The Assembly remains seriously concerned about the difficulties
still faced by people displaced by conflicts in the region. Although
124 700 persons have been paid compensation of 26.43 billion roubles,
many have had government support rejected or discontinued. Some
also continue to struggle to register at their current residence,
which is in practice needed to access certain rights. Many depend
on government benefits as their main source of income. Limited income
coupled with mostly ineffective property compensation mechanisms
for loss of property and inadequate government housing support has
meant that most continue to live in substandard housing conditions.
6. The Assembly is concerned that the living standards of these
people may continue to worsen if the government response does not
improve. United Nations agencies left the North Caucasus at the
end of 2011 and will not be initiating any new projects for IDPs
there. With the Russian authorities not entirely replacing the work
of the United Nations or the funding of exiting donors, IDPs will
have fewer organisations to turn to for assistance, and it will
be more difficult to monitor the humanitarian situation of IDPs,
returned IDPs and refugees.
7. The Assembly notes with optimism that the Russian Federation
is wealthy and capable and is in a position to resolve its remaining
internal displacement situations. Resolving the protracted displacement situations
in the North Caucasus will demand sustained political will and allocation
of resources, and may require capacity strengthening of some State
institutions. A rights-based process with more transparent procedures,
improved communication with IDPs and increased participation of
the latter is also indispensable.
8. In light of the above considerations, the Assembly calls on:
8.1. the Russian Federal Government
to:
8.1.1. align legislation relating to internal displacement
with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement
(hereafter Guiding Principles) and Committee of Ministers Recommendation
Rec(2006)6 on internally displaced persons, including by using the
definition of internally displaced person contained in the Guiding
Principles and removing the requirement that to be considered as
such they have to have crossed an internal border;
8.1.2. conduct a survey, using the definition of internally displaced
person in the Guiding Principles, to determine the current number,
location and needs of people internally displaced from and within
Chechnya and North Ossetia-Alania as a result of conflict, as well
as the outstanding issues which require action to achieve durable
solutions;
8.1.3. prepare and implement an action plan with adequate financial
resources to address all the outstanding displacement-related issues
of IDPs, as determined by the national survey mentioned above, and
ensure that the needs and rights of IDPs guide all policies and
decisions;
8.1.4. ensure that the amount of compensation for destroyed property
is sufficient to purchase, build or rebuild housing, including by
taking measures to eliminate demands for kickbacks;
8.1.5. make job creation and construction of social housing a
priority within the Strategy for Social and Economic Development
of the North Caucasus Federal District through 2020 and ensure that
people internally displaced as a result of the conflicts in Chechnya
and North Ossetia-Alania have facilitated access to these initiatives
as well as to professional retraining opportunities and micro credits
for income-generating projects;
8.1.6. abolish residence registration in policy and practice,
in accordance with the Russian Federation's accession commitments
to the Council of Europe (Assembly Opinion 193 (1996) on Russia's request
for membership of the Council of Europe and Recommendation 1544 (2001) on the propiska system applied to migrants,
asylum-seekers and refugees in Council of Europe member states:
effects and remedies);
8.1.7. increase oversight and transparency of budgetary spending
in the republics of the North Caucasus by making federal transfers
on the basis of the necessary criteria published in the development
plans and by reporting on benchmarks; make particular efforts to
eradicate corruption along the lines of the recommendations of the
Group of States against Corruption (GRECO);
8.1.8. stabilise the security situation in the region in a manner
that is in line with international human rights standards and ensure
that the conflicts are effectively resolved;
8.1.9. put an end to the impunity of perpetrators of serious
human rights violations, including murder, enforced disappearances
and torture, in particular by strengthening federal oversight of the
activities of regional security and law enforcement bodies and by
scrupulously implementing the numerous judgments of the European
Court of Human Rights;
8.1.10. take adequate steps to ensure the independence of the
national human rights mechanisms in the North Caucasus, and support
their continuous capacity to monitor the human rights situation
of IDPs and the implementation of the government’s obligations and
commitments towards IDPs;
8.1.11. facilitate the work of non-governmental organisations
(NGOs) and other organisations working on IDP-related issues in
the region;
8.1.12. continue availing itself of the assistance of relevant
international institutions, particularly the United Nations, for
the implementation of the recommendations in this report, including
the survey of the situation of IDPs and the action plan;
8.2. the Government of the Chechen Republic to:
8.2.1. where
closing hostels accommodating people who were internally displaced
by conflict cannot be avoided, do so gradually, whilst rigorously
applying a procedure that adheres to international norms;
8.2.2. consider purchasing housing on the real estate market
or facilitating access to municipal housing with secure tenure for
people with no permanent housing as a result of the conflicts and no
possibility to return to their original residence;
8.2.3. speed up the process of paying compensation for destroyed
property;
8.2.4. increase and diversify the range of stable jobs available
and give priority to local companies and workers for jobs rather
than hiring foreign companies to work locally;
8.2.5. ensure that the NGOs working on human rights and humanitarian
issues in the republic, including on the rights of IDPs, can work
freely and without intimidation or impediments; fully investigate
and prosecute all criminal acts directed against such human rights
defenders as well as against returnees, including former prominent
representatives of previous governments;
8.2.6. refrain from intimidating or pressuring Chechen refugees
living in other parts of the Russian Federation or abroad to return
to the Chechen Republic and to publicly swear allegiance to the
current authorities; fully investigate the circumstances of the
murder of Umar Israilov in Vienna and also prosecute the instigators
and organisers of this crime;
8.3. the Government of the Republic of Ingushetia to:
8.3.1. ensure that the socio-economic development programme for
2012-2016 effectively addresses the housing issues facing IDPs,
including by offering varied solutions in line with the settlement
wishes of IDPs;
8.3.2. facilitate access to municipal housing with secure tenure
for people internally displaced from the Chechen and North Ossetia-Alania
Republics who have no permanent housing or forced migrant status,
in areas determined according to their settlement wishes;
8.3.3. ensure that temporary settlements housing those displaced
are not closed before a solution regarding alternative accommodation
and resettlement support have been made available to residents,
and ensure that the latter are clearly informed about the process
and have the opportunity to participate in the decision-making process;
8.4. the Government of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania
to:
8.4.1. pursue the process of reconciliation more vigorously,
especially in the areas of return or settlement of people displaced
by the 1992 conflict, by fostering a political and cultural climate
of respect, tolerance and non-discrimination;
8.4.2. implement a mechanism to resolve the secondary occupation
of the homes of people who were internally displaced by the 1992
conflict and wish to return;
8.4.3. speed up the process of payment of housing support to
people whose property was destroyed during the conflict;
8.4.4. facilitate access to official documentation for people
internally displaced by the 1992 conflict and refugees, in particular
for the residents of the new settlement areas in Novy and Maiskii;
8.4.5. make every effort to resolve the critical housing situation
of the ethnic Ossetian refugees from the conflicts in Georgia in
the early 1990s, through either federal or regional funding or international
donors.
9. The Assembly acknowledges the extensive work done by local
and international agencies and NGOs in the region over the years.
This has contributed to the protection of forcibly displaced groups
in the North Caucasus and to some degree eased the pain of protracted
displacement. The Assembly encourages these organisations to keep
their offices in the region open, continue improving the lives of
displaced persons and support the government in meeting its primary
responsibility, which is to protect and assist displaced persons.
10. The Assembly invites the member States to provide expertise
and assistance to the Russian Federation in conducting a comprehensive
survey on the current number of people displaced from and within
the Chechen and North Ossetia-Alania Republics, their location and
displacement-related assistance and protection needs, and to co-sponsor
possible projects to improve the housing situation of lDPs in the
region through the Council of Europe Development Bank.