BBC News reports that the UNHCR has been given one month to leave Uzbekistan:
According to the UNHCR, the government statement said the agency had “fully implemented its tasks and there are no evident reasons for its further presence in Uzbekistan. With this regard, the ministry requests UNHCR to close its office in Tashkent within one month.”
The UNHCR has expressed regret at the decision in a press release. The Uzbek government has not made any official comment yet.
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I think this is an important story, and a big step on behalf of the government against an agency that it has been very angry at ever since UNHCR granted refugee status to the Uzbeks who fled Andijon into Kyryzstan last year.
Here’s more on it:
Reuters reports that the move will leave 2,000 refugees stranded:
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/82196b611efbeb8d3e7f3c201d50d513.htm
The U.S. has stepped up and condemned the decision:
http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2006&m=March&x=200603211706401CJsamohT0.447323&t=livefeeds/wf-latest.html
Plus there’s this oped, almost a declaration of war, by ICG chair and British diplomat in the former Yugoslavia, Chris Patten, in the International Herald Tribune: http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/03/21/opinion/edpatten.php.
UNHCR angers the Uzbek government, Uzbek government responds by shutting down UNHCR. Who’s the loser? 2,000 refugees that had nothing to do with this whole situation.
Yeah, they really showed them who’s boss.
I want to add the first figure that I’ve seen on NGO closings in Uzbekistan: according to Thomas Carothers of CEIP in the latest issue of Foreign Affairs, Tashkent has closed 60% of registered NGOs this year alone. The article, “The Backlash Against Democracy Promotion” is available online (for subscribers) at:
http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20060301faessay85205/thomas-carothers/the-backlash-against-democracy-promotion.html
Oh, and I also wanted to say Brian has hit the nail right on the head as usual.
Correction: that should read, “last year alone.” That is, 2005.
Again, I feel at odds to “defend” an authoritarian regime, but there seems to be no business case for UNHCR presence in Uzbekistan to begin with. The country is not signatory of any of those multilateral conventions, mentioned in the press release; they don’t have refugees from the mid-90s Tajik civil war any more; those 2000 are Afghans (almost certainly of Uzbek stock) who have integrated into the society long ago. I don’t see why the need to add to all this a controversial spin. Just because a country/regime is “bad” so all news coming out of there have to be “bad” too?
If it were this move alone, I’d almost agree with you karakum. I am more than aware that some UN offices and jobs seem primarily to be there in order to keep money and jobs flowing (that being said, some UN offices do run efficiently). But as david so pointedly indicated (which is an amazing statistic, BTW), this move is just another step to take control over all civil society.
In that case then maybe: the overall effort has been quite clear and bold from the Uzbek authorities’ part. Except that I think UNHCR presence/non-presence is very peripheral from the civil society perspective. UNICEF, UNDP and others – yes; hope those will stay in the country.
Karakum,
Absolutely, the UNHCR is no longer needed, because the 2,000 refugees from Afghanistan have all been given spacious houses with riverfront or mountain views. The World Bank and EBRD also aren’t needed, because Uzbekistan has the most solid macroeconomics in Central Asia. In fact, Uzbekistan ought to open up its own UzAID and export its incredibly successful model to other less fortunate countries.
Funny but stupid.
What You say is plausible Karakum, however who is to guarantee that tomorrow, God forbid, another Andijan will not take place as a consequence of ever increasing torture and paranoia of Karimov. Then who is going to help those who will run for their lives to Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan or Kazakhstan for that matter. Who will be there, being a witness to how SNB and MVD are forcibly bringing people from the bordering regions of neighbouring countries, who will assist them to leave these “neighbours”, who have showed that they will readily give up anyone whom Karimov will ask. With this logic, then let’s close UNHCR office in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan as well.
To Dolkun, I don’t know who are You, never met You here before, I would say that it is not funny, I wish that You could live through what those old women, pregnant mothers and children felt running for their lives to Kyrgyzstan, those injured who were killed with a shot in their head, get bitten and tortured in the basements of SNB and MVD, live in kishlaqs, without ever seeing a meat, eggs and butter for weeks.
Rustam – you have a point there. Agree.
Switching subjects, I stumbled across this link which has Nathan’s movie about a Mongolian John Wayne. It’s calld “Top 10 movies that went wrong”. It’s up there with the likes of Battlefield Earth and Glitter.
http://www.2spare.com/item_49476.aspx
Laurence. Chris Patten was indeed European Commissioner and in that role worked in the Balkans but he did not have a leading position there. Governor of Hong Kong, head of a commission on policing in Northern Ireland, Chancellor of Oxford are all posts he has held but “British diplomat in the former Yugoslavia” is not one of them.
“Declaration of war” completely overstates it. It is a cogent, well argued piece calling for effective steps to minimise the impact a terrible government has on its neighbours. Why do you always embellish anything to do with ICG. I heard you once got rejected for a job there which accounts for your bitterness about them.
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