LETTER TO UNHCR
Ministeriet for Flygtninge
Invandrere og Integration
Ministry of Refugee, Immigration
and Integration Affairs
Date: 29 mars
Office: International Division
Ref. No:
File name: 0114 - Fælles nordisk brev til UNHCR-rev2
Dear Ms. Wendy Chamberlin,
On behalf of the governments of Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Iceland, we hereby request your assistance on the issue of rejected asylum seekers from Kosovo.Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Iceland have over the past years experienced great difficulties in implementing returns to Kosovo of rejected asylum seekers. Although some improvement has been noticed during the past few months, it would appear that a main cause for these difficulties is to be found in the content of UNHCR’s position paper “Position on the Continued International Protection Needs of Individuals from Kosovo” of August 2004.Paragraph 27 of the position paper reiterates a general ban on return of members of Serb, Roma, Ashkaella, Egyptian and Kosovo Albanian minority communities to Kosovo, including to communities outside their place of origin. In reality, this ban set aside the principle of individual status determination of the 1951 Convention, and we are concerned that it has the unintended effect of cleansing Kosovo of ethnic minorities. As a consequence, we would request UNHCR to consider lifting this ban and accept determination on a case to case basis.
In this connection we would like to highlight the fact that all Kosovars returned to Kosovo from any of our countries have undergone a thorough independent individual refugee status determination process, which has identified them as not being in need of protection. In addition, they have been assessed not to qualify for any humanitarian status. The UNHCR position paper furthermore bases itself on an interpretation of the term “homes in Kosovo” in Security Council Resolution 1244 of 1999 which in our wiew does not appropriately take into account the generally accepted concept of internal flight alternative.The internal flight alternative concept is a real option for a number of rejected asylum seekers from Kosovo. Prior to their departure several rejected asylum seekers have over a considerable period of time stayed in Kosovo outside their place of origin. A number of specific examples are enclosed for your kind information.
We look forward to your response and enclose, for your information, a letter to UNMIK relating to the same issue.
Yours sincerely,
Kim Lunding (Denmark)
Ola Henriksson (Sweden)
Tor Arne Aass (Norway)
Haukur Gudmundsson (Iceland) |
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