wfn.org | Refugees in the CIS

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                       WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES

            Office of Communication - Press and Information

                  150 Route de Ferney, P.O. Box 2100
                      1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland

     Telephone: (022) 791 61 52/51        Telefax: (022) 798 13
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                       E-mail:  JWN@WCC-COE.ORG

PRESS RELEASE		   FOR IMMEDIATE USE		31 May 1996

           ORAL STATEMENT TO THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON
    THE PROBLEM OF REFUGEES AND OTHER DISPLACED PERSONS IN THE
CIS

The World Council of Churches and six other international
church-related organizations have made an oral statement to the
international conference on the problems of refugees and other
displaced persons in the Commonwealth of Independent States
(CIS), meeting here 30-31 May.

The conference brought together representatives of more than 60
countries. Organized jointly by the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees, the International Organization for
Migration and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe, it was opened Thursday with an address by UN Secretary
General Boutros Boutros-Ghali. Church-related bodies joining the
WCC in the statement on Friday were Caritas Internationalis,  the
Conference of European Churches, Hungarian Interchurch Aid, the
International Catholic Migration Commission, the Lutheran World
Federation and the World Young Women's Christian Association.

Noting that ?humanitarian, pastoral and legal action taken by
Christians and church-related organizations to attend to
refugees, displaced persons and migrants -- uprooted people --
has often preceded action by governments and intergovernmental
agencies?, the statement says that ?since the dissolution of the
former Soviet Union, church-related organizations have been
increasingly concerned with the population movements within and
to the Republics of the Commonwealth of Independent States and
neighbouring countries...?

UN sources say that some 9 million people have been displaced in
the Commonwealth of Independent States since 1989. The Geneva
conference was the first full-scale effort by 
international organizations, the CIS countries and other states
to formulate a concerted plan of action for dealing with
movements of people described by UN High Commissioner for
Refugees Sadako Ogata as ?of astounding scale and complexity.

The church-related organizations welcomed the CIS conference ?and
the efforts to elaborate common principles, policy and an
operational framework for the entire region?, describing this as
?a milestone in elaborating principles and guidelines for
international cooperation in dealing with a major concern of our
time....
 
?We recognize that this conference addresses some of the main
elements of the dilemma of international migration today. 
However, it is clear that further elaboration of an overall
migration policy framework is required.  Unfortunately, the only
definition offered for a migrant category in the annex is of
?illegal migrants?. Similarly, only this category and that of
ecological migrants are addressed in the section on policy... We
believe that reference should also have been retained... to the
1990 International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of
All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.

?The experience in other regions is that international migration
continues to have many positive aspects and benefits.  The
migration phenomenon is and must be identified as distinct from
such issues as drugs, crime and terrorism; these exist and must
be combatted irrespective of migration... 
?We strongly support the emphasis given to prevention of
involuntary human displacement... We urge that particular
attention be given to the special needs of uprooted women and
children in the implementation of the programme of action...

?The international Christian organizations are committed to
continuing support for uprooted people in the CIS region, through
programmes for training social workers, personnel exchanges,
provision of material assistance and other activities... They
also expect to continue to play a role in monitoring the rights
and responsibilities of uprooted people, in connection with the
Steering Group to monitor the follow-up process. In this we
expect that the respective states and international organizations
will also solicit involvement from representatives of other
religions...?

Contact: Patrick Taran, Executive Secretary for Migration, WCC
                  +41.22) 791.63.23 (Office); 340.41.54 (Home)