UNHCR urged to expedite resettlement from Russia to protect refugees at risk of abduction
From August 2011 to December 2012 eight people who had had Rule 39 interim measures issued by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) to prevent their deportation from Russia were abducted and illegally taken out of the country. The Human Rights Institute, a Russia based NGO representing the applicants before the ECtHR, has emphasized that the only durable solution for refugees at risk of abduction is resettlement to a safe country and has urged United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Antonio Guterres to expedite the refugee status determination procedure by UNHCR and their subsequent resettlement, as these currently take years to resolve.
In those cases in which the applicants’ representatives were able to investigate, the persons were removed to Tajikistan and Uzbekistan by air from Russian airports, a process which, according to the Human Rights Institute, would be impossible without the sanction of the authorities.
Last week, in a decision regarding the supervision of the Garabayev v. Russian Federation judgement, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe urged the Russian authorities to adopt the necessary measures to put an end to forced transfers from the country when an interim measure has been issued and to ensure rapid and effective investigations into disappearances and forced transfers.
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