Welfare of Uzbekistan Asylum-Seekers in Kyrgyzstan

Welfare of Uzbekistan Asylum-Seekers in Kyrgyzstan

The United States welcomes the government of Kyrgyzstan’s promise to delay a decision on returning 29 Uzbek asylum-seekers now being held in the city of Osh to Uzbekistan, pending careful consideration of their protection concerns. The United States appreciates the Kyrgyz government’s efforts, and calls on it to continue to work with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to define the status of all 444 Uzbek asylum-seekers now at a camp in the Jalalabad region, and to ensure they receive every protection possible.

The United States would strongly object to any decision to return the asylum-seekers to Uzbekistan in the absence of a careful review of their status by the Kyrgyz government, in consultation with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Forced deportation of asylum-seekers would call into question the Kyrgyz government’s overall commitment to democracy and human rights and its commitment to meeting its international obligations.

We urge the Uzbek government to respect Kyrgyzstan's responsibility to honor its international obligations and to cease pressuring the Kyrgyz government to return asylum seekers before their protection concerns have been considered. We stand prepared to assist the Kyrgyz government and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in reaching a determination of the status of these asylum-seekers, and with their resettlement, with a view to ensuring they receive every possible protection.
2005/659

Released on June 29, 2005 Press Statement, Adam Ereli, Deputy Spokesman, Washington, DC, June 28, 2005 more at Uzbekistan or Kyrgyzstan and Asylum