The second World Refugee Day is celebrated on June 20, 2002. June 20, 2001 marked the first ever universal Refugee Day. Many countries have previously celebrated a refugee day as one of the most widespread was Africa Refugee Day. As an expression of solidarity with Africa, which hosts the most refugees, and which traditionally has shown them great generosity, a special UN General Assembly Resolution was unanimously adopted in 2000 which designated 20 June every year as World Refugee Day.
There are approximately 50 million uprooted people around the world, statistics reported in the last issue of the Refugees Magazine reads. Between 75-80 percent of them are women and children. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees cares for 21.8 million of these people. Around half of them are women and girls. International law defines refugees as people who are unable or unwilling to return to their countries because of a well-founded fear of persecution based on their race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or belonging to a particular social group.
"Since last year's World Refugee Day, we have some examples of just how much we can accomplish by working together," a message of Ruud Lubbers, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on the occasion of the World Refugee Day reads. A good example for that is Afghanistan, which last year accounted for the largest group of asylum applicants in Europe - some 51,100 people. Today, Afghans are going home so rapidly that the UNHCR -the main agency for integration and reintegration - has increased its projections for returns from 1,25 million to 2 million. Since March 1, UNHCR has helped one million Afghans go home.
Bulgaria like the whole region of Central Europe used to be a refugee producing country only until a decade ago. It has evolved for a relatively short period of time from a refugee producing, over-transit to refugee host country. Since formal registration of asylum-seekers and refugees was started in 1991 through 31 December 2001, Bulgaria registered 8,366 asylum seekers, of whom some 3,500 have received asylum. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner (UNHCR) opened its office in Bulgaria in May 1992. Since then in cooperation with its partners, UNHCR works to solve the refugee problems in Bulgaria. Dr. Luise Druke is the Representative of the UNHCR Branch Office in Sofia since October, 2000.
On the occasion of the World Refugee Day Volen Kroumov, Public Information Officer of UNHCR Sofia Branch Office met Martina Iovcheva - Editor-in-Chief of novinite.com and The News:
Q: How does the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees help people who seek asylum in Bulgaria?
A: In the past years, the UNHCR's assistance program in Bulgaria was directed largely towards care and maintenance of new arrivals, mainly integration and resettlement. Following the UNHCR legislative initiatives, the assistance program has been oriented towards achieving the local settlement and integration of refugees. Our main partners in Bulgaria are the Agency for Refugees, the National Service Border Police, the Bulgarian Red Cross, managing the socially oriented projects, the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, dealing with the legal protection of the refuges and also Caritas Bulgaria. We also cooperate with dozens of other NGOs, practically all ministries, the agency for child protection.
Q: Which are the countries, from which there are most asylum-seekers in Bulgaria?
A: Asylum-seekers from sixty-nine countries have been registered since 1991, most of them from Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, former Yugoslavia and Armenia, some from Asia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia and Africa. The main entry points are the border check of Kapitan Andreevo and the Sofia International Airport.
During May according to statistics of the Agency for Refugees, 373 persons have applied for asylum. Asylum was given only to three people. Humanitarian protection was given to eighty-two. For the period January-May, passport holders of 28 countries have asked for asylum in Bulgaria.
Q: Can you tell us how refugee integration is being implemented in Bulgaria?
A: The system is that they apply to the Agency for Refugees, they go through interviews, and meanwhile they are accommodated in the reception centers with the Agency for Refugees in Gorna Banya and in the Banya village, near Nova Zagora or in private houses. Then they are asked by the interviewers, whose job is to verify whether their claim for asylum is legitimate. They require documentation, witnesses, and evidence. We - UNHCR - also help them because our agency has an extensive database in Geneva and we get regular updating and we share it with our colleagues. Then the chairman of the agency takes a decision, it can be appealed to the Supreme Court. If the person's claim is rejected by the court, he should be found a safe third country where to be resettled if he/she cannot be returned to his home country.
The case of most Afghan asylum seekers now is that they are given a temporary protection because the situation in their country is rapidly improving.
If an asylum seeker is recognized, there is a period, during which he/she studies Bulgarian language, can apply and participate in qualification courses, study crafts. That is where the integration center of the Agency for Refugees and the integration unit of the Red Cross come into action. They have a number of programs for long time working now to give the newly arrived, the newly recognized refugees some skills, to help them survive the initial shock of being left out on their own.
During the past over two years and a half UNHCR has developed good contacts with the Ministry of Labor, with the social services, the employment offices and the education institutions in Bulgaria. There is a lot to be done mainly because Bulgarians themselves are in a difficult situation. In general, the integration of refugees depends more or less on the social and economic environment, in which they find themselves.
There are many projects implemented by the Red Cross and the Agency for Refugees and one should see the shining faces of young refugee children when they sing or they say poems on May 24 - the Day of the Bulgarian Education and Culture and Slav Letters.
Q: What are the main problems of Bulgaria's national refugee system?
A: The current refugee law, which was enacted in 1999, has some deficiencies, most of which were corrected by the recently passed by Parliament new act on asylum and refugees. It will, however, be enacted as of January 1, 2003. The main problem has been traditionally, and it is traditionally a problem in other countries also, admission to procedure at the borders. That means that a country should have a well-developed infrastructure and well-trained immigration and asylum officials who are at the border check points and who can admit and process applicants - asylum seekers. There was and still there is another problem with the dual control over facilities of the border by the border police, which is part of the Interior Ministry system and also by the Agency for Refugees, an agency of the government.
There is also a basic problem of lack of sufficient infrastructure, of reception centers where the asylum seeker after having applied for refuge would be accommodated and would be taken care of. With the help of UNHCR the government has managed to get a loan under very good and favorable conditions from the European Commission and within the next two-three years two reception centers will be build - one in the area of the Sofia Airport and the other one near Kapitan Andreevo - the main check point of entrance of asylum seekers. There are other steps into the development of the infrastructure such as training border police officials, magistrates, and lawyers.
Q: Bulgaria is currently negotiating accession in the European Union. What are the main issues concerning asylum seekers from the UN perspective in these negotiations?
A: The right to asylum is a basic human right. This means that the asylum system in Bulgaria is under close scrutiny and monitoring by the European Union. Bulgaria as a candidate member and being in the process of accession to the EU works and discusses Chapter 24 - on Justice and Home Affairs - that is where we fall in. So far, Bulgaria has been a very good example for cooperation between the UNHCR and the government. That is evident not only by the good working relationship that we have with the Agency for Refugees, the border police and the official institutions but also by the openness of mind, with which the authorities approach refugee related problems.
However, the country does not have yet a well-developed and efficiently functioning asylum system at the borders. This is where our joint focus of attention has been directed.
I think that not only Bulgaria is on the right track in the legislative process in view of Chapter 24 but also major steps have been made throughout the past year and a half to speed up the development of the infrastructure.
Q: June 20 is the World Refugee Day. How will Bulgaria mark the day?
A: There is a series of events, which started on June 7 with the signing ceremony with the government. We signed then with the Social Ministry a special work plan to support refugee women since this year has been devoted by the United Nations to women as one of the most vulnerable groups in the refugee population. We hope that this project that will develop into a memorandum for cooperation.
Then we had a special gala concert by the new symphony orchestra devoted to the World Refugee Day. We showed for one evening an exhibition of photos of refugee women and children, which went quite successfully. Then we have a number of media events like showing video clips on the Bulgarian National Television. On June 17 we had a special refugee food serving, initiated by the Red Cross. Diplomats, politicians, MPs and other officials were invited. Refugee women from Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan prepared their national food, served it and sold for charity purposes.
On June 20, we organize with the support of the Agency for Refugees an exhibition of an young painter, an Afghan refugee Javad Mones in the Karim gallery. He is only twenty years old. We invite everybody to go and see this exhibition. Experts who have seen his paintings say that he is a self-educated talent.
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