GENEVA/MOSCOW, 10 October 2006 - Conditions for the displaced population in the North Caucasus have improved in some respects in recent years, but the displaced continue to face serious obstacles to return and reintegration in their areas of original residence. This is the conclusion of a report published today by the Russian Human Rights Centre "Memorial" and the Norwegian Refugee Council's Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre. The report assesses the extent to which the recommendations of the UN's Representative on Internally Displaced Persons have been put into practice since a country visit to the Russian Federation in 2003.

"While the Russian government continues to devote significant attention and resources to the displacement situation in the North Caucasus, the report shows that more needs to be done to provide suitable housing and alternatives to return for those faced with the closure of their temporary accommodation", said Elisabeth Rasmusson, head of the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre.

"Urgent action is needed to protect returnees from human rights violations and other threats to their safety", added Svetlana Gannushkina of Memorial, one of the authors of the report. The majority of the some 180,000 internally displaced persons in the Russian Federation originate from Chechnya and are still unable to return due to continued insecurity and lack of adequate housing.

The report acknowledges that the Russian government has taken a number of significant steps in implementing the recommendations made the UN's Representative on Internally Displaced Persons. This includes the allocation and disbursement of financial compensation to those whose homes have been destroyed. The removal of most vehicle checkpoints and the diminishing intensity of the conflict have led to improved access of international and local humanitarian organisations.

Despite these improvements, the overall situation of the displaced and returnees in the Chechen Republic remains grim, according to the report. Along with the general population, the displaced and returnees are at high risk of being subjected to grave human rights violations. Temporary accommodation centres are often overcrowded and without plumbing and other utilities. Compensation payments are rarely sufficient to rebuild houses. Moreover, there is no comprehensive government plan aimed at providing durable solutions for the displaced population.

The report recommends that the Russian government • increase security in the areas of residence and return of the displaced population; • ensure the civilian population can address the law enforcement agencies, NGOs and domestic and international courts without fear of reprisal; • provide the displaced population with temporary housing until they purchase new housing or the end of construction of new housing; • continue to eliminate obstacles to the movement of humanitarian supplies as well as humanitarian workers; • ensure that the new NGO law is not implemented in a way that negatively affects NGOs assisting the displaced population or monitoring the rights of the displaced in the North Caucasus.

Durable solutions to the problems of the displaced population will require that the Russian government address the root causes of their displacement through a political solution to the conflict, the report says. By allowing the emergence of a peaceful political opposition in the Chechen Republic, the Russian government may earn a potential negotiating partner for a political solution to the conflict.

Full report An Uncertain Future: The Challenges of Return and Reintegration for Internally Displaced Persons in the North Caucasus

Russian version of the report

For more information, please contact Jens-Hagen Eschenbächer, NRC Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, Geneva, +41-22-799 07 03, or 41-79-79-79 439, or Svetlana Gannushkina, Human Rights Centre "Memorial", +7-495-973-54-74.

The Geneva-based Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, established by the Norwegian Refugee Council, is the leading international body monitoring internal displacement worldwide.

The Human Rights Centre "Memorial" is a historical and educational non-governmental association established in 1991 and based in the Russian Federation with a significant part of its work dedicated to the protection of human rights.