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Stop deportations of Roma to Kosovo!
stop deportations - 07.07.2005 14:16
Stop deportations of Roma to Kosovo!
Include Roma and other minorities in the discussions on the future of Kosovo!
Sign our petition online:
 http://www.sivola.net/download/kossovo.htm
To Mr. Tony Blair
President of the EU Council
To Mr. Javier Solana
Secretary General of the European Council
EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy
To Mr. Soren Jessen-Petersen
Head of the UNMIK
To Ms. Louise Arbour
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
To Mr. Alvaro Gil-Robles
Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights
To Mr. Jose Barroso
President of the European Commission
To Mr. Jacques Borell
President of the European Parliament
To Mr. Oli Rehn
EU Commissioner for Enlargement
Dear Sirs, Dear Madam,
The undersigned organisations and individuals are writing to you to draw your attention to the fate of the Roma, Ashkali and Egytian populations of the former Yugoslavia. In the course of the last decade several hundred thousand Roma, Ashkali and Egytian people (citizens of the Former Yugoslavia) have become victims of the nationalist wars and violence that followed the disintegration of their country. In Bosnia-Herzegovina and FRY/Kosovo an unimaginable number of Romani citizens have been physically assaulted, abused, terrorized, robbed, raped and killed. Several hundred thousand Roma have been forced to abandon their houses and property and to seek protection and shelter in displacement outside of the region.
Today, ten years after the end of the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina, almost six years after the end of the war in FRY, many of these people’s lives unfortunately remain in limbo. We would like to draw your attention to the situation of Roma refugees and IDPs in the region of the Former Yugoslavia and in Western Europe. As a result of either ignorance or misinformation as well as a rigid interpretation of the asylum law and institutionalised discriminatory practices, many Roma refugees have not been able to secure a stable status in their host country and are today faced with the risk of deportation.
Thousands of Roma have already been deported to Serbia and Montenegro where nationalist hatred and violence persists and the population at large suffer from severe economic hardship. Serbia and Montenegro (including Kosovo) are already hosting a large number of Roma IDPs who live under appalling conditions in camps and informal settlements. With the ongoing deportations and expulsions from Western Europe this population will continue to grow on a daily basis.
In spite of the ongoing violence and substandard living conditions (especially for people belonging to ethnic minorities, in particular Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians) and in spite of the de facto ban on their deportation by the UNHCR, several West European and EU governments have reportedly forcibly repatriated people belonging to these groups to Kosovo. Some of these deported citizens have become victims of violence immediately upon their return. Several people have been murdered.
As a prelude to the eventual opening of the status negotiations we are now witnessing a new wave of deportations with the governments of the host countries exploiting the current eagerness of the PISG to demonstrate compliance with the so-called standards to return Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians to Kosovo. The German Federal Government has just signed an “agreement note” with UNMIK, providing for the forced repatriation of 300 (and later 500) Egyptians and Ashkali to Kosovo each month. Some Roma are already included in this plan, and many more Roma are meant to be included within it at a later stage.
The governments of Macedonia and Montenegro have also held talks with the representatives of UNMIK and the PISG on the repatriation of refugees and IDPs. Montenegro has already signed the so-called “Protocol of Cooperation”. We are furthermore aware of the fact that several Western European governments are putting pressure on UNHCR and UNMIK to lift the de facto collective ban on forced repatriations of people belonging to ethnic minorities from Kosovo.
We are calling on you to request a safe status for all the Roma refugees of the Former Yugoslavia and in particular the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians from Kosovo in the place where they currently live. Deportations of Roma and people from other minorities to Kosovo where they fear potential violence and persecution infringes on the principle of non-refoulement as it is entrenched in the 1951 Geneva Convention.
We call for an immediate end to the deportations, in particular to Kosovo. The right to return to the place of origin automatically entails the right to a free and informed choice followed by return in a safe and dignified manner.
Moreover, we consider that the UN Civil Administration in Kosovo is to be held responsible for violating the basic principles of human rights as they have not taken any of the necessary measures to sustain the existing minority communities nor to assist any of the forcibly returned individuals since March 2003 when UNMIK has signed the first Memorandum of Understanding with Germany.
We ask for a full and proper implementation of the UNSCR 1244 (1999) in particular article 9.c., concerning the creation of a secure environment for returns; 11.j. concerning the protection and promotion of human rights; and 11.k., concerning the safe and unimpeded return of all refugees and displaced persons to their homes in Kosovo.
Moreover we ask for the inclusion of Roma, Ashkali, Egyptians and other non-Serb minorities from Kosovo in the negotiations and pre-negotiations surrounding the final status of Kosovo. Kosovo’s future belongs to all of its citizens, not just the two largest ethnic communities.
We believe that ‘the international community’ has a particular responsibility towards the Roma of the former Yugoslavia and Kosovo. The Roma from Kosovo have lost their homes as a result of the NATO military intervention; an intervention which was made in the name of Human Rights.
The EU, as the main supporter of the UN Civil Administration in Kosovo and provider of military troops, has the responsibility to safeguard the protection of Human and Minority Rights in Kosovo.
We consider it particularly shameful that Germany, a country that is responsible for the genocide of several hundred thousand Roma during the Second World War, is deporting Roma en masse. In the 21st century Roma should have the right to live without fear and in dignity.
We urge for a solution of the problems of the Roma from the Former Yugoslavia and Kosovo, a people who have been stripped off their rights and are today living in the Diaspora and in camps. We call for the organisation of an international conference on the situation of the Roma from the Former Yugoslavia (in particular the Roma refugees and IDPs, and the Roma from Kosovo) with the participation of all the different groups and communities and high level representatives of the EU and the international community. This conference must precede any negotiations over the future status of Kosovo, as these negotiations cannot and should not take place without the proper representation of all people from Kosovo.
Call initiator: Kosovo Roma Forum, Kosovo
 E-Mail: stopdeportations@yahoo.co.uk
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