This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 GENEVA 002093 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR PRM AND EUR, BUCHAREST FOR GILCHRIST, BISHKEK FOR 
YU 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/05/2015 
TAGS: PREF PREL KG UZ RO UNHCR
SUBJECT: UNHCR BRIEFS ON UZBEK REFUGEES 
 
Classified By: Piper Campbell, Refugee Counselor, reasons 1.4 b and d 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  Representatives of the United Nations 
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) briefed members of the 
diplomatic community on September 6 regarding developments 
surrounding the 429 Uzbek asylum seekers currently in 
Timisoara, Romania and the 15 who remain in detention in Osh, 
Kyrgyzstan.  UNHCR said that it will complete Refugee Status 
Determinations on the 429 Uzbeks by September 22, and will 
begin referrals for resettlement immediately.  It expects 11 
of the 15 in detention in Kyrgyzstan to be released very 
soon, but had little new to say about the 4 individuals still 
awaiting a decision on whether or not they are eligible for 
protection as refugees.  The Deputy Permanent Representative 
of Romania said that his government was pleased with the 
behavior of the Timisoara refugees and the level of response 
of the international community thus far.  In response to his 
request that Government of Uzbek extradition requests be 
weighed, UNHCR offered assurance that, although none of the 
requests had been backed up with documentation, all were 
being thoroughly investigated and considered as part of the 
Refugee Status Determination (RSD) process.  End summary. 
 
¶2.  (U) The 429 Uzbeks who were evacuated from Kyrgyzstan to 
Romania are housed at a facility in Timisoara designed to 
hold 225 people.  However, conditions at the facility are 
very good and the refugees, 80 percent of whom are men, are 
"orderly, clean, and maintaining good relations" with their 
Romanian hosts.  UNHCR Special Advisor on Protection Rick 
Stainsby visited the population August 24 - 26 in order to 
assure that processes are on track to meet a timetable for 
resettlement and onward movement of most if not all of the 
refugees within 6 months of their arrival at Timisoara. 
 
¶3.  (U) Two steps are involved in processing the cases.  One 
is to determine refugee status, a process being handled by 10 
UNHCR officers.  Initial plans were to have each officer 
complete two cases per day.  However, interviews are taking 
on average 3 hours per person, meaning that not enough time 
is left to write up each case on the same day.  Nonetheless, 
UNHCR expects to complete RSD interviews by September 19, and 
to complete written assessments by the end of the month. 
Exclusion issues and credibility of statements are being 
carefully reviewed as part of the RSD process.  As of August 
30, UNHCR had completed 205 RSD interviews, but only one case 
of possible exclusion - an individual who may have beaten a 
police officer after he was disarmed - had been identified. 
 
¶4. (U) The other processing step is to prepare the cases for 
referral to a resettlement country.  Biographic data has 
already been entered on all cases, and UNHCR completed 
resettlement interviews, including extensive documentation of 
family relationships, on September 2.  As they are completed, 
the RSD assessments are linked into the referral data and 
cases are submitted to resettlement states.  Vulnerable cases 
have been identified and are receiving priority handling.  A 
German representative at the meeting reported that his 
government has approved 6 cases already referred to it and 
will issue travel visas shortly.  UNHCR has also completed a 
draft resettlement submission (referral) plan, identifying 
which cases will be referred to which resettlement country. 
Family relationship data is being used as a key element in 
this identification. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Stainsby said the Timisoara asylum seekers are 
"clearly refugees in need of a solution" and that their 
stories have high credibility given UNHCR's country of origin 
information and knowledge of the events in Andijan which 
precipitated their flight.  He said that many of them have 
skills in the construction trades and described them as 
"impressive", reporting that they want to work and had even 
volunteered to assist in Romania's recovery efforts after the 
recent floods.  Stainsby said that the refugees come from a 
"pious rural community where large traditional families are 
the norm."  UNHCR Resettlement Director Eva Demant later 
noted that most of the refugees will want their families to 
join them when they reach their countries of resettlement. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Romania's Deputy Permanent Representative said that 
his government's decision to accept the evacuation of the 
refugees to its territory had been important, and that his 
government is happy with their behavior since their arrival. 
He urged UNHCR to give careful consideration to any 
information provided with Uzbekistan's extradition requests 
which may establish a grounds of exclusion.  Stainsby 
expressed UNHCR's appreciation to the Government of Romania 
and said that one official had told him that he was 
determined to assure that the refugees have good memories of 
Romania when they depart.  Stainsby added that UNHCR is 
carefully looking at the eighty extradition requests which 
the Government of Uzbekistan had submitted to the government 
of Kyrgyzstan. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) UNHCR Kyrgyzstan Desk Officer Frank Remus added 
that there are reports that 1,000 to 2,000 additional Uzbeks 
may be living underground in Kyrgyzstan.  However, only 18 
have come forward to request asylum thus far.  He said that 
the GOK is under pressure not to register additional 
refugees, but that UNHCR is negotiating with the GOK to 
obtain permission to undertake registration and protection 
activities, including relocation for resettlement of 
additional refugees. 
 
¶8.  (C) Comment:  Having conducted extensive interviews with 
large numbers of the Uzbeks in the calm and stable 
environment of Timisoara, UNHCR projected confidence that 
they will neither be problems during their sojourn in 
Romania, nor difficult to resettle quickly.  In addition, 
UNHCR remains certain that 11 of the 15 Uzbeks still in 
custody in Kyrgyzstan will soon be released.  It is 
noteworthy, however, that the UNHCR expert who extensively 
interviewed the four remaining individuals in Osh late last 
month had little to say about their cases or prospects.  End 
comment. 
Moley