VZCZCXRO2705
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHSL #0043/01 0221600
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 221600Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY BRATISLAVA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2252
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BRATISLAVA 000043 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/CE, PRM, DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PHUM LO
SUBJECT: ASYLUM POLICY IN SLOVAKIA NOT REFUGEE FRIENDLY 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY: On October 24, the Slovak parliament harmonized 
existing asylum law with EU directive 15 by establishing a 
system in which the Ministry of Justice provides free legal 
aid to asylum seekers.  The amendment, and overall 
conservative GOS policy towards asylum seekers and recognized 
refugees, have drawn muted criticism from NGOs who believe 
they do not adequately protect the human rights of this 
vulnerable population.  However, such criticism lacks 
traction with Slovak society writ large.  At our behest, the 
GOS resettled eight Cuban migrants from Guantanamo this 
October, and immediately granted them asylum (which doubled 
the annual intake of recognized refugees).  Their integration 
experience will enable us to better evaluate the ability of 
non-Slavic refugees to integrate into Slovak society.  End 
Summary. 
 
Migration Office 
---------------- 
 
¶2.  The Director of the Migration Office, Bernard Priecel, 
has retained his position under three different Slovak 
governments.  He describes himself as an "internationally 
recognized expert on migration policy."  According to 
Migration Office Statistics, 54,469 people have requested 
asylum in Slovakia since 1992.  Of them, only 616 were 
granted refugee status.  Asked why there are so few 
approvals, Priecel explained that most asylum seekers leave 
Slovakia and continue on their journey west, where employment 
opportunities and social assistance are better.  He then said 
that Slovakia has over 500,000 Roma (approximately 10 percent 
of the population) who are living off the social welfare 
system but are not contributing to it.  He said before the 
State starts granting asylum for "humanitarian reasons" it 
must deal with its neediest "internal migrants" first. 
 
Parliament 
---------- 
 
¶3.  Opposition (SDKU) MP Martin Pado, who also served as 
Minister of Interior during the last year of the Dzurinda 
administration, told us that attitudes towards foreigners 
still need to change in Slovakia.  Pado admitted that during 
his time at the Ministry of Interior, he noticed a reluctance 
to approve refugee status for asylum seekers.  Pado also said 
he believes that the financial crisis will have a negative 
impact on asylum seekers, as the labor market will constrict 
and this will provide an easy rational for decision makers to 
not accept more refugees in Slovakia.  He said Parliament did 
not have any debates on the asylum law amendment, but he 
knows that UNHCR and other NGOs were consulted by the 
Ministry of Interior, which drafted the amendment. 
 
¶4.  Opposition (KDS) MP Vladimir Palko, who served as 
Minister of Interior prior to Pado, told us that Slovakia is 
a "young country searching for the right balance between 
respect for human rights and the obligations of the State." 
Palko also said that it is clear that multiculturalism is not 
going very well in other parts of Europe, and thus Slovak 
authorities must weigh asylum decisions very carefully. 
 
UNHCR 
----- 
 
¶5.  Peter Kresak, the Director of UNHCR's Bratislava office, 
said cooperation with border authorities processing asylum 
seekers has improved, as have conditions at reception and 
integration centers.  Kresak said that he is concerned, 
however, about the long-term impact of the new amendment to 
the asylum law which obliges the State to provide free legal 
aid to asylum seekers only from the second instance, i.e. 
during the appeal process after their first claim has been 
rejected.  Kresak said that NGOs such as the Good Will 
Society in eastern Slovakia and the Slovak Human Rights 
League in western Slovakia provide legal aid to migrants from 
the initiation of the process, which is primarily paid for by 
the European Refugee Fund (ERF).  Although the GOS has agreed 
that ERF money can continue to fund the NGO-provided legal 
aid, Kresak is worried that this solution would not be 
tenable over the long-term, as ERF money for Slovakia is 
decreasing. 
 
¶6.  Kresak also commented that despite the stable economic 
situation in the country, there has not been an improvement 
in Slovakia's asylum or integration policies.  According to 
UNHCR Statistics, Slovakia has the second lowest refugee 
recognition rate in the region (Slovenia's was lowest.)  In 
2007, Slovakia received 2643 asylum applications; 14 were 
granted refugee status.  In contrast, Hungary had 3425 
applications, of which 169 were given refugee status.  Kresak 
said he has heard from several GOS interlocutors that they 
are unwilling to invest in improving integration conditions 
 
BRATISLAVA 00000043  002 OF 002 
 
 
for refugees and asylum seekers because they firmly believe 
Slovakia is a transit country for refugees. 
 
¶7.  In November, one of Slovakia's largest reception centers 
for asylum seekers, Gabcikovo, ceased to operate as a 
reception center, and is now used only as a housing facility 
for individuals who are granted subsidiary protection (82 in 
2007, and 44 through September 2008).  According to UNHCR, 
there were concerns about potential migrant smuggling 
occurring at Gabcikovo, but the official reason the GOS 
stopped housing asylum seekers there was merely numbers. 
Since Slovakia greatly improved border security and joined 
the Schengen zone in December 2007, the number of new asylum 
applications in 2008 was only 910, a significant decline in 
comparison with previous years. 
 
NGO community 
------------- 
 
¶8.  Representatives of Goodwill Society, Human Rights League, 
and the Slovak Refugee Council, have told us they fear the 
new amendment will not provide adequate long-term legal aid 
to asylum seekers.  Generally, they feel that a majority of 
asylum seekers are in fact moving west, but attributed that 
not only to the allure of Sweden and other countries' 
refugee-friendly policies, but also to the fact that many 
asylum seekers feel unwelcome in Slovakia and have heard they 
are almost guaranteed to have their claims rejected.  The 
Human Rights League estimates that approximately ten to 
fifteen percent of the 300 clients to whom they provide legal 
aid annually have legitimate "well-founded fear" and should 
qualify for refugee status. 
 
An Unusual Case: Cubans From Guantanamo 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶9.  Despite this general reluctance to grant refugee status 
to foreigners, the GOS Migration Office did agree to resettle 
eight Cubans in October last year, as part of the USG-funded 
resettlement program for Cuban refugees.  In two site visits 
of the Zvolen integration center conducted by PolOff, one on 
October 28 and the other on December 3 (with UNHCR), the 
Cubans appear to be actively attempting to learn Slovak and 
to have received adequate support from the government.  The 
Cubans were immediately granted asylum upon arrival, and the 
GOS has processed their paperwork efficiently and promptly. 
IOM and the GOS agreed to increase the amount of language 
training for the Cubans at our request, and both Goodwill 
Society and UNHCR commented they were impressed with the 
resources available for the Cubans and the renovations to the 
Zvolen integration center, where the Cubans are currently 
housed. 
 
¶10.  In April, the Cubans will be offered three alternatives 
for housing after their initial six months in Slovakia.  They 
will be able to extend their stay at the Zvolen center, 
relocate to GOS-subsidized flats in Kosice or Zilina, or find 
their own apartments on the local real estate market in 
whichever city they choose.  Only time will tell if the 
Cubans are able to learn Slovak, find a job, and bring other 
family members here.  But for now their integration process 
appears to be on track, thanks to USG resources complementing 
the basic refugee assistance package provided by the GOS. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶11.  There is a growing sense among Slovak policymakers that 
Slovakia should not only consume the benefits of freedom and 
democracy, but also provide those benefits to others. 
Perhaps with this evolving mindset, attitudes towards 
migration policy will also shift.  Despite a generally 
cautious, if not negative, attitude towards minorities, the 
Slovaks take their EU commitments seriously.  If the current 
European Commission debate on improving rights for asylum 
seekers mandates more generous standards for refugee seekers 
in EU member countries, we believe that would certainly carry 
significant weight with the otherwise conservative Slovak 
migration authorities.  We are encouraged by the GOS 
cooperation with the Cuban refugees, who are undoubtedly 
experiencing a preferential refugee experience in Slovakia. 
We will continue to monitor their unique integration process 
closely, and will urge the GOS to do all that it can to make 
their integration successful. 
EDDINS