14.08.2003 - Source: Chechen Times

Azeri Schools to Accept Chechen Pupils ("Azeri Schools to Accept Chechen Pupils") [#15072],  [ID 12013]

Document(s): Open document

28.08.2002 - Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Chechen birth registration refused ("Baku refuses Chechen birth registration") [ID 12016]

"A group of 19 Chechen refugee women in Baku presented an appeal to the president's administration protesting refusal of bureaucrats to register the births of their children born in camps in Azerbaijan, the Chechen Human Rights Center in Baku reported 27 August. Officials at the civil registration bureaus in Nasim and Binagad refused to issue birth certificates, said the women, despite an unambiguous guarantee under Article 52 of the Azerbaijani Constitution of citizenship status for anyone born on the territory of Azerbaijan. The bureaucrats said the documents would have to be obtained from the Russian Embassy, the Chechen women told reporters, which they believed would be impossible. "Russia has lost the right to call itself our homeland, and we refuse even under fear of death to give our children up to that country...we do not want our children to be Russians and the name is offensive to us," Turan quoted the women as saying in a statement on 27 August. Thousands of civilians have made their way from war-torn Chechnya in recent years to nearby Azerbaijan, where they have had an uneasy welcome, due to Russian pressure on the Aliev government. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has registered about 4,500 persons, but has given few of them refugee status, although it has worked to prevent their deportation."

Document(s): Baku refuses Chechen birth registration

06.2002 - Source: US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants

USCR: Chechen refugees in Azerbaijan ("World Refugee Survey 2002") [#7425],  [ID 12014]

"Chechens UNHCR provided all registered Chechen asylum seekers in Azerbaijan with “letters of concern,” calling upon the authorities not to return the asylum seekers to the Russian Federation. The letters—only valid for a limited time and not automatically renewable—are written in English, Russian, and Azeri, and explain to authorities that the bearer of the letter (whose photograph is appended) is of concern to UNHCR under an extended interpretation of its mandate.

Thousands of Chechens were also believed to be living in Azerbaijan without documentation and without having registered asylum claims with UNHCR. Chechens in Azerbaijan complained of police harassment, and many appeared reluctant to make their presence known.

During an October visit to Baku, Russian Interior Minister Boris Grylov commented that Chechen refugees should be barred from entering the country and that those currently in Azerbaijan should be extradited to Russia. The comments, which came in the context of public remarks on cooperation against terrorism, drew little distinction between refugees and terrorists.

Because most refugees from Chechnya in Azerbaijan were not officially registered, tracking their movement was difficult. According to an Azerbaijani newspaper report in October, the chairman of the Committee for Chechen Refugee Affairs said that most of the estimated 7,000 Chechen refugees had returned to Chechnya during a three-month period in late summer. He reportedly said that they left because they could not feed themselves in Azerbaijan. His estimates could not be independently confirmed. Other estimates put the number of Chechens in Azerbaijan at 10,000 at year’s end.

Although the Azerbaijani government generally does not refoule Chechen refugees (forcibly return them to Russia) or detain them for living in Azerbaijan without proper documents, authorities deny them propiskas and the rights and services accorded to government-registered Meskhetian and Azeri refugees, legal residents, and citizens. As a result, Chechens in Azerbaijan reportedly have almost no access to social services or public health care, are not allowed to work, and cannot send their children to Azerbaijani schools."

Document(s): Open document

06.2002 - Source: US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants

Chechen refugees in Azerbaijan ("World Refugee Survey 2002") [#7425],  [ID 16923]

"Chechens UNHCR provided all registered Chechen asylum seekers in Azerbaijan with “letters of concern,” calling upon the authorities not to return the asylum seekers to the Russian Federation. The letters—only valid for a limited time and not automatically renewable—are written in English, Russian, and Azeri, and explain to authorities that the bearer of the letter (whose photograph is appended) is of concern to UNHCR under an extended interpretation of its mandate. Thousands of Chechens were also believed to be living in Azerbaijan without documentation and without having registered asylum claims with UNHCR. Chechens in Azerbaijan complained of police harassment, and many appeared reluctant to make their presence known. During an October visit to Baku, Russian Interior Minister Boris Grylov commented that Chechen refugees should be barred from entering the country and that those currently in Azerbaijan should be extradited to Russia. The comments, which came in the context of public remarks on cooperation against terrorism, drew little distinction between refugees and terrorists. Because most refugees from Chechnya in Azerbaijan were not officially registered, tracking their movement was difficult. According to an Azerbaijani newspaper report in October, the chairman of the Committee for Chechen Refugee Affairs said that most of the estimated 7,000 Chechen refugees had returned to Chechnya during a three-month period in late summer. He reportedly said that they left because they could not feed themselves in Azerbaijan. His estimates could not be independently confirmed. Other estimates put the number of Chechens in Azerbaijan at 10,000 at year’s end. Although the Azerbaijani government generally does not refoule Chechen refugees (forcibly return them to Russia) or detain them for living in Azerbaijan without proper documents, authorities deny them propiskas and the rights and services accorded to government-registered Meskhetian and Azeri refugees, legal residents, and citizens. As a result, Chechens in Azerbaijan reportedly have almost no access to social services or public health care, are not allowed to work, and cannot send their children to Azerbaijani schools."

Document(s): Open document

19.03.2002 - Source:

Chechen Republic Online: Chechen refugees are not able to receive legal social allowances ("Chechen Republic Online: About situation of Chechen refugees in Azerbaijan, 19 March 2002") [ID 12018]

"It has been extremely difficult for Chechens to find a job in Azerbaijan even though they are ready to take up any work. Neither are Chechen refugees able to receive pensions or other legal social allowances. The representative office is trying to find affordable accommodation for Chechen families on the outskirts of Baku. However, the families are often ousted from their apartments on grounds that they don't have registration. Many others are even unable to find temporary lodging. "I think a deliberate campaign has been launched against us. People are saying that we are thieves, not trustworthy, etc. In reality, however, we lease apartments on written agreements and the representative assumes responsibility for the apartments", A. Asayev explains. Azeri frontier guards let Chechens enter the country after checking their documents. However, the old Soviet passports and temporary Russian documents Chechens bring to Baku are not good enough for a temporary registration in the Azeri capital."

Document(s): Chechen Republic Online: About situation of Chechen refugees in Azerbaijan, 19 March 2002

12.03.2002 - Source: EurasiaNet

Chechen refugees accuse UNHCR's Baku Office of demanding bribes ("Chechen refugees accuse UNHCR's Baku Office of demanding bribes") [ID 12017]

"Representatives of the estimated 8,000 Chechen refugees in Azerbaijan
have addressed an appeal to UN High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud
Lubbers asking him to take action against the staff of his
organization's Baku office, Turan reported on 11 March. According to
the appeal, UNHCR personnel regularly demand a bribe equal to 20-25
percent of the $80-$100 to which refugees are entitled. As a result,
only 400-500 refugees receive such payments, the appeal said. The
independent daily "Ekho" reported on 16 February that Azerbaijani
State Committee for Refugees Chairman Ali Hasanov rejected a request
by Ali Asaev, Chechnya's representative in Azerbaijan, to provide
assistance for Chechen refugees. Hasanov claimed that the Chechens
entered Azerbaijan illegally and therefore could not be formally
registered as refugees. LF"

Document(s): Chechen refugees accuse UNHCR's Baku Office of demanding bribes

29.10.1999 - Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Azerbaijan seeks to deport Chechen refugees ("Azerbaijan seeks to deport Chechen refugees, 29 October 1999") [ID 12019]

"The Azerbaijani authorities on 27 October deported 20 Chechen refugees who had arrived in Baku on a flight from Tbilisi earlier that day, Caucasus Press reported. On arriving by bus at the frontier with Georgia, the refugees refused to leave Azerbaijani territory and the next day declared a hunger strike. A spokesman for Azerbaijan's National Security Ministry said that the country cannot accept more refugees as it already has "more than 1 million" internally displaced persons as a result of the war in Karabakh."

Document(s): Azerbaijan seeks to deport Chechen refugees, 29 October 1999