Source:

Chechen IDPs in other parts of the Russian Federation ("Topics & Issue File Russian Federation - Humanitarian issues - Internal displacement") [ID 18098]

For information on the situation of Chechen IDPs in other parts of the Russian Federation please see Topics & Issue File Russian Federation - "Humanitarian issues - Internal displacement".

Document(s): Topics & Issue File Russian Federation - Humanitarian issues - Internal displacement

28.05.2008 - Source: Amnesty International

Thousands of people remain internally displaced in the North Caucasus: accommodation centres closed in Grozny; over 18,000 people displaced by Chechen conflict estimated to live in Ingushetia and Dagestan ("Annual Report 2008") [ID 23509]

"Many thousands of people remained internally displaced in the North Caucasus as a result of the second Chechen conflict.

At least seven temporary accommodation centres were closed in Grozny.

Some individuals were reportedly forced to leave without a guaranteed safe and sustainable return to their homes, without adequate alternative housing being offered, and without due process being followed.

Reportedly some individuals were forced to sign statements that they left voluntarily.

Over 18,000 people displaced by the Chechen conflict were estimated to be living in Ingushetia and Dagestan at the end of 2007, some of them living in extremely poor conditions in temporary camps.

Thousands of others remained displaced in Ingushetia from the Prigorodnii district, a territory disputed with North Ossetia."

Document(s): Open document

04.2008 - Source: Austrian Centre for Country of Origin and Asylum Research and Documentation

For missions within Chechnya, UNHCR must announce to authorities the locations in advance and is accompanied by armed escorts; some IDPs have asked UNHCR to to come and see them any longer ("Summary of the ACCORD-UNHCR Country of Origin Information Seminar on Chechnya; Vienna, 18 October 2007") [ID 22956]

"The UN office in Ingushetia had to be closed in July 2007 as a result of grenade attacks on the UN compound in March 2007. In the absence of approval from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the UN has not been able to establish a permanent presence in the Chechen Republic. UNHCR monitors the situation in Chechnya through its staff based in Grozny and missions that take place once a week or less. For missions within Chechnya, UNHCR staff must announce to the authorities the locations in advance and are accompanied by heavily armed escorts provided by the Russian Ministry of Interior. These escorts inhibit persons of concern in speaking openly about any concerns they may have though they stay outside when UNHCR holds meeting indoors. Some IDPs have asked UNHCR not to come and see them any longer. It is reported that the security forces visit the respective people in advance and question them and their family members about why the humanitarian organisation wants to talk to them."

Document(s): Open document

11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

By end of 2007, estimated 120,000 persons still displaced within Chechnya; approximately 12,000 lived in temporary accommodation centers, all of which President Kadyrov ordered closed in 2007 ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 22702]

"By year's end, an estimated 120,000 persons were still displaced within Chechnya; approximately 12,000 lived in temporary accommodation centers, all of which President Kadyrov ordered closed in 2007. At the end of 2006, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees registered 20,075 IDPs from Chechnya and Ingushetiya, a third of whom remained in temporary settlements. Approximately 150,000 persons lived within Chechnya, including thousands living in temporary accommodation centers. Conditions in those centers reportedly failed to meet international standards."

Document(s): Open document

03.2007 - Source: European Council on Refugees and Exiles

Temporary Accommodation Points (TAPs) set up for returnees cannot cope with number of people returning from Ingushetia; lack of basic amenities, such as water and food, and reports of “passport checks” leading to disappearances fromTAPs ("Guidelines on the treatment of Chechen internally displaced persons (IDPs), asylum seekers and refugees in Europe") [ID 21081]

"After ten years of conflict there is a lack of housing for IDPs generally and Temporary Accommodation Points (TAPs) set up for returnees cannot cope with the number of people returning from closed temporary settlements in Ingushetia.39 Conditions are terrible with a lack of the most basic amenities, such as water and food, and there are reports of “passport checks” leading to disappearances from the TAPs. Despite these hardships many IDPs feel they are safer in TAPs than outside them. Many more IDPs are registered in TAPs than live there in order to receive supplementary food supplies from the authorities. In 2006, Memorial warned of a campaign to close down TAPs which would have serious consequences for those living there as there is literally nowhere for them to go. The system of awarding compensation for lost housing is at best described as inadequate."

Document(s): Open document

03.08.2006 - Source: Memorial Human Rights Center

132,000 IDPs are living in private accommodation, 7,432 living in rented housing paid for from state budget, and 36,850 people registered in 32 temporary accommodation points and 15 compact settlements ("On the Situation of Residents of Chechnya in the Russian Federation (July 2005-July 2006)") [ID 17633]

"The issue of resettling the IDPs has remained one of the most pressing ones in Chechnya over the course of recent years. IDPs in the CR are broken down into three categories.  The biggest group, 132,000 persons from the total number of registered IDPs, resides in pri-vate accommodation. The only help that was previously given to this category of the population was bread distribution, in accordance with Resolution of the Government of the RF No.163 of March 3, 2001, to the amount of six rubles per person a day. Bread distribution was stopped in August 2004. And in November 2005, according to the information of the leadership of the CR Migration Administration, the said category of IDPs was struck off the state register at all. The size of the second group of IDPs, who, according to the same Resolution of the RF Government No.163, live in rented housing paid for from the state budget, numbered 1,313 fami-lies, or 7,432 people, by the end of 2005. Until recently, residents of TAPs got the best social protection as compared to other catego-ries of IDPs. According to Resolution of the RF Government No.163, IDPs living in TAPs, re-ceive through the channels of the Migration Agency foodstuffs to the amount of 15 rubles a day per person, which is less than 0.5 euros. These foodstuffs are not enough; their quality is quite low; but still they are of some help to inhabitants of TAPs. As of the end of 2005, 6,346 families, or 36,850 people, were registered and upkept in the 32 TAPs and 15 CAPs existing in the territory of the Chechen Republic. It should be noted that because of the limited capacity of the accommodation centers the majority of these people re-ceive only food allowances there, living actually in private accommodation."

Document(s): Russian-language report
English-language report

03.08.2006 - Source: Memorial Human Rights Center

Temporary accommodation points (TAPs) offer better living conditions for IDPs than camps and Compact Accommodation Points (CAPs); starting with April 2006, campaign of shutting down TAPs pursued by Kadyrov's government ("On the Situation of Residents of Chechnya in the Russian Federation (July 2005-July 2006)") [ID 17634]

"TAPs are mostly housed in restored brick buildings that were previously used as hostels. TAPs are much more suitable for living than camps and CAPs. Living conditions there have not been changed since the time when people were first housed there in great haste. (...) It must be said that the IDPs for whom there was no room in TAPs, often live in conditions that are much worse than these. However, still harder times are coming now for residents of TAPs. Starting from April this year, a campaign of shutting down TAPs on the territory of the Chechen Republic has been pursued. .. Ramzan Kadyrov said that people have become lazy and do not want to put their homes in order. He also cited the opinion of the military who claim that members of illegal armed groups stay in TAPs for the night. In fact, TAPs are mostly inhabited by lonely elderly people, including Russian elderly women who have nowhere to go, and by mothers of many children."

Document(s): Russian-language report
English-language report

03.08.2006 - Source: Memorial Human Rights Center

Many Temporary Accommodation Points have been subjected to armed attacks ("On the Situation of Residents of Chechnya in the Russian Federation (July 2005-July 2006)") [ID 17699]

For information on specific incidents please see the report

"Nominally the residents of TAPs are granted better security than other residents of Chech-nya, since they are provided with security guards. However, many TAPs have been subjected to armed attacks, with guards been unable to call for reinforcement because they did not have radio sets. Besides, they were unable to repel the attacks independently. (...) The fact that unarmed guards are not capable of protecting dwellers of TAPs is testified by a recent incident at Okruzhnaya TAP in Grozny.(...)"

Document(s): Russian-language report
English-language report

19.04.2006 - Source: ReliefWeb

Chechnya: Threats by leader Kadyrov to close informal refugee shelters; they allegedly serve as base for "foreign spies" ("Chechnyan strongman wants to close refugee shelters (AFP)") [#49818],  [ID 16683]

"Chechnyan leader Ramzan Kadyrov on Wednesday threatened to close informal refugee shelters, claiming they served as a base for "foreign spies" in the breakaway Russian province. "I think liquidating the refugee centres will give us the chance to unmask the spies of the foreign special services," Kadyrov said during a meeting in Gudermes in eastern Chechnya. "Ninety percent of the refugees living in temporary shelters have the opportunity to go home, but they stay there because they are being given free humanitarian help by various foreign organisations," he added."

Document(s): Open document

08.03.2006 - Source: US Department of State

An estimated 200,000 Chechens were living as IDPs within Chechnya at the end of November 2005 ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2005") [#46144],  [ID 16684]

"As of November 30, 26,883 IDPs from Chechnya were in temporary settlements or in the private sector in Ingushetiya; approximately 30 thousand Chechen IDPs reportedly were elsewhere in the country, and an estimated 200 thousand Chechens were living as IDPs within Chechnya itself. In addition to ethnic Chechen IDPs, almost the entire population of ethnic Russians, Armenians, and Jews left Chechnya during the strife of the past decade."

Document(s): Open document

20.01.2006 - Source: Amnesty International

Precarious situation for internally displaced people in Ingushetia and Chechnya ("Council of Europe must take action to ensure real change for human rights [EUR 46/002/2006]") [#42576],  [ID 16685]

"In Ingushetia, conditions in the camps for those displaced by the conflict in Chechnya remain generally cramped and unsuitable. The conditions at a camp on the site of a former dairy farm are particularly harsh. However, during a visit to the camps in September 2005, the people living in these conditions who met with the Amnesty International delegates stated that they are afraid to take their families back home to Chechnya while the violence and abuses continue, and while it remains impossible for them to rebuild their destroyed homes. According to information available to Amnesty International, the conditions in the temporary accommodation centres in Grozny which house people displaced from the conflict, including those who returned to Chechnya following the closure of the tent camps in Ingushetia in 2004, are uncomfortable and unsafe. There is no hot or cold water, they are cramped, and those living there are reportedly subject to constant document checks, harassment, intimidation, and detention by Chechen security forces."

Document(s): Open document

11.2005 - Source: Gesellschaft für Bedrohte Völker

42 temporary homes for Chechen refugees, housing 37 000 people, most of whom are refugees from refugee camps in Ingushetia, who have been forced to return to Chechnya ("Schleichender Völkermord in Tschetschenien") [#41300],  [ID 16686]

"Im Moment gibt es in Tschetschenien 42 so genannte temporäre Wohngebäude für tschetschenische Flüchtlinge, in denen 37.000 Personen leben. Viele von ihnen sind Flüchtlinge, die aus den Lagern in der in der Nachbarrepublik Inguschetien in ihre Heimat zurück gezwungen wurden. Die sanitären Bedingungen aber auch die Versorgung mit Grundnahrungsmitteln und Trinkwasser sind vollkommen unzumutbar. Eine von der tschetschenischen Verwaltung eingesetzte Kommission bestätigte diese Eindrücke und machte auf die Gefahr aufmerksam, die Situation könne außer Kontrolle geraten, da schon Unruhen in diesen Unterkünften ausgebrochen seien."

Document(s): Open document

01.09.2005 - Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

Foreign non-government organisations in Chechnya face Russian hostility ("Chechnya: Aid Groups Face Hostility From Moscow") [#36149],  [ID 16687]

Document(s): Open document

06.2005 - Source: European Council on Refugees and Exiles

Guidelines on the treatment of Chechen internally displaced persons (IDPs), asylum seekers and refugees in Europe ("Guidelines on the treatment of Chechen internally displaced persons (IDPs), asylum seekers and refugees in Europe") [#33211],  [ID 16688]

Document(s): Open document
Open document

18.04.2005 - Source: Médecins Sans Frontières

Report focused on return to Grozny ("Return to Grozny") [#31354],  [ID 16689]

Document(s): Open document

08.2004 - Source: Médecins Sans Frontières

Assessment of living conditions, and psychosocial and general health status among war displaced in Chechnya and Ingushetia ("The Trauma of ongoing War in Chechnya") [#25622],  [ID 16691]

Document(s): Open document

27.02.2004 - Source: Prima News

Chechnya: Due to lack of accommodation places a group of Chechen refugee families having left "Satsita" tent camp effectively found themselves out on the street after returning to Grozny ("Returning Refugees Abandoned to the Mercy of Fate") [#19841],  [ID 16692]

Document(s): Open document

15.01.2004 - Source: ReliefWeb

Insecurity and inadequate living conditions (summary of the main findings of the newly updated country pofile on IDPs in the RF prepared by the NRC) ("IDPs in northern Caucasus endure violence and destitution (NRC)") [#18796],  [ID 16693]

"In Chechnya, IDPs and the civilian population in general continue to be exposed to violence perpetrated by both parties in the conflict. Human rights organisations reported that civilians were still victims of killings, forced disappearances, and torture. The risk of disappearances following detention at checkpoints and during nightly raids remained considerable throughout 2003. In addition, there has been a series of bomb attacks, including suicide bombings, by Chechen extremists (IHF, September 2003). This general level of violence has led to a chronic sense of insecurity among the Chechen population (AI, 31 May 2003). Humanitarian needs of IDPs in Chechnya remain considerable. Unemployment is as high as 85 percent, while almost the entire population lives below the poverty line (UN November 2003). Conditions in collective "temporary accommodation centres" (or TACs) have improved in 2003 as a result of rehabilitation work implemented by the authorities (UNHCR 5 December 2003). However, international observers continued to report a lack of housing capacity for IDPs returning from Ingushetia (COE, 17 September 2003; UNICEF, 2 May 2003). Poor living conditions in Ingushetia and Chechnya have exposed IDPs and local residents to increased risks of communicable diseases. An outbreak of measles in both republics in 2003 particularly hit the displaced in tent camps and TACs. UNICEF reported extremely low vaccination coverage among displaced children in camps and temporary settlements in Ingushetia (UNICEF, 16 August 2003). The dilapidated health structures in Chechnya and the fragile health system in Ingushetia remain unable to cope with high rates of tuberculosis, hepatitis A and sexually transmitted diseases among the population and IDPs without international assistance (UN, November 2003)."

Document(s): Open document

17.12.2003 - Source: Memorial Human Rights Center

Chechnya/Ingushetia: Report on the situation in the tent camps in Ingushetia and in the temporary residence facilities in Grozny ("The situation in the tent camps in Ingushetia and in the temporary residence facilities in Grozny (autumn 2003)") [#19384],  [ID 16694]

Document(s): Open document

01.09.2003 - Source: ReliefWeb

Chechnya: Report on the housing situation of Chechen returnees in Grozny ("Fading hope for onetime refugees in capital of Chechnya (AFP)") [#15680],  [ID 16696]

Document(s): Open document

18.07.2003 - Source: ReliefWeb

According to 'Memorial' there is no space in Chechnya for accommodating refugees returning from Ingushetia ("Situation in Ingushetia worsens markedly (PW)") [#14578],  [ID 16699]

"Alexander Cherkasov, a representative of the Memorial human rights center, told Interfax on Thursday that the authorities have not created proper conditions for the refugees returning from Ingushetia. "There is no space in Chechnya for accommodating refugees returning from Ingushetia, while temporary accommodation centers are not large enough. In Chechnya, there are about 200,000 internal immigrants, whose homes have not been restored yet. It would be logical to provide these people with housing first and then think about the return of refugees from Ingushetia," Cherkasov said. Moreover, refugees currently living in Ingushetia are afraid to return for safety reasons, he added."

Document(s): Open document

04.03.2003 - Source: Council of Europe - Commissioner for Human Rights

Council of Europe/Commissioner for Human Rights: Lack of reception centres to accommodate people returning to Chechnya ("Report by the Commissioner for Human Rights, Mr. Alvaro Gil-Robles, on his visit to Russian Federation (Chechnya and Ingushetia), 10-16 February 2003 [CommDH(2003) 5]") [#11347],  [ID 16701]

"7. Reception centres have been set up for those returning to Grozny. The centres that I visited were generally in good condition, although clearly overcrowded. I also visited reception centres which were under construction. Once they have been completed, they could provide decent accommodation for a number of families of displaced persons. 8. However, the number of these centres is clearly insufficient to house the 80,000 or so people still in Ingushetia, in the camps or staying with families (in the “private sector”), even if security conditions improved."

Document(s): Open document

02.2003 - Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees

Most of IDPs from Chechnya granted forced migrant status were not ethnic Chechens ("UNHCR Paper on Asylum Seekers from the Russian Federation in the context of the situation in Chechnya"") [#47145],  [ID 16705]

"“14. IDPs granted forced migrant status between October 1999 and December 2002 received such status in the 79 regions of the Russian Federation. While official statistics do not provide a breakdown by ethnicity, most of them, according to information available to UNHCR, are ethnic Russians. According to the statistics of the Ministry of Federation, National and Migration Policy of the Russian Federation, only 89 IDPs from Chechnya were granted forced migration status in Ingushetia during the period from 1 October 1999 to 31 December 2002. Most of the 13,232 persons from Chechnya granted forced migrant status during the period from October 1999 to December 2002 settled in regions where there are few IDPs of Chechen ethnicity: 3,530 in the Stavropol region, 689 in the Tambov region, 635 in the Saratov region, and 995 in the Krasnodar region. The fact that most of IDPs from Chechnya granted forced migrant status were not ethnic Chechens was acknowledged in the letter of the Ministry of Federation, National and Migration Policy of the Russian Federation to State Duma Deputy V. Igrunov.26 However, UNHCR is also aware of ethnic Chechens who were granted forced migrant status on the above-mentioned grounds (fear of persecution by Islamic fundamentalist or “Wahabi” groups).”"

Document(s): Open document

29.01.2003 - Source: Human Rights Watch

HRW: Promises of assistance to returnees went unfilfilled ("Into Harm’s Way: Forced Return of Displaced People to Chechnya") [#10533],  [ID 16706]

"Some returnees to Chechnya have found that the promises migration officials make of compensation, shelter, and humanitarian assistance to encourage returns are unfulfilled. Since so many homes have been destroyed due to the bombing and shelling, many people rely on TACs for shelter. But an assessment of nine TACs in Chechnya done by Vesta, an Ingush nongovernmental organization subcontracted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to monitor conditions in TACs, found only two of the buildings near completion, although one still did not have gas, electricity, toilets, or a sewage system (The use of this building was also problematic because the workers who repaired the building had not been paid in months and refused to let it be occupied before they were paid). A third building was “seriously damaged,” with the fourth and fifth stories destroyed: “Its builders warn it is still dangerous to go into the building.” A fourth building, designated to house 2,500 persons was “a framework of a building only.” A fifth, designated to house more than 800 people, had no heating, gas, electricity, and was completely uninhabitable: “At the moment of monitoring, construction work had been suspended. … The precise number of rooms is unknown due to the danger of entering the building.” A sixth was being restored, but had no water or electricity. The seventh TAC had no water supply, had not yet been repaired, and was already in use as a teacher’s training institute. A eighth TAC, slated for more than 1,000 people had not yet begun to be renovated, and had no water, electricity, or gas. The ninth TAC could not be located by the NGO or the Chechen state committee on refugee affairs.[27] Two residents of the Satsita tent camp who were members of a delegation of displaced persons sent to Chechnya to check conditions in TACs found a severe shortage of space in them. On November 27 they went to Grozny, where they spoke to Ruslan Kaplanov, head of the Chechen Migration Service, and other officials responsible for settling returnees. The two delegation members, interviewed separately, each told Human Rights Watch that they were not shown TACs, but were instead given the addresses of several TACs that were not ready for occupation. One of the delegation members said, “We have the list of TACs with the number of vacant rooms, which can be occupied by refugees. In the entire republic there are eighty-eight vacant rooms.”[28] On the doors of Kaplanov’s office at the Chechen Migration Service they found an announcement saying: “Due to the lack of space in temporary accommodation centers, we are not accepting requests for TAC placement and allowances.”[29] Another member of the delegation told Human Rights Watch: Kaplanov said that he had nothing to show us, because they had just started rebuilding the damaged buildings. He was open with us because he had no choice. We wanted to see the actual places. He said that they’d just started reconstructing the building on Maiakovskii Street for 1,000 returnees. But even when they complete the works, the windows would not be made of glass but would be covered with plastic sheeting, there would not be heating, not to mention water or sewage.… We saw crowds of people there with applications, documents. These people were promised accommodation in spring and deceived.”[30] Other promises of assistance to returnees in Chechnya went unfulfilled. The same two delegation members from the Satsita camp told Human Rights Watch that they had met people in Grozny who previously lived in the tent camps and had not received food rations or other assistance for the past three months. According to the witness, the former displaced persons asked them to pass the following message to those who remain in camps: “You’ll regret it if you believe [migration officials] and come here—you’ll cry like we do.”[31] Similarly, Heda H., who had left the Bella tent camp in 2001, told her former neighbors in December 2002: No one cares about us wherever we go. My house is completely destroyed, and I haven’t received any compensation. They haven’t even given food rations for three months… I came here especially to tell the officials, “Why are you deceiving people like you deceived us?’ They just . . .walked away from me. I asked to register again in Ingushetia, but they replied they wouldn’t include me into the food ration list or give me a tent.[32] Petimat Tsitsaeva told Human Rights Watch, “I did not receive returnees’ food assistance for five months. I received only a coupon to get food, but I have not received [any food]. The Chechnya Refugee Committee cheated me, saying that I would receive money, and funds for repair of our truck. But they did not do it.”"

Document(s): Open document