[House Document 107-98]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
107th Congress, 1st Session - - - - - - -- House Document 107-98
EMIGRATION LAWS AND POLICIES
__________
COMMUNICATION
from
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
transmitting
AN UPDATED REPORT CONCERNING THE EMIGRATION LAWS AND POLICIES OF
ARMENIA, AZERBAIJAN, KAZAKHSTAN, MOLDOVA, THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION,
TAJIKISTAN, TURKMENISTAN, UKRAINE AND UZBEKISTAN, PURSUANT TO 19 U.S.C.
2432(b)
July 16, 2001.--Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means and ordered
to be printed
The White House,
Washington, July 2, 2001.
Hon. J. Dennis Hastert,
Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Speaker: On September 21, 1994, President Clinton
determined and reported to the Congress that the Russian
Federation was not in violation of paragraphs (1), (2), or (3)
of subsection 402(a) of the Trade Act of 1974, or paragraphs
(1), (2), or (3) of subsection 409(a) of that Act. On June 3,
1997, he also determined and reported to the Congress that
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine were not in
violation of the same provisions, and made an identical
determination on December 5, 1997, with respect to Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. These
actions allowed for the continuation of normal trade relations
for these countries and certain other activities without the
requirement of an annual waiver.
On June 29, 2000, pursuant to subsection 302(b) of Public
Law 106-200, President Clinton determined that title IV of the
1974 Trade Act should no longer apply to Kyrgyzstan, and on
December 29, 2000, pursuant to section 3002 of Public Law 106-
476, he determined that title IV of the 1974 Trade Act should
no longer apply to Georgia.
As required by law, I am submitting an updated report to
the Congress concerning the emigration laws and policies of
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Moldova, the Russian
Federation, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.
The report indicates continued compliance of these
countries with international standards concerning freedom of
emigration.
Sincerely,
George W. Bush.
Report to the Congress Concerning Emigration Laws and Policies of
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Moldova, the Russian Federation,
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan
This report is submitted pursuant to sections 402 and 409
of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (``the Act''), following
Presidential Determination Number 94-51 of September 21, 1994,
and the accompanying report to the Congress, that the Russian
Federation is not in violation of paragraphs (1), (2), or (3)
of section 402(a) and paragraphs (1), (2), or (3) of section
409(a) of the Act; Presidential Determination Number 97-27 of
June 3, 1997, and the accompanying report to the Congress, that
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine are not in
violation of paragraphs (1), (2), or (3) of section 402(a) and
paragraphs (1), (2), or (3) of section 409(a) of the Act; and
Presidential Determination Number 98-7 of December 5, 1997, and
the accompanying report to the Congress, that Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan are not in
violation of paragraphs (1), (2), or (3) of section 402(a) and
paragraphs (1), (2), or (3) of section 409(a) of the Act.
Pursuant to Section 302(b) of the Public Law 106-200, the
President determined on June 29, 2000 that Title IV of the 1974
Trade Act should no longer apply to Kyrgyzstan, and pursuant to
section 3002 of Public Law 106-476, the President determined on
December 29, 2000 that Title IV of the 1974 Trade should no
longer apply to Georgia. Therefore, this reporting requirement
is no longer applicable to Kyrgyzstan and Georgia.
All current information indicates that the emigration laws
and practices of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Moldova, the
Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and
Uzbekistan continue to satisfy the criteria set forth in
sections 402(a) and 409(a) of the Act in respect of all matters
covered in those sections.
ARMENIA
The Armenian constitution guarantees the right of its
citizens to freedom of foreign travel and emigration, and that
right is respected in practice. Persons subject to military
service can legally be denied permission to travel abroad, but
this seldom occurs. Members of religious organizations other
than the Armenian Apostolic Church are required by law to
obtain prior permission from the State Council on Religious
Affairs to travel abroad, but this law has not been enforced
since 1997. Since independence in 1991, upwards of one million
Armenian citizens, approximately one-third of the population at
independence, have emigrated or reside semi-permanently outside
the Republic of Armenia.
AZERBAIJAN
Azerbaijan's 1995 constitution guarantees the right of all
citizens to travel abroad. The right to emigrate is officially
recognized and protected by Azerbaijani law. Although this
right is generally respected, there are frequent complaints
from Azerbaijani nationals of Armenian parentage who are
refused issuance of international travel passports. The
government may only limit the right to emigrate in cases
involving military draft liability, criminal record, or pending
criminal charges, or previous access to state secrets (the last
limitation does not pertain to emigration to other countries of
the former Soviet Union).
KAZAKHSTAN
The right to emigrate is protected by Kazakhstan's
constitution and is respected in practice, but an exit visa is
required to leave the country. Outright refusal to grant exit
visas for temporary or permanent departure is rare and has
generally been connected with government opponents subject to
pending legal cases. An opposition leader, not given an exit
visa last year to attend a conference in London, missed the
conference but was subsequently granted the visa. Other
opposition group leaders were given exit visas during the year.
In a recent speech, President Nazarbayev advocated abolishing
exit visas.
The Department of Visas and Registration usually issues
temporary exit visas within a month (applying through travel
agencies is more expensive but faster). Exit visas for
intending emigrants may be issued within three months, unless
there are delays in processing applications through the local
police or bureaucracy or in producing required documents about
personal obligations.
A law on national security prohibits persons who have had
access to state secrets from taking up residence abroad for
five years. In October, immigration police ordered an
opposition figure to turn in his passport because he allegedly
had access to state secrets in a previous government job. He
refused toturn over his passport, but, when he tried to board a
flight to London on November 25, 2000, border guards at the Almaty
airport seized the passport, even though he claimed to have a valid
exit visa and valid UK entry visa. The government alleged that the
opposition figure refused to sign a standard non-disclosure agreement
and follow other simple procedures prescribed by the law in order to
maintain his passport. The opposition figure denied that he was ever
asked to sign such an agreement. The government is not known to have
used the Law on State Secrets to block the foreign travel of any other
former official since the law's passage in 1999.
MOLDOVA
The right of citizens to emigrate is guaranteed in
Moldova's constitution and is respected in practice.
Individuals wishing to emigrate must satisfy any outstanding
financial and/or judicial obligations before emigrating. No
reports of denial of emigration rights have been recorded in
the first six months of 2001. Moldova's record on free
emigration is one of the best in this NIS. The government
eliminated emigration restrictions in 1991, and few
difficulties with emigration have been reported in the ten
years since independence.
THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
Legal guarantees of the right to emigrate are enshrined in
Russia's constitution and in law, and that right is respected
in practice. Russian law details the procedures for obtaining
travel documents and provides clarification of some
controversial policies. However, the law gives the government
the right to deny permission to travel abroad for given periods
to Russian nationals who had access to classified material.
The law provides a measure of transparency by requiring
that any denial of exit permission on secrecy grounds must 1)
specify reasons for and duration of the restriction, and 2)
indicate the full name and legal address of the organization
that requested the restriction. The law also formalized the
status of an interagency commission that hears appeals of
Russian nationals refused permission to travel based on secrecy
grounds. As of the writing of this report, the Commission had
held three sessions in 2001. During these three sessions, the
Commission reviewed 74 cases, lifting restrictions in 58 cases
(78 percent), leaving restrictions in place in 9 cases (12
percent) and deferring decisions in 7 cases (9 percent). (These
numbers are only a rough indicator of the commission's
activity, as the level of secrecy involved in individual cases
varies considerably and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not
provided a full accounting.) NGOs such as ``Movement Without
Frontiers'' that have worked with the commission from its
initiation complain that the degree of transparency in the
commission's work has recently decreased, as human rights
activists are no longer granted free access to the appellants.
From 1995 through April 2001, out of 2406 cases reviewed,
the interagency commission refused to lift restrictions in 398
cases (17 percent). Human rights organizations point out,
however, that this number includes only persons who appealed
the decision to restrict travel to the commission. The total
number of persons who were refused passports for foreign travel
on secrecy grounds is thought to be much larger. Russia's
Ministry of Internal Affairs, however, does not publish these
statistics or release them to NGO's. Since the start of the
commission in 1995, the percentage of positive decisions
appears to have decreased from 90 percent to 71 percent in
2000. So far, after three meetings in 2001, the number of
positive decisions is 78 percent.
Russian law also grants the state the right to refuse
travel abroad to individuals who are the subject of legal
proceedings or convicts who have not served their sentences. In
addition, it allows the state to deny travel abroad
``temporarily'' if an individual has evaded financial
obligations imposed by a court, such as alimony payments. This
rule has allowed relatives or former spouses to delay or even
veto emigration plans of some Russian nationals.
In the previous legal regime, there was a requirement that
Russian citizens obtain a special stamp from the Ministry of
the Interior in addition to a passport before they emigrate. In
early 1997, new legislation eliminated this requirement.
However, the Interior Ministry continues to issue an exit stamp
equivalent. The policy of the Federal Border Service (FBS)
reportedly no longer requires the stamp, but, in practice, some
FBS officers continue to require it.
TAJIKISTAN
Tajikistan's constitution provides for the right to
emigrate, and this right is respected in practice. There is no
law on emigration. Persons who wish to emigrate may do so
withthe permission of various ministries. Persons who wish to emigrate
beyond the borders of the former Soviet Union must receive the approval
of the relevant country's embassy in order to obtain their passport.
Persons who settle abroad are required to inform the Tajikistan embassy
or Tajikistan interests section of the nearest Russian embassy or
consulate.
The Ministry of Security inhibits freedom of travel by
requiring citizens who wish to travel abroad to obtain an exit
visa. This process sometimes includes lengthy interviews. The
Ministry of Security sometimes withholds or delays exit visas
when it believes that other ministries or NGO's are infringing
upon its jurisdiction and have not adhered to its formalities
for foreign travel.
TURKMENISTAN
Turkmenistan's constitution guarantees the right to
emigrate, but in practical terms citizens must first obtain
permission from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In order to
emigrate, citizens must submit an application, an invitation
from the country of destination, evidence of freedom from debts
and other financial obligations, and written consent from
family members. Divorced applicants with children must present
an affidavit of consent from their former spouse, whether or
not the children are emigrating. Those with military
obligations must de-register with the Ministry of Defense. By
law the Ministry of Foreign Affairs must process the
application and emigration documents within three months.
Although the Ministry rarely denies such applications, some
opposition figures have been prevented from emigrating.
Citizens are not permitted to travel outside the country
without official permission. The government uses its authority
to issue passports and exit visas as a means of restricting
international travel and has exercised it more aggressively in
the past two years. Most citizens are permitted to emigrate
without undue restriction.
UKRAINE
Ukrainian law and the 1996 constitution guarantee the right
to emigrate, and that right is respected in practice. All
citizens are eligible for passports that permit free travel
abroad. There remains a requirement to obtain an exit visa from
the local Office of Visas and Registration for Ukrainians who
intend to take up permanent residence in another country.
Ukraine does not impose taxes or fees on those who emigrate.
Reports of local bureaucrats assessing bribes for routine
passport and exit visa issuances are common. However, human
rights groups report that persons need only appeal to national-
level authorities to resolve their status and establish their
right to emigrate. Some draft-age men have been refused the
right to emigrate pending clarification of their status with
the military. Cases involving applicants who have had or have
access to secret information usually take longer, but secrecy
has not been used routinely as grounds for denying permission
to emigrate. A large percentage of Ukraine's Jewish population
has emigrated to Israel and the United States since Ukraine
achieved independence in 1991.
UZBEKISTAN
Uzbekistan's constitution provides for free movement within
the country and across its borders, and the government has
generally respected this right. The government requires
citizens to obtain exit visas for foreign travel or emigration,
but grants these permits routinely. The government has in rare
instances confiscated travel documents of specific individuals.
Exit visas are valid for a period of two years and no
longer require an invitation from abroad. Several human rights
activists were able to leave and reenter the country without
encountering problems from the government.
The country hosts populations of ethnic Koreans, Meskhetian
Turks, Germans, Greeks, and Crimean Tartars deported to Central
Asia by Stalin during World War II. These groups enjoy the same
rights as other citizens. Although they are free to return to
their ancestral homelands, absorption problems in those
countries have slowed their return.