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UNHCR launching emergency humanitarian airlift in response to South Ossetia displacement
11 Aug 2008 The UN refugee agency is mounting an emergency airlift of relief supplies to bolster its stockpiles of humanitarian aid in the Caucasus region amid continuing concerns over the plight of civilians caught up in the South Ossetia conflict. High Commissioner António Guterres approved the release of $2 million from UNHCR's emergency reserve to cover possible new needs in the region. -
Chechen arrivals in Poland back to normal after surge
3 Apr 2008 A surge in the number of Chechen asylum seekers arriving in Poland has eased as people get the message that membership of the Schengen zone does not mean total freedom of movement within Europe. -
Housing project brings hope to refugees in Caucasus
17 Oct 2007 UNHCR has long been helping find shelter for people uprooted by conflict in the Caucasus, like disabled 77-year-old Arshako Gigkaev. -
UNHCR helps returnees rebuild their lives as stability returns to Chechnya
5 Sep 2007 A large part of the population of Chechnya fled their homes after wars broke out in 1994 and 1999. Most have since returned, but they still face many challenges in the Caucasus republic of the Russian Federation. UNHCR is helping them to overcome the hurdles and rebuild their lives. -
UNHCR struggles to find solutions for Afghan asylum seekers in Russia
17 Apr 2007 Afghans constitute the largest number of asylum seekers in Russia but many have failed to gain refugee status and need other solutions. Unable to return to Afghanistan and denied refugee status in Russia, Afghan asylum seekers see resettlement as their only hope. -
Chechnya announces major housing programme for displaced people
27 Mar 2007 The authorities in the war-ravaged republic of Chechnya have said that, by the end of this year, they will provide apartments to 3,000 displaced families currently living in temporary accommodation centres. UNHCR has welcomed the announcement but warned that the process of allocating the new apartments must be done in a fair and transparent way. -
UNHCR to open office in Chechnya as soon as security allows, says High Commissioner António Guterres
11 Apr 2006 At the end of his visit to the volatile North Caucasus region of the Russian Federation, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, reiterated his organisation's commitment to open an office in Chechnya as soon as security conditions allow. -
For Chechens, Poland is not west enough
5 Dec 2005 Although Poland has been a member of the EU for over a year, the Chechen asylum seekers there are still convinced the grass is greener further west - but the EU's Dublin Regulation means using Poland as a transit country is no longer possible, leading to a clash between Chechen hopes and European asylum realities. -
Integration projects open doors for refugees in North Ossetia
8 Feb 2005 A slow but steady solution is in sight for tens of thousands of people who fled their homes in Georgia more than 10 years ago, through legal counselling, housing and integration projects by the UN refugee agency and its partners in the Russian republic of North Ossetia-Alania.