Romania: Information on the treatment of citizens returning to Romania after having been refused Convention Refugee Status abroad
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 May 1994 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | ROM17222.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Romania: Information on the treatment of citizens returning to Romania after having been refused Convention Refugee Status abroad, 1 May 1994, ROM17222.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6acda1c.html [accessed 18 October 2022] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
The United States Department of State Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1993 states that "approximately 30,000 Romanian citizens whose requests for refugee status had been rejected were returned from Germany under the terms of a bilateral agreement" (1994, 1017). The report also states that "according to German government statistics, 40 per cent of those returned are ethnic Roma," or Gypsies, that these individuals receive "little or no resettlement assistance" and that their "reintegration is complicated by various types of discrimination" (ibid.).
In a letter sent to the DIRB in Ottawa, the UNHCR Bucharest liaison office states that it is unaware "of cases where Romanian returnees have encountered discrimination or problems from the police or other government department[s], due to the fact that they had requested asylum abroad" (16 May 1994). However, the information received from the organization also states that "returnees face difficulty in economical/social re-integration, due to [a] housing shortage, high unemployment, and [a] generally inadequate social protection system" (ibid.).
Media reports state that a special police unit was created to handle refugees returned from Germany and that provided a returned asylum seeker did not have a criminal record, he or she would be taken to their place of residence under police escort (Reuters 3 Nov. 1992).
For further information on the treatment of Gypsies in Romania and their repatriation, please refer to pages 1019 and 1020 of Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1993, pages 245 to 246 of Amnesty International Report 1993, and page 319 of Critique: Review of the Department of State's Country Reports for 1992. Also see Responses to Information Requests ROM15981.E of 24 January 1994, ROM2876 of 9 November 1989 and ROM2399 of 24 October 1989 available at your Regional Documentation Centre, and the attached documents.
This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.
References
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1993. 1993. United States Department of State. Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office.
Reuters. 3 November 1992. BC Cycle. "New Romanian Police Squad for Returned Refugees." (NEXIS)
UNHCR Bucharest Liaison Office, Bucharest. 16 May 1994. Letter faxed to the DIRB.
Attachments
The Associated Press. 1 November 1992. AM Cycle. Mark Fritz. "Refugee Numbers Climb Despite Skinhead Violence." (NEXIS)
Federal Document Clearing House Congressional Testimony. 14 April 1994. "Testimony April 14, 1994 Ian Hancock President International Roma Federation..." (NEXIS)
Houston Chronicle. 18 September 1992. Star Edition. Tamara Jones. "Germany to Repatriate Gypsies and Romanians." (NEXIS)
Reuters. 3 November 1992. BC Cycle. "New Romanian Police Squad for Returned Refugees." (NEXIS)
The Times [London]. 9 December 1992. Anatol Lieven. "Bonn Sends Back Rumanians." (NEXIS)
UNHCR Bucharest Liaison Office, Bucharest. 16 May 1994. Letter faxed to the DIRB.
