Country : Russia

Topic Area : Syrian Refugee

Crisis Committee : UNHCR

As one of the Guardian of Humanity, UNHCR has always been mankind’s Bastion of Hope
especially for Refugees and Internal Displaced persons. UNHCR with their programs had always
promoting protection of Asylum Seekers who fled their countries due to political unrest and civil
war. Through their members, UNHCR uses their might to maintain Human Rights are delivered.
As a member of United Nation, Russian Federation also take part regarding on Refugees. Russian
Federation. The Russian Federation also present in the UN General Assembly on 19 September
2016 in New York. Thus cementing the participation of Russian Federation in preserving Human
Rights for Displaced people.
In 2017 8.970 refugees and asylum seekers received assistance from UNHCR’s legal
partners and independent asylum practitioners. 8.620 stateless persons acquired Russian
nationality with help from the 340 judicial and quasi-judicial position provided to courts to help
with the refugee status determination and citizenship processes. But we have to return 101.976
refugees back to Syria due to lack of the legal support, capability, and resources. Russian
Federation have a very strict law towards citizenship and Refugees.
Ever since the collapse of the USSR, the Russian Federation still has migration problems
within the border. The dissolution of the USSR thus creating New Independent States left former
USSR citizens who lived outside from the Russian Federation territory in a legal limbo. Not only
that, the New Independent States or the Balkan States emerges from the ashes of USSR to be burn
again after failing to govern itself. Leaving even more citizen becoming a Stateless Persons. Up
until now, the Russian Federation still developing on nationality legislation to prevent and reduce
statelessness by enabling stateless persons to acquire Russian Citizenship. And up to 2017 there
are approximately 200.000 persons who gained Russian Citizenship. Citizenship has always
haunted the Russian Federation ever since the birth of the Nation itself.
Not only that, most of the Russian Federation population are Orthodox Christian, thus
creating a huge gap between the Moslem majority of Syrian Refugees and the citizen of Russian
Federation itself. By relocating the Refugees to the heart of Russia itself will cause public disorder
between indigenous people and the new comers. Economically speaking, Russian Federation
recession-hit economy has propelled the poverty rate to a nine-year high while struggling to cope
with a crippling economic crisis. An average of 19.2 million Russian (13.4%) of the population
live on less than $139 a month. Russian Federation also struggling to reduce unemployment rates
which now is 4.50% of the population in July 2018. With more of the Refugees coming, Russian
Federation cannot simply providing working places even houses. Thus will increasing poverty and
unemployment in Russian Federation since there will be cheap Refugees labor and eliminating
Russian Federation’s own citizen. In 2016 Norway has begun using buses to move asylum seekers
to Russian Federation. There is too much pressure coming not only from the Refugees themselves,
but also from the neighboring country and inside the country as well.
The Russian Federation has taken this issue very seriously. Based on UNHCR Universal
Periodic Review on The Russian Federation, there will be major improvement to Support asylum-
seekers. The Russian Federation plans to prevent cases of potential refoulement, grating access to
refugee status, people of concern will have access to national primary healthcare facilities, granting
legal assistance to Refugees and asylum-seekers, increasing Governmental staff to be trained on
Refugee status determination procedures. Those plans will only be able to be fully implemented
as long as Russian Federation have enough resources and capability to do so. As had been delivered
by the President of Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin in the summit between Russian Federation,
Iran, and Turkey 4th of April 2018. Not only that, The Russian Federation also belief that the
Refugee problem can also be tackled by resolving conflicts that force people to flee their homes.
This means that UN should have an aggressive action toward conflicts between nation or political
power within a nation to prevents War or Civil War that in the future will prevent people to flee
their Country.