U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 

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89–011 2001

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

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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.

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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.

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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 to turn 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 difVerDate 11-MAY-2000 07:07 Jul 17, 2001 Jkt 089011 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HD098.XXX pfrm03 PsN: HD098
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ficulties 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

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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 with the 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

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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.

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