Cablegate: Romania Considers Request to Resettle Protected Migrants From Guantanamo

VZCZCXRO7697
RR RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHBM #1678 3061525
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 021525Z NOV 06
FM AMEMBASSY BUCHAREST
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5486
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L BUCHAREST 001678

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE EUR/NCE FOR AARON JENSEN
STATE PRM FOR ROBERT GEHRING AND ROD MACKLER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/01/2016
TAGS: PREF PGOV PREL RO
SUBJECT: ROMANIA CONSIDERS REQUEST TO RESETTLE PROTECTED MIGRANTS FROM GUANTANAMO

REF: SECSTATE 172504

Classified By: DCM Mark Taplin for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

1. (C) PolOff delivered reftel demarche to MFA Director for Human Rights Steluta Arhire on October 17 and to Ministry of Administration and Interior (MAI) Deputy Director General of the National Refugee Office Catalin Necula on November 1. PolOff praised Romania’s provision of refuge for the Uzbek refugees until they were resettled earlier this year and relayed the request for an ongoing partnership in providing refuge for lives in danger. MFA’s Arhire reaction was positive, albeit cautious. She said that she would seek the Foreign Minister’s approval to begin inter-ministerial consideration of this request. MAI’s Necula said that Romania had approved the legal framework earlier this year to be able to resettle refugees and that the law had just come into force in August 2006. He said that currently they were considering how to develop the procedural framework and indicated that Romania coud benefit from possible assistance in developing the capacity of its refugee resettlement program. Necula said he would forward the request to the minister and work on a formal response with the MFA.

2. (C) Necula provided figures on Romania’s acceptance of refugees since 1991, noting that Romania received over 15,000 applications and had accepted about 2200 individuals. Asylum has been sought mostly by people from Iraq, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan, with lesser numbers coming from Pakistan, Somalia, Iran, India, and China followed by a wide range of other nationals.

Taubman

© Scoop Media