CIS Conference

Regional Conference to Address the Problems of Refugees, Displaced Persons, other Forms of Involuntary Displacement and Returnees in the Countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States and Relevant Neighboring Countries (CIS Conference)

Established: 1996

Objectives

The CIS Conference is a regional conference that addressed the problems of refugees, displaced Persons, other forms of involuntary displacement and returnees in the countries of the commonwealth of independent states and relevant neighbouring states and follow-up process.

The CIS Conference is no longer active and was ended in 2005.

Focus

• Refugees
• IDPs and persons in refugee-like situations
• Epatriates
• Ecological migrants
• Migration management (combating illegal migration and trafficking, border management)
• Migrants' rights
• Return and reintegration
• Population/demography  

ecretariat

UNHCR, IOM and OSCE/ODHIR acted as joint secretariat for the Conference and provided technical support to the Follow-up Process.

Members

Members

16 Members

• Armenia
• Azerbaijan
• Belarus
• Georgia
• Kazakhstan
• Kyrgyzstan
• Moldova
• Russian Federation
• Tajikistan
• Turkmenistan
• Ukraine
• Uzbekistan

Interested States

36 Interested States

• Australia
• Austria
• Belgium
• Bulgaria
• Canada
• China
• The Czech Republic
• Denmark
• Estonia
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Holy See
• Hungary
• Iceland
• Iran
• Ireland
• Italy
• Japan
• Latvia
• Lithuania
• Mongolia
• The Netherlands
• Norway
• Pakistan
• Poland
• Portugal
• Romania
• Slovakia
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• Turkey
• The United Kingdom
• The United States of America

Observers and partners

 

Partner and Observer Institutions

• United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
• International Organization for Migration (IOM)
• Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe / Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR)
• Other international organizations, NGOs and entities

Meetings

 

• May 26-28, 2004, Minsk, Belarus, High-Level Review Meeting on “Refugees, Migration and Protection”
• July 13-14, 2000, Geneva, Switzerland, Fifth Meeting of the Steering Group of the CIS-Conference
• May 30- 31, 1996, Geneva, Switzerland, CIS-Conference

Documents

• CIS General Assembly Resolution 1995
• CIS General Assembly Report 1996
• CIS General Assembly Resolution 2002
• CIS General Assembly Report 2003
• CIS General Assembly Report 2005
• CIS Declaration POA Regional Conference 1996
• IOM and UNHCR Assessment Report of the Conference Process (1996-2000)
• Report of the Fifth Meeting of the Steering Group
• CIS 2004 High-Level Review Meeting on “Refugees, Migration and Protection” - Chair's Conclusions
• CIS 2005 Closing Statement
• Refugee and human rights protection in countries of the CIS with emphasis on Central Asia and Kazakhstan
• Refugee policy and Eurasia - the CIS Conference and EU Enlargement Process 1996-2005