Statistique, Développement et Droits de l‘Homme
Session C-Pa 5a
Refugees and Displaced Population in
Bulgaria in the Period of the Reform: The
Problem of Statistical Information and
Measurement
Svoboda TOSHEVA
Montreux, 4. – 8. 9. 2000
Statistique, Développement et Droits de l‘Homme
Refugees and Displaced Population in Bulgaria in the Period
of the Reform: The Problem of Statistical Information and
Measurement
Svoboda TOSHEVA
Professor in Economics, University of Sofia
z.k. Borovo bl. 226/g
1680 Sofia, Bulgaria
T. + 329 2 980 57 05
ToshevaS@bnpdreba.ttm.bg
ABSTRACT
Refugees and Displaced Population in Bulgaria in the Period of the Reform: The Problem
of Statistical Information and Measurement
The problem of statistical measurement of refugees in Bulgaria is in general not new, but it
has acquired new dimensions in the period of the reform from a centrally planned to a market
economy. At present there are about 3,000 refugees in Bulgaria mainly from developing countries
such as Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq and others. Bulgaria has joined the Geneva Convention on
Refugees (1951) and the Protocol of New York (1967) and it has accepted the international
procedures for identification and registration of refugees. The refugees are to be registered in the
Agency on Refugees, which is a State institution. The basic problems concerning statistical
measurement are connected with the very slow procedures of the process of identification of
refugees. Another important issue is the training of the relevant personnel at borders which is to
identify the refugees and start up the recognition procedures. Procedures for recognition may last
up to 3 and even 5 years.
Another very important problem is the social and economic adaptation of the refugees in a
society which is in a painful process of transition and experiences sharp economic and social
crises. In the totalitarian times refugees as well as other foreigners were not accepted as equal
right members in the society. At present in spite of the democratic changes, refugees socially and in
economic terms are not well accepted because of the unemployment and other problems that have
appeared during the transition.
The paper will also elaborate on one of the most delicate and painful process - the refugees in
Bulgaria in the light of the Kosovo conflict. Many people trying to escape from Kosovo are using
Bulgaria as a transit country, but what is their status, are they refugees while being in Bulgaria?
In brief, the paper will focus on the problem of statistical measurement, identification and
recognition of refugees in Bulgaria, their social status and human rights, their adaptation in the
Bulgarian society.
RESUME
2
Montreux, 4. – 8. 9. 2000
Statistique, Développement et Droits de l‘Homme
Réfugiés et populations déplacées en Bulgarie durant la période de réforme : problème
d’information et d’évaluation statistiques
Le problème de l’évaluation statistique des réfugiés en Bulgarie n’est pas nouveau, mais il a
pris de nouvelles dimensions pendant la période de la réforme d’une économie centrale planifiée à
une économie de marché. Il y a actuellement quelque 3 000 réfugiés en Bulgarie, principalement
originaires des pays en voie de développement, tels que l’Iran, l’Afghanistan, l’Irak, etc. La
Bulgarie a signé la Convention de Genève sur les réfugiés (1951) ainsi que le Protocole de New
York (1967), et a accepté les procédures internationales d’identification et d’enregistrement des
réfugiés. Ces personnes doivent être enregistrées à l’Agence des Réfugiés, qui est une institution
étatique. Les problèmes de fond concernant l’évaluation statistique sont liés aux procédures
d’identification et d’enregistrement des réfugiés extrêmement lentes. Autre problème crucial : la
formation du personnel compétent aux frontières qui doit identifier les réfugiés et entamer des
procédures de reconnaissance. Les procédures de reconnaissance peuvent durer jusqu’à 3 voire 5
ans.
L’adaptation sociale et économique des réfugiés dans la société constitue un autre problème
majeur, la société étant dans une phase douloureuse de transition et connaissant de graves crises
économiques et sociales. En temps de totalitarisme, les réfugiés tout comme les autres étrangers ne
sont pas considérés comme membres égaux en droit dans la société. Actuellement, en dépit des
changements démocratiques, les réfugiés sont mal acceptés du point de vue social et économique,
étant donné l’apparition du chômage et d’autres problèmes de cette phase de transition.
Ce document donne également des détails sur l’un des processus les plus délicats et
douloureux, à savoir les réfugiés de Bulgarie dans le conflit du Kosovo. De nombreuses personnes
qui tentent de fuir le Kosovo utilisent la Bulgarie comme pays transitoire, seulement quel est leur
statut, sont-elles réfugiés lorsqu’elles se trouvent en Bulgarie ?
Pour résumer, ce document se focalise sur le problème de l’évaluation statistique, de
l’identification et de la reconnaissance des réfugiés en Bulgarie, leur statut social et les droits de
l’homme, et leur adaptation dans la société bulgare.
1. Bulgaria in the refugees flows
The problem of the legal status, integration, statistical information and measurement of
refugees in Bulgaria is in general not new, but ithas acquired new dimensions in the period of the
reform from a centrally planned to a market economy. From 1993 until mid 1999 there were 3,678
asylum seeking persons from 58 countries or without citizenship registered. A total of 1,935
decisions were made, with 524 persons granted refugee status, 376 persons granted humanitarian
status, 261 person's applications rejected and 774 cases discontinued. Refuges and persons seeking
asylum are mainly from developing countries such as Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Ethiopia, Congo,
Armenia and others where generally there are ethnic, religious, tribal or political conflicts. Some
of them are former foreign students, others are newcomers. With its specific geographic location on
the Balkan Peninsula, minorities tolerance and being an EU accession country, Bulgaria has become
one of the countries in Europe where people seeking asylum and refugees try to find protection and
security. On the other hand due to its own low living standards, legacies from the past and problems
connected with the transition process Bulgaria itself is subject to restrictions on human capital flows
on the part of the EU.
The process of acceptance and recognition of asylum seekers and refugees is accompanied by
many new problems such as the creation and development of the legal and institutional framework,
the social and economic integration of the refugees, building public awarness of refugees needs and
role, the information about them and others. Bulgaria has joined the 1951 Geneva convention on
refugees and the 1967 Protocol of New York and has accepted the international procedures for
3
Montreux, 4. – 8. 9. 2000
Statistique, Développement et Droits de l‘Homme
identification and registration of refugees. The refugees are registered and dealt with by the state
Agency for Refugees.
The basic problems concerning statistical information and measurement are connected with
the identification of the exact number of persons seeking asylum and monitoring the impact of
refugees social and economic life. Other problems are related to the very slow procedures of the
process of identification of refugees, the training of the relevant personnel at borders which is to
identify the refugees and start up the recognition procedures.
The financial assistance for the social and economic adaptation of the refugees is very limited
in a society which is in a painful process of transition and experiences sharp economic and social
crises. In the totalitarian times refugees as well as other foreigners although legally recognized as
equal right persons, were in practice not easily integrated into the society in terms of employment.
At present in spite of the democratic changes, refugees face enormous difficulties because of the
unemployment and other social problems that have appeared during the transition.
The objective of this contribution paper is to focus on some of the tendencies and key issues
of the problem of refugees in the context of the development of the transition to a market economy.
2. The Legal Framework
Since beginning of the democratic changes in 1989 the legal basis for the recognition and
acceptance of refugees and the people searching asylum is constantly developing . Such important
international treaties as the Geneva Convention of 1951 and the New York Protocol of 1967 were
ratified by the Bulgarian National Assembly in 1992 and came into force on 3.08.1993 as part of the
local legislation. The 1991 Bulgarian Constitution provides for the granting of asylum to foreigners
persecuted for their opinions or their activity in the defense of internationally recognized rights and
freedoms. Another important step to creating the institutional framework was the Government
Decree No 207 of 23.10.1992 for the establishment of an official body dealing with refugees status the National Bureau for Territorial Asylum and Refugees, which was transformed into the Agency
for Refugees in 1999. The local legislation concerning refugees status started with a temporary
measure for regulating refugees status. This was the adopted in 1994 Ordinance for Granting of
Refugee Status. Although the Ordinance did not include a refugee definition it stated that it should
be granted under the conditions of the 1951 Geneva Convention and the 1967 New York Protocol.
In 1999 was adopted the first Bulgarian law on refugees. It specifies the conditions and the order for
granting a refugee status, the rights and the obligations of the refugees as well as the government
institutions and their competencies in regard to the protection of refugees in Bulgaria. The analyses
of the regulations of the Law on Refugees reveals that it is democratic in character. It is in
compliance with the international treaties and provides all the necessary preconditions for
functioning of the recognition procedures, protection, social and economic adaptation of refugees.
Very important is the definition of the refugee (article. 2, paragraph 1 ) as a "person who is
reasonably afraid of persecution because of his race, religion, nationality, belonging to a certain
social group or political views, and is out of the country of permanent citizenship, and because of
the said reasons is not able or is unwilling to use the defense of this country or to return to it".
The Law clearly specifies the rights of the refugees during the recognition procedures and
after their completion. The person to whom a refugee status is already granted has all rights of a
Bulgarian citizen (Article 28 paragraph 1) except the right to be elected, to be employed in the state
administration on positions requiring Bulgarian citizenship, to serve in the Bulgarian army and
others defined by the Bulgaria Law. By determining the rights of the refugee the Law provides
framework for the social and economic integration into the Bulgarian society and economy. Other
very important parts of the Law for the refugees are the provisions related to application procedures,
the legal aid and economic assistance as well as the reasons for rejection of status. The Law
specifies the tasks of the Agency for refugees with its main office, transit, registration, acceptance
4
Montreux, 4. – 8. 9. 2000
Statistique, Développement et Droits de l‘Homme
and integration centers, as a state body entitled to conduct the government policy in the field of
refugees treatment and to carry out the practical workflow with the acceptance and providing
temporary accommodation of the refuges, assisting them in the adaptation to the Bulgarian
conditions, organizing language training etc. The Agency is a central budget funded institution
under the Council of Ministers. In a period of 3 months after the procedures are started, the
President of the Agency for refugees is to take a decision to grant the refugee status/and or to refuse
the refugee status, to provide protection to a refugee recognized as per the mandate for the Supreme
Commissioner and/ or provide humanitarian aid.
3. The Economic and Social Prerequisites for the Integration of Refugees in the Period of the
Transition
Bulgaria has already completed 10 years of structural transformation from a centrally planned
to a market economy. This process has changed profoundly the economic profile of the country , its
international economic relations and its participation in the integration processes in Europe. On the
one hand, in spite of the various difficulties a viable private sector has emerged due to the
privatisation of the state sector and the growing number of newly established private companies.
Food industry, textiles, clothing, services are industries primarily belonging to the private sector in
terms of employment. The general contribution of the private sector in the gross value added is 64%
as of 1998 which is a proof of the growing importance of the private initiative in the economy. In
terms of the economic integration, the structural reform and the development of the private
business, have created the same preconditions for refugees as for every Bulgarian citizen to develop
their own private initiative. However the social cost of the transition has proved to be very high.
The Bulgarian state is still unable to fulfil its social obligations and to guarantee the right to
employment, education and health care, to provide equal access to job opportunities and a decent
standard of living. The human development balance sheet of the transition is rather pessimistic.
According to the 1999 UNDP Human Development Report for Central and Eastern Europe and the
CIS, Bulgarian government expenditures on health care as of GDP fell from 4% in 1990 to 3,2% in
1996; infant mortality increased from 13,4 in 1988 to 15,6 in 1996, long term unemployment
remains high -14,8%; the share of income spent on food increased from 46% in 1993 to 66% in
1997. According to the Bulgarian Centre for Economic Development, Bulgaria is rated 45-50th in
the world regarding the level of socio-economic development in 1998. Due to the economic
difficulties asylum seekers and recognised refugees in Bulgaria (although the latter legally are on
equal terms with Bulgarian citizens) have limited access to employment and social security. It is
important to point out that the labour bureaus only serve recognised refugees. Asylum seekers have
no legal grounds to interact with the Labour Office and apply for jobs. That means that while the
asylum seekers are undergoing the determination procedure the labour bureaus do not incur any
costs serving them, nor finding jobs for them or enrolling them in training courses. According to a
study conducted by the Bulgarian Institute for Market Economy between January 1, 1998 and June
1999, 32 refugee-status grantees were served at the regional labour bureaus . In 1998, 26 refugees
were registered at them. This totalled 0.006% of all registered unemployed people. In the first half
of 1999, six refugees were registered, and this was 0.0012% of all registered unemployed people for
that period. People with refugee status are isolated from the Bulgarian employment system, which is
directed toward overcoming long-term unemployment. They face many other difficulties. They
have language barriers, low professional qualification and cannot rely on social network. Under
these circumstances the main sector for labor activity of refugees is the shadow economy.
Possibilities for financial assistance for social integration are also very limited. Legal regulations set
the amount of aid to every person who is in determination procedure at about USD 19 per month.
During the same period the state provides accomodation, language training, medical care.
According to the study conducted by the Bulgarian Institute for Market Economy total annual costs
5
Montreux, 4. – 8. 9. 2000
Statistique, Développement et Droits de l‘Homme
of refugee social assistance amount to USD 1,070 as of 1999. Total costs related to refugees in
Bulgaria in 1999 were estimated to be about 0.05% of the GDP. The government does not fully
support refugees. External assistance is about 11% and self-financing is 68% of total costs.
4. Information and statistical measurement
Statistically asylum seekers and refugees are registered in the state Agency for Refugees.
Their number as of the end of 1999 shows that they do not represent a significant part of the
population and coming to Bulgaria is not motivated by any special event of crises.Statistical
measurement is rather conditional and faces the difficulties connected with uncertainty whether
refugees will stay in the country or use it as a transit territory. Some refugees leave the country
during determination procedures, other after their completion. Most of the reasons are of economic
character. There is no centralised statistics of the activities, respectively the costs related to
refugees. Except for the government authorised Agency, asylum seekers receive assistance from the
UNHCR Liason Office in Bulgaria (supporting government authorities and refugee-related NGOs),
the Bulgarian Red Cross (assistance to more vulberable groups), the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee
(providing legal protection) and the Bulgarian Future Foundation (dealing with transportation of
aslym seekers from borders checkpoints to transit centres). All of them are refugee related NGOs.
In terms of the new social, economic and political realities in the present day world, the Bulgarian
refugee policy should be directed to further development of the measures to increase refugees
employment possibilities and access to social and training programmes.
6
Montreux, 4. – 8. 9. 2000