§ Lord Lester of Herne Hillasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many refugees from Kosovo have been given asylum by each of the member states of the Council of Europe since the beginning of the NATO bombing campaign. [HL2313]
§ Lord Williams of MostynInformation supplied by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) detailing the movement of Kosovars is given in the tables. In the case of Albania and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, this relates to the estimated displaced population of Kosovars since March 1999. Figures for other states indicate the numbers evacuated from the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, mainly following identification by UNHCR.
These figures exclude persons from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia who apply for asylum having left the region outside the current evacuation programme. Data regarding these asylum seekers are not available for the period requested. However, it is known that some Council of Europe states currently have a moratorium on making substantive decisions in such claims.
The United Kingdom, however, is continuing to make decisions. A specialist team has recently been formed within the Immigration and Nationality Directorate to expedite the processing of asylum applications from nationals of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and to facilitate the entry of persons coming to the United Kingdom under the humanitarian evacuation programme.
160WA
Population estimates of Kosovar refugees as at 7 May 1999 Country Number Albania 413, 100 Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 228,000
Humanitarian evacuations of Kosovars from the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia from 5 April through 6 May 1999 (Council of Europe States only) Country Number Austria 1,890 Belgium 1,205 Croatia1 188 Czech Republic 458 Denmark 486 Finland 481 France 2,662 Germany 9,974 Iceland 70 Italy 278 Netherlands 2,014 Norway 2,783 Poland 909 Portugal 192 Romania 41 Slovakia 90 Slovenia 186 Spain 443 Sweden 1,078 Switzerland 186 Turkey2 6,481 United Kingdom3 645 1Includes 88 evacuated without UNHCR/IOM involvement.
2Includes 1, 980 evacuated without UNHCR/IOM involvement.
3Includes 315 evacuees arriving at Prestwick on 9 May 1999.