Annual Report: International Protection in the Czech Republic in 2009
Main trends, number of seekers, proceedings and European cooperation
Humanitarian and Relocation Programmes in 2009
1) The MEDEVAC Programme
TheMinistry of the Interior of the Czech Republic has been operating for a long time the MEDEVAC Programme (a programme of humanitarian evacuations of citizens with medical problems), which provides humanitarian aid to persons with health handicaps.
In 2009, two three-year-old boys from Cambodia with heart defects took part in the programme. They were chosen on the basis of close cooperation between the Ministry of the Interior, the Czech Teaching Hospital in Motol and the Czech Embassy in Bangkok.
Likewise, last year new child patients with heart defects were chosen in Afghanistan, as they are suitable candidates to undergo treatment in the Czech Republic. They were selected by a doctor from the Paediatric Cardio Centre of the Motol Teaching Hospital, who was present at the KAIA International Military Base in Afghanistan from the end of November to the beginning of December last year. The selected Afghan children will be transported to the Czech Republic for treatment during 2010 in cooperation with the Czech Armed Forces.
Since 1993, a total of 126 patients were treated through the MEDEVAC Programme. They came from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Chechnya, Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Cambodia. They were mainly child patients with war injuries, congenital defects and disabilities of the locomotor apparatus.
2) The Relocation Programme of the Czech Republic in 2009
The Relocation Programme was initiated in 2008 by a project involving refugees from Myanmar (Burma), based on the Concept for the National Relocation Programme.
During the programme, 19 Burmese refugees were relocated to the Czech Republic in 2009. The programme was carried out in several stages. In the first one in 2008, a group of 23 persons was relocated to the Czech Republic, while 16 people were relocated in February 2009 as part of the second stage. In November 2009, 3 Burmese children were relocated to rejoin their families.
When choosing the country of origin and the specific people for relocation, the long-term unsatisfactory situation for Burmese refugees in Malaysia was taken into account, as was the long-term and active involvement of the Czech Republic in the current political situation in Myanmar. In 2009, the programme was carried out in close cooperation with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organisation for Migration.