Systemic problems of administrative and legal regulation of the powers of state bodies in the field of forced migration in Russia

Petrovskaya Miroslava Ivanovna Senior Lecturer, Department of Legal Science, North-West Institute of Management of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration 199178, Russia, g. Saint Petersburg, liniya 15-Ya vasil'evskogo ostrova, 32, kv. 69 maria-petrovskaya@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Introduction

The relevance of the chosen topic is due to the increased need for administrative reform in the system of public administration of forced migration. According to the leading Russian media, more than 5 million forced migrants from Ukraine arrived in Russia, not counting other categories of forced migrants^[1].

State management of forced migration in Russia is carried out by a number of state bodies authorized in this area, including the President of Russia, the Government of Russia, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation (hereinafter – the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation), the Federal Agency for Nationalities, state authorities of the subjects of the Russian Federation, local governments.

At the same time, in the current difficult migration situation, systemic problems of public administration remain unresolved, related to the implementation of functions and tasks for the social, economic and legal adaptation and integration of forced migrants, the functions and tasks of legal education, material security, and quotas of forced migrants are not being effectively implemented. These problems are caused by defects in legal regulation, a low level of coordination of powers, unjustified granting of powers to state bodies that they are not able to effectively implement, since this requires new management approaches. There are also problems in statistical activities and in the field of activity planning ^{[1, p. 126]}.

These circumstances determine the relevance of the stated research topic.

The object of the study of this article is the system of public relations that develops in the process of exercising the powers of state bodies in the field of forced migration.

The subject of the study of this article is the administrative and legal norms governing public relations that develop in the process of exercising the powers of state bodies in the field of forced migration. The purpose of this article is to formulate recommendations and proposals for reforming the current legislation in the field of forced migration related to the exercise of the powers of state bodies in the framework of forced migration management.

The methodology of the work is determined by the chosen research topic. The work used dialectical, general logical, legal, statistical, structural and functional research methods.

This problem in science has been studied in the works of such scientists as Kulesh E.A. ^{[2, p. 24]}, Trifonova K.V. ^{[3, p. 90]}, Prudnikova T.A. ^{[4, p. 292]}, Sologub D.P. ^{[5, p. 32]}, Payramova I.V. ^{[6, p. 210]}, Prudnikov A.S. ^{[7, p. 71]} and others.

According to the author, existing research in this area lacks a systematic approach to analyzing the powers of state bodies in the law enforcement sphere (protective powers) implemented by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia and the powers in the field of social adaptation and integration of forced migrants, which are carried out by the Federal Agency for Nationalities and Local governments. These spheres of public relations form an integral space that requires ordering.

Ignoring issues of social adaptation and integration can lead to the marginalization of forced migrants, which on the one hand will save certain resources, and on the other hand will entail the need to implement the already protective powers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia and a corresponding increase in costs. At the same time, in this case, the forced migrant will most likely not be able to benefit from his economic activities to specific regions, since the issue of his isolation or deportation will be resolved.

This article applies a systematic approach to the analysis of state-legal phenomena and the powers of state bodies in their consistent relationship, taking into account the need to ensure the unity of state policy in the field of forced migration.

The main part

Public administration in the field of forced migration is formed from the management activities of State bodies exercising their powers. As part of the exercise of their powers, State bodies issue relevant regulatory legal acts regulating certain aspects of such a complex sphere as forced migration.

In the content of forced migration, the author includes at least the following legal statuses enshrined in the current legislation of Russia:

1) Refugee status;

2) the status of temporary asylum;

3) the status of political asylum.

The current legal structure of the status system in the field of forced migration may not be limited to these statuses. Forced migrants can also use labor migration-related statuses to legalize their stay in Russia, which allow them to legally stay in the territory of the state of arrival if obtaining temporary asylum and refugee statuses is problematic for them due to various formal or material reasons ^{[8, p. 620]}.

These statuses are characterized primarily by the fact that they are provided to persons who carry out migration movement due to circumstances objectively forcing migration to another state. Such reasons may not include the desire to get a better-paying job or a sought-after profession, as well as other subjective reasons. Forced migration is characterized primarily by the causes of migration movement caused by persecution or the threat of persecution for views and beliefs, including political beliefs ^{[9, p. 42]}.

At the same time, views of an extremist or terrorist nature cannot be grounds for granting asylum, since their social destructivism is objective, and the harm to society, including potential harm, cannot be compensated by political expediency.

The author does not consider the status of an internally displaced person, enshrined in Russian legislation as forced migration, because although the status of an internally displaced person implies the presence of a sign of compulsion, but by its nature and characteristics of the activities of state bodies in this area differs significantly from forced migration of an international nature. At the same time, internally displaced persons can be considered as internally displaced migrants.  

The main differences between forced migration of an international nature and forced migration of a domestic nature in this case are cultural and legal barriers, as well as the need for social, legal and economic adaptation and integration of forced migrants from foreign countries.

If Russian citizens, even seriously injured as a result of any natural disasters or fires and lost their property, then despite all the objective material difficulties, throughout their lives they have lived in the socio-cultural space of Russia, are carriers of a common culture, know the legislation in force in Russia, at least at the level that allows you to live and work in any region of Russia. Thus, internally displaced persons in general have significantly higher abilities for social, economic and legal adaptation and integration than refugees or persons who have received temporary asylum.

In addition, government agencies usually allocate a certain level of material resources to internally displaced persons as compensation for the cost of damaged property^[2].

According to the author, internally displaced persons appear to be a qualitatively and structurally independent category of public administration, differing in methods of influence and administrative procedures from refugees and persons who have received temporary asylum. Therefore, the category of internally displaced persons is not considered in this work.

Thus, forced migration is centered around the provision of two main administrative and legal statuses - refugee and forced asylum. We do not consider the status of political asylum as a real alternative to the refugee and temporary asylum statuses due to its exclusivity, expressed in the fact that it is granted by decision of the President of Russia in exceptional cases, often associated with widespread international publicity and the presence of obvious political pressure on the person applying for political asylum status.

It is no coincidence that the status of political asylum does not even get into the Rosstat data on forced migration, while the site contains data on the number of internally displaced persons, refugees and persons who have received temporary asylum status^[3].

Let's consider the main powers of state bodies in the field of forced migration.

The President of the Russian Federation develops the main guiding documents, as well as defines the priority directions of migration policy^[4].

The Government of the Russian Federation ensures the systemic unity and interconnectedness of other state authorities of forced migration, develops various regulatory documents, including programmatic ones, determines priorities in migration policy based on the normative guidelines contained in the legal acts of the President of Russia. Nevertheless, planning issues remain a weak point of the migration management system ^{[6, p. 210]}.

 Among the individual powers exercised by the Government of the Russian Federation, it is possible to single out powers related to the implementation of integration measures, supervisory powers, and powers related to the distribution of forced migrants^[5].

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia exercises its powers according to the Regulations on the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation^[6]. Such powers include the powers to determine the directions of state policy, the implementation of which is based on the analysis and forecasting of the development of migration relations, as well as the powers to coordinate the activities of other state bodies in the field of forced migration.

In fact, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation carries out activities in the field of forced migration mainly independently on the basis of established practice approaches of a protective nature. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation has a wide range of “forceful” or “punitive” powers aimed at curbing illegal migration. The coordinating powers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation are practically not being implemented.

Recognizing the importance and significance of the activities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation to curb illegal migration, the need for high-quality implementation of which was noted by the President of the Russian Federation in 2022^[7] and in 2023^[8], the author believes that activities to prevent the commission of crimes and offenses in the context of legal education, social and cultural adaptation and integration of forced migrants are not carried out sufficiently ^{[10, pp. 1-15]}. The same position is shared by other authors ^{[11, pp. 19-37]}.

At the same time, a number of authors of scientific research note the need to empower the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia with a sufficient level of authority to ensure the required effectiveness of law enforcement ^{[12, pp. 57-63]}.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation also exercises registration and licensing powers, checks forced migrants, and considers applications for refugee and temporary asylum status.

Regarding the material provision of forced migrants, it can be noted that the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia has powers related to assistance in temporary accommodation. In practice, this is implemented in each individual case in different ways, depending on the availability of material, financial and housing resources.

The powers of social adaptation and integration of foreign citizens are exercised by the Federal Agency for Nationalities Affairs in accordance with the Regulation^[9]. His powers include the development of State policy in the field of social and cultural adaptation and integration of foreign citizens and the provision of services to them (paragraph 1), as well as support to non-profit organizations providing services in the relevant field.

Nevertheless, an analysis of the official website of the Federal Agency for Ethnic Affairs demonstrates that the events are cultural and entertainment in nature and do not contribute to obtaining specific ideas about the cultural characteristics of Russia, do not provide socially significant information to meet basic needs. Such activities also do not contribute to the real integration of forced migrants due to their general educational orientation and the lack of really useful knowledge that can help forced migrants in matters of adaptation and integration.

Also, the powers of social adaptation and integration are contained in Federal Law No. 414-FZ dated 12/21/2021 "On General Principles of the Organization of public Power in the Subjects of the Russian Federation"^[10], in particular in Article 33 regarding the basic powers of the supreme executive body of the subject of the Russian Federation, Article 44 regarding the powers of public authorities on subjects of joint jurisdiction.

In addition, provisions on social adaptation and integration are contained in the Federal Law on Non-Profit Organizations (article 31.1)^[11], the provisions on social adaptation are contained in the Federal Law on the General Principles of the Organization of Local Self-Government^[12] (articles 14-16).

It is curious that it is at the level of municipalities that the issues of social and cultural adaptation of migrants are brought up, while the term "integration" is not mentioned. Since there are no legal definitions of "social and cultural adaptation and integration" and "social and cultural adaptation" in Russian legislation, it seems logical to propose the development and adoption of the Federal Law of the Russian Federation "On Social and Cultural Adaptation and Integration of forced Migrants".

Nevertheless, it should be noted that there is no state body coordinating activities in the field of social and cultural adaptation and integration of forced migrants, as well as priority areas and principles of social and cultural adaptation and integration of forced migrants have not been identified. As a result, this creates significant practical problems noted by experts in this field ^{[13, p. 58]}.

In conclusion, let's look at the statistical data. As the analysis shows, in 2017, respectively, the number of forced migrants who received temporary asylum status decreased by 27 percent compared to 2016 (in 2016 - 313,707 people, in 2017 - 228,392 people).

In 2018, the number of forced migrants who received temporary asylum status decreased by 45 percent compared to 2018 (in 2017 - 228,392 people, in 2018 - 125,442 people).

In 2019, the number of forced migrants who received temporary asylum status decreased by 39 percent compared to 2018 (in 2018 - 125,442 people, in 2019 - 76,825 people).

In 2020, compared with 2019, the number of forced migrants who received temporary asylum status decreased by 45 percent (in 2019 - 76,825 people, in 2020 - 41,946 people).

In 2021, the number of forced migrants who received temporary asylum status decreased by 53 percent (in 2020 - 41,946 people, in 2021 – 19817 people).

In 2022, the number of forced migrants who received temporary asylum status decreased by 47 percent (in 2021 - 19817 people, in 2022 - 10581 people) ^[13].

Thus, the largest decrease in the number of forced migrants who received temporary asylum status, as a percentage compared to last year, was recorded in 2021 and in 2022 – 53 and 47 percent, respectively.

In 2018, there was the largest decrease in the number of forced migrants compared to last year in the absolute number of people - 102,950 people and 45 percent, respectively.

Over the course of seven years (from 2016 to 2022), the number of forced migrants granted temporary asylum status decreased by 97 percent compared to the peak year of 2016. This year, an absolute record was recorded for the number of people who received temporary asylum, and the last time there was an increase in the number of forced migrants.  The refugee situation, as mentioned above, is similar in terms of the identified trends. At the same time, the peculiarity of the situation with the granting of refugee status is that the main number of refugees throughout all the years considered are refugees from Afghanistan, including in 2016, which became a record in the number of temporary asylum statuses granted to forced migrants from Ukraine.

This fact demonstrates a very interesting situation, which has both a social and political, as well as a legal aspect. It can be assumed that the geopolitical situation in Afghanistan with persecution correlates more clearly with the criteria for granting refugee status than the geopolitical situation in Ukraine, or there are significant discrepancies between the statistical data presented in various sources, which in turn demonstrates systemic problems in statistical activities. The author is more inclined to the second assumption.

Considering the category of forced migrants from Afghanistan, it can be noted that the number of forced migrants from Afghanistan who were granted temporary asylum status remained generally stable during the study period (from 2016 to 2022) (the minimum value for the number of persons granted temporary asylum was 356 people in 2018, the maximum value was recorded in 2022, 732 people).

Regarding the category of forced migrants from Ukraine, the following values can be distinguished – the maximum value of 311,134 people was recorded in 2016 and the minimum value of 8867 people in 2022. Here we see a decrease in the number of forced migrants compared to 2016 by 302,267 people, or approximately 97 percent.

In 2021, the number of forced migrants from Ukraine who were granted temporary asylum status amounted to 18,345 people, which is 9478 more than in 2022. Thus, the number of forced migrants from Ukraine who were granted temporary asylum status decreased by 51 percent in 2022 compared to 2021^[14].

According to the author, the analysis of statistical data demonstrates that the number of forced migrants from Ukraine who have been granted refugee status and temporary asylum has been decreasing every year since 2016 ^{[14, pp. 69-80]}.

In this regard, it is extremely difficult to find a correlation between official statistical data and data provided by leading federal mass media, including Rossiyskaya Gazeta^[15], TASS^[16] and representatives of government agencies.

If we only hypothetically assume that all forced migrants from Ukraine did not receive temporary asylum status, but received the status of a citizen, then the situation does not become transparent here either ^{[15, pp. 108-119]}.

So, in 2021, 667,939 people received Russian citizenship, and in 2022, 637,923 people, according to official data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia^[17]. Thus, the number of people who received Russian citizenship in 2022 turned out to be 30,016 fewer than in 2021.

Examining the above statistics and their percentages, we note that every year, starting in 2017, the number of temporary asylum statuses granted has steadily decreased in accordance with the decrease in the number of forced migrants from Ukraine, who annually (from 2016 to 2022) make up the absolute majority in relation to other categories of forced migrants in Russia, who temporary asylum status is granted.

Considering all of the above, it can be concluded that from 2017 to 2022, statistical data show a steady downward trend in the number of forced migrants, including from Ukraine. And even the official data of the Ministry of Internal Affairs on the number of acquired citizenship demonstrate a trend towards stabilization of the situation (in 2021, 667,939 people, in 2022 only 637,923 people).

At the same time, the question of the current legal status of forced migrants from Ukraine remains open, which, apparently, has not been reflected in the available statistical data, which also demonstrates defects in the exercise of state powers in the field of statistics ^{[15, pp. 108-119]}.

Conclusions:

1) It is advisable to give one state body the authority to social adaptation and integration of forced migrants, which will determine, among other things, the directions of a unified state policy in the field of social adaptation and integration of forced migrants and coordinate the activities of all other state bodies and structures authorized in this area. This may be a new government structure, for example, a new agency, or the Federal Agency for Nationalities Affairs, which will be authorized to implement a valid set of measures for the social adaptation and integration of forced migrants, including a set of educational measures. The main function of the Federal Agency for Nationalities Affairs, a state body currently authorized in the field of social and cultural adaptation and integration of migrants, is centered around cultural events that are aimed at cohesion rather than social adaptation and integration.

2) Currently, contradictory data on the number of forced migrants in Russia are freely available, and statistics on the granting of temporary asylum and refugee statuses, as well as statistics on obtaining Russian citizenship, according to the author, demonstrate a systemic problem in the state management of statistics in the field of forced migration. The solution to this problem, in the author's opinion, lies not so much in the plane of statistical activity, as in terms of insufficient coordination and synchronization of the implementation of individual state powers to maintain statistical records by various state structures.

To solve this problem, the author proposes to give the authority to maintain statistics in the field of forced migration to a single authorized body that accumulates all information on forced migration. It seems logical to create a statistical unit in the structure of the Ministry of Internal Affairs that synchronizes all statistical information on forced migration contained in the public domain.

3) In order to systematize activities in the field of social and cultural adaptation and integration of forced migrants, the author proposes to develop and adopt the Federal Law of the Russian Federation "On Social and Cultural Adaptation and integration of forced migrants", in which the terms "social adaptation", "cultural adaptation", "social integration", "cultural integration" are defined to consolidate the principles of state policy in the field of social and cultural adaptation and integration, as well as to establish a special body for the coordination and systematization of these activities on the territory of the Russian Federation in order to ensure the unity of state policy and increase the effectiveness of existing state bodies and other structures carrying out their activities in the field of social and cultural adaptation and integration of forced migrants.

^[1] Since February 2022, more than 5.2 million refugees have arrived in Russia from the territory of Ukraine URL: https://tass.ru/obschestvo/16914809 ?ysclid=lo2rr1c52b835541156 (accessed: 12/06/2023)

^[2] The Law of the Russian Federation of February 19, 1993 N 4530-I "On internally displaced persons" as amended on December 8, 2020 // SPS Consultant Plus.

^[3] Migration statistics data. Rosstat. / https://rosstat.gov.ru/storage/mediabank/tab_migr4.htm (date of application: 06.12.2023)

^[4] Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated 10/31/2018 No. 622 (ed. dated 05/12/2023) "On the Concept of the State migration policy of the Russian Federation for 2019-2025" // SPS Consultant Plus.

^[5] Federal Constitutional Law No. 4-FKZ dated 06.11.2020 "On the Government of the Russian Federation" // SPS Consultant Plus.

^[6] On approval of the Regulations on the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation and the Model Regulations on the Territorial Body of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation for the subject of the Russian Federation: [Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated December 21, 2016 No. 699: as amended. dated July 17, 2023] // Collection of legislation of the Russian Federation. 2016. No. 52 (part V). Article 7614.

^[7] Speech by the President of Russia at the Expanded meeting of the Board of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia on February 17, 2022 // President of Russia: official website. URL: http://kremlin.ru/events/president/news/67795 (date of application: 06.12.2023).

^[8] Speech by the President of Russia at the Expanded meeting of the Board of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia on March 20, 2023 // President of Russia: official website. URL: http://www.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/70744 (date of application: 06.12.2023).

^[9] Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated 04/18/2015 No. 368 (as amended on 03/24/2023) "On the Federal Agency for Nationalities" (together with the "Regulations on the Federal Agency for Nationalities") // SPS Consultant Plus.

^[10] Federal Law No. 414-FZ of 12/21/2021 (as amended on 08/04/2023) "On the general principles of the organization of public power in the subjects of the Russian Federation" // SPS Consultant Plus.

^[11] Federal Law No. 7-FZ of 12.01.1996 (as amended on 07/31/2023) "On non-profit organizations" // SPS Consultant Plus.

^[12] Federal Law No. 131-FZ of 06.10.2003 (as amended on 02.11.2023) "On the general principles of the organization of local self-government in the Russian Federation" // SPS Consultant Plus.

^[13] Migration statistics data. Rosstat. / https://rosstat.gov.ru/storage/mediabank/tab_migr4.htm (date of application: 06.12.2023).

^[14] Migration statistics data. Rosstat. / https://rosstat.gov.ru/storage/mediabank/tab_migr4.htm (date of application: 06.12.2023).

^[15] Russia has accepted five million refugees from Ukraine // Rossiyskaya Gazeta: website. URL: https://rg.ru/2023/06/19/grazhdane-skitalcy.html (date of application: 06.12.2023).

^[16] Since February 2022, more than 5.2 million refugees have arrived in Russia from the territory of Ukraine URL: https://tass.ru/obschestvo/16914809 ?ysclid=lo2rr1c52b835541156 (accessed: 12/06/2023)

^[17] Statistics of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia on the number of issued statuses of a citizen of the Russian Federation in 2021 and 2022 URL:   https://мвд.рф/dejatelnost/statistics/migracionnaya/item/34428645 /?ysclid=lo2s4daho5566131154 (accessed: 12/06/2023)