E/CN.4/2003/24 page 34 Between the beginning of 2000 and June 2001, register offices recorded the births of 548 Meskhetian Turk children. According to information received by employment agencies of districts with high concentrations of Meskhetian Turks, as of the beginning of this year no member of that community had registered as unemployed with a view to obtaining employment. The questions of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, as well as the defence of State interests and of the legitimate rights of the inhabitants of Krasnodar territory are constantly at the centre of attention of the bodies attached to the Office of the Procurator. The working group, composed of representatives of the Directorate of the Federal Security Service, the General Directorate of Internal Affairs and the General Directorate of Justice of Krasnodarsk territory, which was established under the Procurator of the territory, seeks to ensure compliance with acts of all government bodies responsible for preventing and suppressing manifestations of political extremism by social and religious organizations and associations. The question of defining the legal status of the Meskhetian Turks has been repeatedly considered at the federal level. In particular, in its Decree No. 1280-r of 14 August 2000, issued pursuant to Presidential Order No. K-285 of 24 March 2000, the Government of the Russian Federation extended the mandate of the Interministerial Commission on the Settlement of the Question of Meskhetian Turks Residing in Russian Territory. At its first meeting, on 28 September 2000, the Commission adopted a plan of action to stabilize the ethnic and political situation in areas with high concentrations of Meskhetian Turks in southern Russia. The main provisions of the plan deal with the question of repatriating the Meskhetian Turks in their region of origin in Georgian territory and facilitating the return of those who wish to live in Georgia, and with the establishment of the legal status of Meskhetian Turks who wish to acquire Russian citizenship and the means of issuing identity documents to the persons concerned. On 14 March 2001, the ad hoc inter-ministerial working group concluded that the question had to be settled between States. The survey involving 1,989 Meskhetian Turkish families (or 10,644 persons), carried out pursuant to the Ministry’s recommendations, made it possible to establish that 568 families wished to remain in Krasnodar territory, 125 families wished to go to another State, and 1,044 families wished to return to their country of origin. It should be noted that no Meskhetian Turk has been expelled from Krasnodar territory. The obligations that Georgia undertook when it joined the Council of Europe regarding the repatriation of the Meskhetian Turks in its territory have not been fulfilled. In addition, no measure has been taken since the publication in 1996 of the Georgian president’s decree on the repatriation of the persons concerned.