The Commissioner for Refugees of the Republic of Serbia, Mr. Dragisa Dabetic, said on that occasion that 17 years had already passed since the first refugee wave had swept over Serbia, and that the situation of refugees in Serbia is still very difficult, nevertheless, the Republic of Serbia and the Commissariat are doing everything in their power to help them start a new life.

 

It’s a fact that there are over 540, 000 refugees from Croatia and Bosnia. Only 20% of people have returned to Croatia so far, what is neglectable. About 30% of population has returned to Bosnia and Herzegovina, nevertheless, it is much easier to return to these countries and exercise one’s rights. The main problem in Croatia is access to rights. We want to ensure that refugees have the same rights and commitments as all other Croatian citizens. The Commissioner highlighted that people from Croatia had been expelled, and after that they were deprived of all other rights – they didn’t manage to repossess their property, they didn’t participated in the privatization process, they lost their jobs, they couldn’t exercise their right to retirement allowance etc... The value of the alienated property and the ownership of refugees in the country of origin amount to over EUR 350 billion, and over 150, 000 pensioners in displacement cannot exercise their rights or just partially exercise their rights related to registered working years. Returnees are not equal to other citizens when exercising their rights and therefore many of them return to displacement. They are facing numerous other problems and obstacles when exercising all their rights.

 

As far as the current refugee situation in Serbia is concerned, the Commissioner stated that their situation is very difficult. Refugees have obtained the right to positive discrimination, that is, they have obtained citizenship. However, it’s just a formal act for full integration. The Commissariat has done a lot, however, a lot of other things should be done in order to provide durable solutions for refugees, to meet their growing needs. Over 8,000 housing solutions have been provided, thus 30,000 people got a roof over their head, like one town.

 

“The Republic of Serbia is obliged to proceed with the integration process of the people who fled from the former SFRY republics, and a substantial funding is necessary for that. A substantial funding from the budget and international community’s donations and support are necessary, too“, Dabetic highlighted.

 

IDPs from Kosovo and Metohija, as well as refugees from Croatia, are facing a lot of problems related to the access to their rights in Kosovo and Metohija. They are in different situation compared to other refugees, they do not have any special treatment, and they are treated as Serbian citizens. As far as the number of displaced in Serbia is concerned, there are about 209, 000 displaced Serbs in Serbia while there are 20, 000 IDPs in Kosovo and Metohija.

 

The Minister of Labor and Social Policy Rasim Ljajic hihglighted that, regardless the integration process of refugees and IDPs in Serbia, they are still facing problems related to poverty and unemployment. 60% of refugees and IDPs is unemployed while 45% lives in private accommodation. There were over 700 collective centers in Serbia, while today there are 77 collective centers, which accommodate over 6, 000 people, still posing a huge problem for our country. He emphasized that “refugee file” in Serbia wouldn’t be closed soon, because “if somebody has obtained an ID and Serbian citizenship, it doesn’t mean that he or she has solved his or her problems.“

 

The UNHCR representative Lenart Kostalainen stated that apart from poverty and unemployment, a low level of education and inadequate health care are also severe problems. Serbia should use the support of the international community in the next two to three years and close a refugee chapter, adding that this is going to be one of the most important tasks of the new government. He also highlighted the necessity of ensuring a common solution in the region as well as solutions for resolving the problem of local integration of refugees in Serbia.

 

Head of the OSCE mission in Serbia Hans Ola Urstad said that Serbia should solve the problems of refugees in cooperation of all ministries, civil sector and international institutions. “In resolving the refugee problems and ensuring the appropriate access to their rights we have to be quick and efficient, as these people can no longer wait“, Hans Ola Urstad said. We are all obliged to fight against human despair and not to turn a blind eye”, Urstad highlighted. The situation of refugees and IDPs is on the very top of the OSCE agenda and it is going to be like that in the future, Urstad concluded at the conference “How to accomplish more: refugees and IDPs in poverty reduction processes“.