Some 25 years have elapsed since the establishment of the Commissariat for Refugees. At the very outset of this period, no one could have expected that almost a quarter of a century later, we would, quite sadly I might add, still be dealing with those issues with which we were confronted when this endeavor began.

The Commissariat for Refugees was itself formed with the very notion that it would not last very long, that it would provide for the accommodation of thousands of our vulnerable countrymen and women, themselves escaping war and persecution in neighboring countries; countries once members of a unified state. They themselves believed, as we ourselves did, that their residence in the Republic of Serbia was only a temporary state of affairs, that following the end of the war they would return to their homes.  This did not happen. The majority of these people remain in Serbia, the most vulnerable of whom have remained under our care.

Formally, the Commissariat for Refugees was established on the 4th of April 1992. With the civil war, already well underway that April on the territory of the formerly unified country, the refugees continued to flood in from neighbouring Croatia. All of us lived in the hope that the powers that be, the mighty and the powerful would stop this persecution of the Serbian people, that they would put an end to the killing and the pogrom, that the Security Council of the United Nations would find an adequate solution.  As it turned out, our hopes had been in vain.

The first refugees in Serbia arrived in the summer of 1991, at which time, the first councils for the reception and accommodation of refugees were formed. Serbia itself was in an increasingly precarious position; under sanctions of the United Nations with a quarter of her population living below the poverty line.

At the moment of the formation of the Commissariat for Refugees, there were already some 50,000 persons residing within the country, predominantly from the territories of Eastern and Western Slavonia, as also those parts of Croatia as yet unaffected by the hostilities taking place.  At this point in time, a small portion of the refugees themselves were from Bosnia and Herzegovina with an even smaller number being from Slovenia.

Having recognized the impending catastrophe, the country begins preparations for the organized reception and accommodation of the persons in question.  The Law on Refugees, passed in April of 1992, establishes the Commissariat for Refugees as a specific organization within the system of public administration, tasked with providing expert and other services within the framework of the accommodation, return and integration of refugees. Councils for reception and accommodation were established in every municipality of the Republic of Serbia, with each individual municipality appointing their own Trustee for Refugees who, in turn would serve as the focal point between the local level and the central administration of the Commissariat and would be responsible for the implementation of decisions within their respective territory.

Of the people then engaged there remain a few working within the Commissariat to this day.  They were of the belief that this job would not last long, that it would last until an adequate solution was found, or else until such time as the situation calmed down and the refugees could go back to their homes.  The refugees themselves thought as much.

The representatives of the Commissariat provided their assistance in the formation of the Commissariat of the Republic of Srpska and the Republic of Srpska Krajina, given that there was a large number of refugees within the territories in question who wished to remain close to their homes and return to the same once the hostilities had ended.

The Commissariat established close cooperation with the relevant, national institutions and coordinated efforts with the Red Cross of Serbia, the International Red Cross, UNHCR and a large number of governmental, non-governmental and international organizations seeking to provide assistance. Still today, we remain grateful for the selfless assistance and support they offered in this regard.

At the time of the largest influx of persons, the representatives of the Commissariat were engaged in the reception of said refugees at the various border crossings and, in cooperation with the Red Cross, distributed assistance and provided support in terms of logistics for the relocation of the persons in question to the various collective centres established on the territory of the Republic of Serbia. They provided refugees with documentation establishing their status as refugees and afforded assistance to the most vulnerable categories of persons, the sick and the infirm. Furthermore we cooperated closely with the Search Service, on account of the fact that a large number of the refugees, in the haste and panic of their escape, had lost contact with their families and or individual family members.

As the war intensified, the number of refugees increased.  Collective centres were established for those persons who were unable to provide adequate accommodation for themselves. And through the numerous ceasefires signed, cessations of hostilities, false hopes and their belief in the perseverance of the Serbian people within those territories, even those under the protection of the UN peacekeepers, Croatia enacts its aggression against Ravne Kotare, Miljevacki Plato, Medacki Dzep by means of the military and police operations Bljesak (Flash) and Oluja (Storm).

1995 saw the exodus of people living in Petrovac and Bosansko Grahovo, followed closely by the exodus of those living in Sarajevo which began in 1996.

In December of 1995, the Dayton Peace Accords were signed. The beginning of the return of refugees and the reconstruction of their homes and properties was expected.  At that time, the first durable solutions had already been provided to those without a place to return to, whose houses and properties had been destroyed and whose residency rights had been forcibly revoked.

The reintegration of the Srem-Baranja county began in 1997, which itself resulted in new waves of refugees and the arrival of more than 50,000 persons seeking refuge in Serbia. At that point in time, Serbia had at its disposal in excess of 600 collective centres providing accommodation to over 60,000 persons. The number of refugees exceeds 650,000.

However, in 1998 a new exodus commenced; the forcible eviction of the non-Albanian contingent of the population of Kosovo and Metohija had begun in the midst of the NATO aggression which brought a new level of chaos and destruction to Serbia. Following the signing of the Kumanovo Agreement and the subsequent stationing of international forces, in June of 1999, over 200,000 persons flee from the territory of Kosovo and Metohija.

The Commissariat was once again presented with a new set of challenges - reception, the opening of new collective centres for accommodation, documenting and evidencing those forcibly relocated from Kosovo and Metohija.

Since 2008, in accordance with the Law on Asylum, the Commissariat has been mandated with the responsibility of providing accommodation for asylum seekers; since 2009 and in keeping with the Strategy for the Reintegration of Returnees in Accordance with the Readmission Agreement, it too is tasked with the provision of such conditions for those returned under the auspices of the Readmission Agreement.  The Commission for Disappeared Persons is also part of the Commissariat, having been established as such by means of a Decision of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, brought about on the 8th of June 2006.

One of the most fundamental activities of the Commissariat over the course of the past few years is the implementation of the Regional Housing Program, by means of which the most vulnerable refugee families from Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina are being provided with housing solutions.

Since 2015, when the Regional Housing Program entered the implementation phase, the Commissariat was yet again confronted with a new set of challenges: the influx of a large number of migrants from Asia and Africa begins. To date, the number of those who have traversed the territory of Serbia in the hope of reaching countries within the EU is well in excess of a million people. The Commissariat is compelled to provide and care for those persons accommodated in the asylum and reception centres of which there are currently 18 in the country.

We recollect with much sadness, all those colleagues who are no longer with us, who departed from us much too soon. This represents a great loss for our institution and we remember not only those within the Commissariat, but also those colleagues within the municipalities, municipal trustees who passed away leaving us with heavy hearts.

I would use this opportunity to thank the Municipal Trustees, the units of Local-Self Governments, the relevant state institutions, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, donors and all those who offered us and continue to offer their assistance and support.

Migration is an unpredictable phenomenon, one which does not recognize the concept of national borders and we, at present are facing a spring of much uncertainty, as also a migration crises, the end of which is as yet nowhere in sight. All things considered, it appears that there will be much to be done.