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A:
Serbia makes great efforts to resolve problem of refugees
Belgrade,
3 August 2011
The Serbian Commissariat for Refugees stated today on the occasion of 16th anniversary of beginning of the Croatian military and police operation “Storm“ that Serbia makes great efforts to create and implement programmes that will lead to lasting solutions, sustainable integration and dignified life of refugees.
On 4 August it will be 16 years since the beginning of operation “Storm“ in which in only a few days 2,500 Serbs were killed, 200,000 expelled to Serbia and 2,300 are still missing.
Today, a decade and a half later, Serbia is the country with the largest number of refugees and internally displaced persons in Europe. Out of 610,000 people affected by the war who fled to Serbia since 1991, more than 75,000 still have the refugee status, of which 75% are refugees from Croatia.
In the last three years, owing to efforts made by the state through the Commissariat for Refugees, the number of collective centres has been reduced by one third and the number of people living there dropped by half.
The remaining 52 collective centres accommodate 3,878 refugees and internally displaced persons. The plan is to close ten more collective centres by the end of the year and provide permanent housing solutions through realisation of projects supported by international and bilateral donors.
Despite the encouraging data that the number of refugees in Serbia dropped by 14% over the past year, Serbia remains to be one of the five countries in the world with long-lasting refugee crisis.
This is caused in the first place by Croatia’s reluctance to successfully resolve problems related to property and rights of its citizens of Serbian nationality who live in Serbia as refugees, but also of those who live in Croatia.
The more intensive regional cooperation among the former Yugoslav republics that started in 2010 should speed up the resolution of this crisis.
For its part, Serbia and the Commissariat for Refugees will continue to make utmost efforts to find the best solutions for all refugees who decide to stay in its territory.
Today, a decade and a half later, Serbia is the country with the largest number of refugees and internally displaced persons in Europe. Out of 610,000 people affected by the war who fled to Serbia since 1991, more than 75,000 still have the refugee status, of which 75% are refugees from Croatia.
In the last three years, owing to efforts made by the state through the Commissariat for Refugees, the number of collective centres has been reduced by one third and the number of people living there dropped by half.
The remaining 52 collective centres accommodate 3,878 refugees and internally displaced persons. The plan is to close ten more collective centres by the end of the year and provide permanent housing solutions through realisation of projects supported by international and bilateral donors.
Despite the encouraging data that the number of refugees in Serbia dropped by 14% over the past year, Serbia remains to be one of the five countries in the world with long-lasting refugee crisis.
This is caused in the first place by Croatia’s reluctance to successfully resolve problems related to property and rights of its citizens of Serbian nationality who live in Serbia as refugees, but also of those who live in Croatia.
The more intensive regional cooperation among the former Yugoslav republics that started in 2010 should speed up the resolution of this crisis.
For its part, Serbia and the Commissariat for Refugees will continue to make utmost efforts to find the best solutions for all refugees who decide to stay in its territory.
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