OSCE Mission in Kosovo help municipal officials develop returns and repatriation databases
A series of two training workshops on systematic data collection and development of databases on returnees and repatriated persons for 19 municipal officers for communities and returns from Gjilan/Gnjilane region concluded on 12 October 2012 in Gjilan/Gnjilane.
The three-day workshops were organized by the OSCE Mission in Kosovo to help municipalities obtain and organize reliable and up-to-date information about the numbers of returnees and repatriated persons, their demographic characteristics and assistance they received.
“These workshops are part of the OSCE Mission’s efforts to assist institutions in Kosovo in dealing with the problem of unreliable and inconsistent data at the municipal level and the negative impact it has on the effective and timely provision of assistance to returnees and repatriated persons,” said Gulcan Yeroz, Acting Chief of the OSCE Mission’s Communities Section.
“Databases providing reliable and current information will help municipalities to better plan, budget for and implement returns projects and assist repatriated persons.”
Municipal officers who were trained during the workshops work directly with community representatives, returnees and repatriated persons. They are responsible for guaranteeing these people access to essential rights and services at the local level, including property rights, healthcare, education and employment.
The OSCE Mission will regularly monitor the usage of databases to assess their effectiveness.
The OSCE Mission in Kosovo is mandated with human and community rights protection and promotion, democratization and public safety sector development.