UNHCR Representation, OSCE Mission call for full integration of refugees opting to stay in Serbia

BELGRADE, 22 October 2007 - Full integration of refugees wishing to remain in Serbia would be a big step towards finding durable solutions for the region's displaced, concluded a study by the UNHCR Representation and the OSCE Mission to Serbia presented in Belgrade today.

"Closing the so-called refugee file in the region is a core task of the OSCE Mission," said Ambassador Hans Ola Urstad, the Head of the OSCE Mission. He emphasized the importance of regional co-operation in solving this issue.

"Because of its cross-border character, the refugee issue can only be resolved on a regional level. For that reason, we co-operate closely with other OSCE Missions in the region, the UNHCR, the European Commission Delegations and respective Governments within the Sarajevo Process," added Ambassador Urstad.

Lennart Kotsalainen, UNHCR Representative in Serbia, acknowledged the Serbian Government's achievements in integrating refugees, but added that a lot remains to be done and called for enhanced co-ordination of national and international stakeholders.

"The remaining obstacles to full physical and legal integration should be removed for all those refugees who have expressed their intention to integrate into the Serbian society," he said. "This can be achieved through granting access to rights specifically in the area of housing, health protection, employment and social welfare."

The study, entitled Local Integration of Refugees in Serbia: Law, Practice, Recommendations, found that over 140,000 refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia have already returned to their places of origin over the past decade. But the majority of the 97,700 refugees still remaining in Serbia will opt to stay.

The study is based on findings from eleven roundtable discussions on refugee integration held in the first half of 2007, and provides the Serbian authorities with a set of recommendations. The document was prepared by the UNHCR Representation in Serbia, the OSCE Mission to Serbia and the Humanitarian Centre for Integration and Tolerance, in co-operation with the Serbian Commissioner for Refugees.