OSCE Mission organizes discussion on economic, social rights of internally displaced persons in Serbia
BELGRADE, 19 September 2008 - Representatives of state institutions, local and international NGOs are discussing how to improve the access of internally displaced persons to education, healthcare, social welfare, employment and legal aid at a meeting in Kopaonik today.
The three-day event was organized by the OSCE Mission to Serbia and the Union of Internally Displaced Persons' Associations from Serbia (UNIJA).
"Internally displaced persons are often vulnerable to human rights abuses. Their situation requires a specific response, which is often different from the kind needed by other segments of the population of the country or the region," said Hannelore Valier, the Head of OSCE Mission's Democratisation Department.
Zlatko Mavric of UNIJA added: "Participants emphasised that urgent, adequate systematic measures are needed to ensure the protection of the rights for all internally displaced persons, both in places of their current residence, and in places where they intend to return."
Participants at the meeting also discussed the findings of research supported by the OSCE Mission and conducted by the local NGO Praxis that focuses on protecting the rights of internally displaced people in Serbia.