OSCE Croatia mission welcomes declaration on refugee return in south-eastern Europe

ZAGREB, 1 February 2005 - The OSCE Mission to Croatia has welcomed the declaration on refugee return in South Eastern Europe by 2006, which was signed yesterday in Sarajevo by ministers responsible for refugee issues from Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia and Montenegro.

The document confirms commitment of the three countries to create adequate conditions to enable refugee return in the region, and to support those refugees who would choose to stay in their host countries.

In Croatia, this requires further efforts in order to provide housing for all those who want to return.

"It is important that all those who were affected by the war should receive a fair deal, and that the refugee issue be removed from the list of political problems of the countries in the region to ensure that it does not remain a source of instability in the long term," said Ambassador Peter Semneby, Head of the OSCE Mission to Croatia.

"This is the first time since the Dayton Accord that these three countries have come together at such a high level and agreed to draft a Road Map to close the chapter on return."

He also said that an intergovernmental task force will be set up within the next couple of months to commence drafting the Road Map on Return.

The prime ministers of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia and Montenegro are expected to discuss the issue of refugee return at a regional summit in Sarajevo in October on the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Dayton Peace Accord.