Despite some progress in return, displaced persons remain affected by unresolved property issues and security situation, OSCE Mission in Kosovo report says

PRISHTINË/PRIŠTINA, 8   December 2014 – Fifteen years after the conflict, and despite substantial international assistance, some 220,000 people displaced outside of Kosovo and some 17,000 people displaced within Kosovo are still without durable solutions regarding their return or integration at the place of displacement, concludes the fifth report on voluntary returns published today by the OSCE Mission in Kosovo. The report adds that the number of returns to Kosovo is decreasing every year.

The report takes note of the important steps taken by the Kosovo Ministry of Communities and Returns to support displaced persons including the adoption of a new Strategy for Communities and Returns 2014-2018 and the launch of a survey to identify the needs of persons displaced within Kosovo in co-operation with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Danish Refugee Council.

However, the report highlights the lack of co-operation and co-ordination between the central- and local-level institutions as well as between governments in the region, in providing assistance to displaced person and returnees. It also draws attention to the illegal occupation of properties owned by displaced persons.  

The report further notes that during the reporting period from August 2012 and August 2014, the OSCE recorded more than 230 security incidents affecting return sites, particularly in the Pejë/Peć region, while resistance from receiving communities has also led to the blocking of potential returns to a number of locations across Kosovo.     

The report calls on the Ministry for Communities and Return to improve data collection and co-ordination with municipalities as well as other central-level bodies; it also calls on the Kosovo Property Agency and courts to address outstanding property issues; and municipalities are urged to prioritise land allocation and the use of social housing options to support return where there is no access to property.

A number of positive responses by the Kosovo Police and municipal mayors to security incidents are highlighted but the report calls for a uniformed response to all such incidents, taking into consideration the particular sensitivities of cases concerning returnees.

The report is based on the Mission’s regular monitoring activities and is complemented by data provided by the UNHCR and the Kosovo Ministry for Communities and Returns. It can be accessed at: www.osce.org/kosovo/129321