Newsroom
OSCE, UNHCR and EC reiterate support for implementation of Sarajevo Declaration on refugees
BELGRADE 27 March 2006
BELGRADE, 27 March 2006 - Heads of the EC Delegations, UNHCR and OSCE Missions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Serbia and Montenegro met in Belgrade today to discuss the implementation of the Sarajevo Ministerial Declaration on Refugee Return and Integration.
The Declaration, signed on 31 January 2005, was the first regional agreement on refugee return after the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords.
Under the Declaration, the governments of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia and Montenegro are committed to solving the remaining population displacement by the end of 2006 through facilitating returns or local integration of refugees and internally displaced persons, depending on the individuals' decisions, without any discrimination.
The OSCE, UNHCR and EC, in their facilitating and advising capacity, commended the three countries for their efforts in the challenging and complex process of ensuring sustainable returns or local integration, and resolving the remaining refugee related issues in a finite time-frame.
At the same time, they concluded that because this trilateral regional effort has proceeded very slowly, the three governments need to further intensify their efforts, and create conditions for the achievement of durable solutions and ensure access to all rights and entitlements, including the right to housing, in line with international standards.
The governments are encouraged to discuss and resolve all outstanding issues during the March Ministerial meeting in Sarajevo. They are therefore invited to include these issues in each of their respective national Road Maps, as well as to define clear mechanisms and suitable fora to address them.
Given the regional dimension of any refugee situation, the three organizations will continue to actively support and facilitate the dialogue between the three governments on refugee issues.
The Declaration, signed on 31 January 2005, was the first regional agreement on refugee return after the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords.
Under the Declaration, the governments of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia and Montenegro are committed to solving the remaining population displacement by the end of 2006 through facilitating returns or local integration of refugees and internally displaced persons, depending on the individuals' decisions, without any discrimination.
The OSCE, UNHCR and EC, in their facilitating and advising capacity, commended the three countries for their efforts in the challenging and complex process of ensuring sustainable returns or local integration, and resolving the remaining refugee related issues in a finite time-frame.
At the same time, they concluded that because this trilateral regional effort has proceeded very slowly, the three governments need to further intensify their efforts, and create conditions for the achievement of durable solutions and ensure access to all rights and entitlements, including the right to housing, in line with international standards.
The governments are encouraged to discuss and resolve all outstanding issues during the March Ministerial meeting in Sarajevo. They are therefore invited to include these issues in each of their respective national Road Maps, as well as to define clear mechanisms and suitable fora to address them.
Given the regional dimension of any refugee situation, the three organizations will continue to actively support and facilitate the dialogue between the three governments on refugee issues.