Providing housing for returnees: OSCE monitors Croatia's efforts
One of the two remaining areas of work for the OSCE in Croatia is housing care. Its Office in Zagreb, which in 2008 replaced the Mission to Croatia, is supporting efforts to provide adequate housing for refugees and internally displaced people who occupied socially-owned flats before conflict erupted in the 1990s.
The Office in Zagreb reports on the Government's efforts to build and reconstruct housing for eligible former occupancy/tenancy rights (OTR) holders. From 2007 to 2009, roughly 5,500 families will have received good quality homes within the Government's housing care programmes.
The Minister for Regional Development, Petar Cobankovic, invited the Head of the OSCE Office, Jorge Fuentes, to visit Donji Lapac and Vrhovine in December, two returnee municipalities in Lika-Senj County. Joining Fuentes were the Head of the European Commission's Delegation to Croatia, Vincent Degert, the U.S. Ambassador to Croatia, Robert Bradtke, and the Head of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' Office in Zagreb, Wilfried Buchhorn.
The group first visited an apartment building under construction and prefabricated houses already built to house 11 former OTR holders in Donji Lapac. They also saw an apartment building in Vrhovine under construction for the same purpose.
Need for infrastructure
The Mayor of Donji Lapac, Ilija Obradovic, told the group that since before the conflict the town has seen a dramatic decrease in its population, about 80 per cent of whom are ethnic Serbs and the remainder Bosnian Croats.
The town is also aging quickly - roughly 60 per cent of residents are elderly. Agriculture is the main source of income and unemployment is high. Only 99 students attend Donji Lapac's primary school, and there is no secondary school.
Obradovic explained that because the town is geographically isolated from the rest of Croatia, infrastructure development is needed to revive its economy, especially the construction of a road to connect the municipality with the closest traffic arteries.
Minister Cobankovic stressed that Donji Lapac is probably the least developed local self-government unit in Croatia and agreed with the Mayor on the need for infrastructure development for sustainable return.
The Regional Development Ministry's State Secretary, Milivoj Mikulic, told the visitors about the Government's activities in the Areas of Special State Concern - the places most affected by the Balkan conflicts. He said that 1,803 flats in 118 apartment buildings for accommodating former OTR holders are under construction or reconstruction.
"Benchmarks will be reached with the exception of four towns - Knin, Benkovac, Obrovac and Korenica," Mikulic added.
Step towards EU membership
The OSCE's Ambassador Fuentes acknowledged the importance of field visits, which help to illustrate the reality of the situation. "The Office not only verifies that the apartments are built or reconstructed," he said, "but also checks that they are of a standard quality and given to the appropriate people." He also underlined the importance of revitalizing every part of Croatia equally.
Providing adequate housing care for returnees and displaced people is an important step in Croatia's efforts to join the European Union.
"The presence of so many state officials at such a gathering shows how determined the Government is to accomplish the return process," said the European Commission's Ambassador Degert. "But the sustainability of return is also very important," he said, emphasising the need for greater efforts in this area.
In total, Croatia has 33 chapters to fulfil for EU accession. The Commission's delegation will soon present its official report to suggest the opening of Chapter 23, which deals with the judiciary and fundamental rights.