International community is paying lesser attention to displaced from the territory of Kosovo and Metohija, whereas donors are redirecting funds to new hotspots, argues Boro Tajic from the Serbian Government’s Office for Kosovo and Metohija (Office for Kosovo).
In the 2015, until late May, only two members of Belosevic family have returned to Kosovo and Metohija, whereas officials claim that the figure is 4.000 and that it is about ‘sustainable return’.
It is becoming evident that unless something is drastically changed, concretely if Pristina and international community don’t show particular good will and attention to displaced Serbs, they will need centuries to return with the current pace of return.
UNHCR is tasked, as provided by the UNSC Resolution 1244, for providing the official data and official registration on the return of displaced (not only Serbs), and they are forwarding data to Belgrade upon the official request.
However, since the return is going at a very slow pace in last 16 years, even at a disappointing pace, the exact number of displaced also depends on the organization you ask the information from.
Last week Serbian Minister for Foreign Affairs Ivica Dacic, at the United Nations Security Council’s session in New York during a discussion over the quarterly report on the work of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), said that 14 Serbs have returned to Kosovo in 2015.To that end Politika tried to find answers from the Office for Kosovo.
“Return of 46 returnees was registered in the first four months of this year on the territory of Kosovo and Metohij,” said Boro Tajic from the Office for Kosovo. Tajic added that between 1999-2105, 12,145 Serbs have returned to Kosovo according to UNHCR data. Out of this number only 4.000 of them are those who fell into the category of ‘sustainable return’.
“Quarterly reports, which are discussed at the UNSC, are pointing on a worrying trend of the reduced return of internally displaced persons. The main obstacles for sustainable return are security situation, lack of efficient mechanisms for protection and access to justice, unsettled property issues, insufficient funds for reconstruction and construction of housing units, along with the difficult access to public services and use of the mother tong,” explained Tajic and stressed that international community is dedicating lesser attention to displaced persons and that donors are not allocating funds, since funds have been redirected to other old and new world hotspots involving refugees.
Office for Kosovo further communicated that the “task is to find a comprehensive solution for the return”, that is ‘to frame the package” which refers to all aspects of the life. That firstly refers to security issues, access to health and education, public institutions, work, salary and providing existence for the family. Tajic stressed that Office for Kosovo is currently implementing various projects involving self-sustainable return, and highlighted that Serbia is ranked first in Europe when it comes to the number of internally displaced persons, that is 209.112 out of whom there are around 18.000 of them in Kosovo and Metohija.
