UN Special Rapporteur on adequate housing Leilani Farha voiced concern on Wednesday in a meeting with members of three Serbian parliamentary committees over a rise in the number of homeless people and the fact that most social housing programs in Serbia are being financed from EU funds.
That is not a sustainable solution, Farha said, noting that there are some very good social housing programs, but that there is room for improvement in that field.
Farha talked with members of the Committee on Labour, Social Issues, Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction, Committee on Human and Minority Rights and Gender Equality and the Committee on Spatial Planning, Transport, Infrastructure and Telecommunications, the parliament said in a release.
Chairwoman of the Labour Committee Vesna Rakonjac said that plans are being made in Serbia for closing refugee camps, through the Commissioner for Refugees, given that funds were provided for taking care of all their residents.
Speaking about activities at local level, Rakonjac said that there are around one thousand housing units for socially vulnerable people in 42 municipalities of Serbia, and members of the Roma national minority use around 19 per cent of the total number of units.
