SKOPJE - A very small number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) returned to the southern Serbian province in the past 15 years, Director of the Serbian government Office for Kosovo-Metohija Marko Djuric warned during the two-day regional conference in Skopje.

During the conflicts in Kosovo, around 230,000 people were displaced, while 23,000 more Serbs, Roma and other non-Albanians were internally displaced in the province itself. Several thousand IDPs returned to the province until now.

He noted that the return rate in Kosovo is even lower than the return rate in some African countries which experienced bloody civil conflicts. Djuric announced that the Serbian government will increase the funds for return of IDPs to Kosovo in the year to come.

He underscored that repair of the consequences of conflicts and essential normalisation of the Belgrade-Pristina relations is not possible unless the problem of IDPs is solved first, and called for a radical U-turn in the search for a solution to this issue.

Kosovo Minister for Communities and Return Dalibor Jevtic qualified as devastating the fact that less than 10 percent of IDPs have so far returned to Kosovo, while less than a half of them managed to stay there.

He noted that the main obstacles to ensuring sustainable return lie in lack of safety, unsolved issue of property restoration, inability to use destroyed and usurped property, aggravated employment terms, shortage of funds for reconstruction and refurbishment of houses and flats.

Director of the Montenegrin Bureau for Care for Refugees Zeljko Sofranac stated that 3,000 IDPs returned to Kosovo from Montenegro by 2005, but then standstill occurred until 2012.

According to him, activities have been resumed in the past two years as around 100 IDP families expressed the wish to return to Kosovo, which will also financially facilitate the integration of those who wish to stay in Montenegro.

Chief of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo Jean Claude Schlumberger stated that OSCE would continue supporting the process of IDP return.

The two-day conference organised by the OSCE Mission in Kosovo produced the agreement for a review to be drawn up concerning the displacement from Kosovo and problems and challenges IDPs are facing.

It has also been agreed for the regional cooperation to strengthen and for representatives of Pristina, Belgrade, Podgorica and Skopje to meet on a regular monthly basis so as to accelerate the process of the search for a lasting solution to the IDP problem.

UNHCR welcomed the initiative of regional countries and noted that aid needs to provided for over 100,000 IDPs.