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UN official learns about planned Kosovo settlement for IDPs (B92)

The concept of the Sunny Valley returnee settlement in Kosovo has been presented a UN special rapporteur.

Chaloka Beyani, in charge of human rights of internally displaced persons (IDPs) learned about the project from Dusan Kozarev, deputy director of the Serbian Government Office for Kosovo.

Kozarev also told his about "the obstacles to a greater sustainable return of IDPs," Tanjug reported on Monday.

The concept solves many of these problems in a quality way, Kozarev said.

"The rule of law, respect of human rights and a departure from policies aimed at widening the gap among people on national and religious grounds are the prerequisites for normalization and solving the problems of IDPs in Kosovo and Metohija," he said.

"It has only been recently that the Serbs have become able to protect their property rights in local courts, but they are now faced with the fact that the police do not want to evict property usurpers," he said.

Ensuring a sustainable return to Kosovo and Metohija calls for greater engagement on returnee safety and security, as well as on the internally displaced persons' exercise of property rights, Chaloka Beyani said on Monday in Belgrade during his separate meeting with Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic.

"Due to a lack of basic conditions for a sustainable return, the number of returnees in the province is still devastatingly low," Dacic said, "confirming there was a need to create conditions for permanent solutions for IDPs that included return and integration," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

Beyani noted the significance of Serbia's EU accession talks - in particular negotiation chapter 23 - and the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue for solving the problem of internal displacement.

http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics.php?yyyy=2016&mm=09&dd=12&nav_id=99184