Mayor of Mitrovica South Agim Bahtiri, during a meeting with representatives of UNHCR in Kosovo has sought to resolve the problem of 12 thousand Albanians displaced from the north, who now live as refugees in the south. Bahtiri said it is not fair and human that it is not being discussed at all for the return of around 12 thousand Albanians from the northern neighborhoods of the town, who, according to him, were forcefully displaced by the Serbs.

On the World Refugee Day, the head of UNHCR in Kosovo, N.L. Narasimha Rao, invited the citizens to join events organised to mark the day in Kosovo that include open-air screening of films at the Skenderbeu square in Pristina. Rao said that at present the world is facing the highest number of refugees since World War II and that the strength and the courage of refugees need to be applauded.

In Serbia, in the past four years is halved the number of “legally invisible” Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians i.e. persons without citizenship, was announced at the presentation of the research "Persons at risk of statelessness in Serbia – Progress Report 2010-2015". The head of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Serbia Hans Friedrich Schodder expressed satisfaction with the progress in this area, and announced the continuation of support to the Government of Serbia and civil society in addressing these problems.

Twelve families from the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian (RAE) community returned to Gjakova/Djakovica sixteen years after fleeing to Montenegro. The families moved into new houses constructed through funds pledged by the EU, UNHCR and the Government of Kosovo. Christof Stock from the EU Office in Kosovo said that a similar project is also expected to be implemented in the municipality of Peja/Pec.

Prime Minister of Kosovo, Isa Mustafa met yesterday the UNHCR Kosovo's Chief of Mission, N. L. Narasimha Rao, with whom he discussed the progress in Kosovo as well as the commitment of the government to establish conditions for full reintegration of returnees. Rao spoke of the importance of a legal framework for returnees, considering the commitment of the government, in this regard. During the meeting it was discussed also about the current refugee crisis in the region and Europe.

Representatives of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Tuesday met with the Mayor of Mitrovica, Agim Bahtiri, to discuss the possibilities of returning of some of the displaced families from the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities currently living in Montenegro. Representatives of the UNHCR and Bahtiri agreed that after the data collection to start with the process of repatriation. Bahtiri said that the Municipality has supported this process by allocating some hectares of land for the repatriated families.

Municipality of Gjakova/Djakovica, in cooperation with the European Commission and UNHCR, will start construction of 12 houses for displaced persons from the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities. The municipality has already allocated land for construction of a total of 48 houses whereas 12 will be constructed in the project’s first stage. Municipality of Gjakova/Djakovica is one of the first municipalities in Kosovo to successfully carry out the process of return of the displaced persons.

Special, sustainable measures for displaced persons from Kosovo were discussed at a meeting of the technical working groups in Pristina yesterday. The meeting, organised by the OSCE and supported by the UNHCR, brought together representatives from Pristina, Belgrade, Podgorica, and Skopje who spoke about issues relating to property rights, personal documents, security, and data management. The groups are expected to meet by the end of this month in Montenegro to further discuss measures to support sustainable return of displaced persons.

Dusan Kozarev, Deputy Director of the Serbian government's Office for Kosovo and Metohija, and Vladimir Cucic, Commissioner for Refugees and Migration, conferred with Chief of the UNHCR Mission in Kosovo Narasimha Rao on Monday, reads a statement issued by the Office for KiM.

Representatives of Kosovo's neighboring countries met in Pristina to coordinate efforts on returning around 20,000 persons displaced from the Kosovo war who are willing to return.

Representatives from Montenegro, Serbia, Macedonia and Kosovo, dealing with the issue of displaced persons from the 1999 conflict, met in Pristina on Wednesday to discuss regional solutions to a problem persisting 16 years since the war in Kosovo ended.