According to a press release issued by the UNHCR and the EC Delegation to Croatia on Friday, "the objective of the 1 million EUR Programme, with a duration of 12 months, is to foster and enhance sustainable solutions for the remaining refugees, returnees and internally displaced persons".
"As far as Croatia is concerned, there are still some 4,000 to 5,000 returnees every year, and more than 80,000 registered refugees in the three neighbouring countries, pre-war inhabitants of Croatia, who have still not yet decided on their future," the UNHCR Representative to Croatia, Wifried Buchhorn, was quoted by the press release as saying.
"UNHCR"s overall objective is to support the authorities to further improve the conditions for the return and sustainable integration of refugees into Croatia"s legal, social and economic systems. While significant progress has been achieved already, more needs to be done in order for this chapter to be closed in a dignified and humane manner," he added
The EC Delegation's chief, Vincent Degert, was quoted as saying that "the Sarajevo Declaration on Refugee Returns, signed by the Governments of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia in January 2005, is still seen as an opportunity to effectively address and resolve concrete problems and obstacles to intended returns region-wide".
The Programme will be carried out by UNHCR and its partners in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia.