Nenad Vukic, a lawyer for Group 484, was presenting a report on the human rights of refugees, the displaced and asylum seekers in Serbia and Montenegro in 2004.
"Conditions for the return of refugees in Croatia continue to be more unfavourable than in Bosnia-Herzegovina," Belgrade Faculty of Philosophy professor and Group 484 associate Marija Balovic told the press. She said the number of refugees from Bosnia had decreased 68 per cent since 1996 as opposed the 38 per cent fall from Croatia.
Vukic said it was absurd that in Croatia it was easier for refugees to sell their property than get approval for its reconstruction. He pointed to the slow work of courts in the restitution of property to returnees, saying that in 2004 the European Court of Human Rights ruled twice against Croatia in connection with procrastination with the execution of decisions in such cases.
According to the report, another problem is the fact that Croatia abolished tenancy rights as a legal category, as is fear of arrest warrants for war crimes and other criminal acts committed in the 1990s war.
The report quoted the OSCE Mission to Croatia as saying that in 2002 half the Serbs arrested were refugees. OSCE's concern was confirmed by government officials, while the chief state prosecutor admitted to irregularities and ordered a review of about 1,850 unsolved war crimes cases, the report said.
According to figures from late 2004, Serbia and Montenegro was providing for 280,100 refugees, of whom 181,000 from Croatia and 98,650 from Bosnia-Herzegovina. A new list was compiled earlier this year, with 139,500 refugees reporting.
The report also cited the OSCE Mission to Croatia as noting that even though local authorities were more accommodating regarding the return of refugees to previously war-struck areas, there remained numerous cases of discrimination against Serbs on the local level.
The report said that as many as 70 per cent of refugees were not planning to return to prewar homes in the current circumstances.