ZAGREB ZAGREB, June 17 (Hina) - An international conference called "Social and Economic Reintegration of Returnees", began in Zagreb on Monday.
ZAGREB, June 17 (Hina) - An international conference called "Social
and Economic Reintegration of Returnees", began in Zagreb on
Monday. #L#
The one-day event is organised by the European Movements of
Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia, and supported by the Dutch
embassy, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the
Robert Schuman Foundation.
Participants in the conference discussed the problems of refugees
and their return to pre-war homes.
Opening the event, the Croatian European Movement Chairman, Vlatko
Silobrcic, said that not only politicians but also civil society
must be engaged in bids to solve the problems of refugees.
The head of the European House in Zagreb, Ljubomir Cucic, cited the
data that there were still 1.2 million refugees in the area of the
former Yugoslavia, accounting for five to six percent of the
population of the former socialist Yugoslav federation.
"One should bear in mind that no country which failed to settle the
problem of refugees, made progress in the international sphere, and
this also means it failed to ensure the respect for human rights
such as the right to freedom of movement, the right to have a place
to live and the right to the ownership, Cucic said.
He added that it was one of preconditions for the admission into the
European Union.
The most important reason for enabling people to come back home is
that the return helps revitalise the substance for the democratic
and economic development of a country, Cucic said.
The Stability Pact Regional Return Initiative chairman Soren Jesse
Petersen pointed out that there was no stability without the
settlement of refugees' issue.
(hina) ms