RESTITUTION OF PROPERTY FASTER IN FEDERATION THAN IN SERB ENTITY

SARAJEVO, May 3 (Hina) - The restitution of property owned by refugees and displaced persons from Bosnia-Herzegovina has been accelerated in the first three months of this year, but the application of property laws is still carried out significantly more successfully in the Bosnian Federation that in Republika Srpska, the UNHCR reported in Sarajevo Thursday. In the first trimester of this year 5,732 families managed to get back their property in the Croat/Moslem entity, while only 1,590 restitution requests have been processed in Republika Srpska. The implementation rate of property laws has grown from last year's 29 percent to 32 percent in the Bosnian Federation, and from 13 to 15 percent in the Serb entity, says an analysis drafted jointly by the UNHCR, Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Office of the High Representative (OHR) and the UN Mission in the country. The worst scenario is in Banja Luka (Serb entity) where more than 16,000 applications of displaced persons for the restitution of their property were submitted, but only 1,792 have been processed. Overall results indicate the average monthly rate of application of property laws in most parts of Bosnia in the past three months grew by only one to two percent, which is considered impermissibly slow, as this does not guarantee the return of property within a reasonable time frame. (hina) lml