UNHCR: SIGNIFICANT, ENCOURAGING PROGRESS MADE IN REFUGEE RETURNS

ZAGREB, Sept 5 (Hina) - Significant and encouraging progress has been made in refugee returns in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina this year, United Nations Assistant High Commissioner for Refugees Soren Jessen-Petersen, who is on a two-day visit to Croatia, said in Zagreb on Tuesday. Jessen-Petersen backed his assessment by reminding that more than 10,000 returnees to pre-war homes had been registered in Croatia and more than 20,000 minority returnees in BH. The Swede said Croatia had made very encouraging progress in terms of refugee returns, and that he had seen in the field the Croatian government was implementing a refugee return programme it had set as one of its priorities six months ago. Jessen-Petersen told reporters about 20,000 refugees had spontaneously returned to Croatia over the past three years. Earlier today, he held talks with Croatia's First Deputy Prime Minister Goran Granic, Public Works, Reconstruction and Construction Minister Radimir Cacic, Cacic's deputy Lovre Pejkovic, and Assistant Foreign Minister Vladimir Drobnjak. Visiting yesterday five villages in Sisak-Moslavina County and Karlovac County, where a considerable number of Croatian Serbs have returned, Jessen-Petersen realised returns are just the beginning of what he said was a difficult and long process. He asserted both Croatian Serb returnees to the villages and the Bosnian Croats occupying their houses were faced with many difficulties. Property issues are the most difficult ones, as too many houses are illegally lived-in and there is an abundance of cases of one person occupying more than one house, Jessen-Petersen concluded. He said this was one of the issues discussed with government officials today. The government's initiatives are good, he said, but were often thwarted by local institutions, for instance housing commissions which provide accommodation for returnees. He was however encouraged by announcements that in the future, the government would deal with such issues more resolutely. Jessen-Petersen said employment, schooling and the reconstruction of the infrastructure also hampered returns. He concluded the international community should provide assistance for wider communities and not just returnees. Speaking about Bosnian Croats occupying Serb-owned houses in Croatia, he said they either had to be provided with alternate accommodation or wanted to return to pre-war homes in BH. He was told today by Bosnian Croats and government officials that for people to return to BH, local authorities, especially those in BH's Serb entity Republika Srpska, should do much more. The UN official said he would strongly urge creating possibilities for such returns at Wednesday's talks with RS Prime Minister Milorad Dodik in Banja Luka. He added Croatia had done a lot to enable Serb returns and that now it was up to RS to do the same for Bosnian Croats willing to return to pre-war homes in RS. Jessen-Petersen is visiting Croatia and BH as part of preparations for UNHCR's annual meeting with representatives of the region's governments, international organisations and donors, which is to be held in Geneva on September 11. UNHCR will appeal to international donors to urgently fulfil their promises in view of ensuring assistance for returnees and supporting the reconstruction of the infrastructure and economy in the communities they are returning to. According to UNHCR data, $110 million has been promised at a Stability Pact for Southeast Europe donor conference for refugee returns. About $60 million has already been or is being paid, with the European Union and the United States Agency for International Development leading. (hina) ha