BANJA LUKA, Nov 16 (Hina) - The return of refugees to Bosnia-Herzegovina is progressing although it is a complex process dominated by a lack of reconstruction funds for rural areas and the problem of implementation of property laws in
urban areas, UNHCR Mission head Werner Blatter said in Banja Luka on Thursday. Speaking to Croatian reporters, who are on a three-day visit to Bosnia-Herzegovina, organised by the UNHCR Mission to Croatia, Blatter said much effort had been invested in the return of minority peoples to Bosnia-Herzegovina and the benefits of that effort were now being reaped. By October 1, 37,000 members of minority peoples returned to Bosnia-Herzegovina, whereas the number of returnees in the entire 1999 was 41,000. People are returning to the areas where return could not be dreamed of a year ago, Blatter told the reporters. Minority returns to rural areas have met all expectations but there is a lack o
BANJA LUKA, Nov 16 (Hina) - The return of refugees to Bosnia-
Herzegovina is progressing although it is a complex process
dominated by a lack of reconstruction funds for rural areas and the
problem of implementation of property laws in urban areas, UNHCR
Mission head Werner Blatter said in Banja Luka on Thursday.
Speaking to Croatian reporters, who are on a three-day visit to
Bosnia-Herzegovina, organised by the UNHCR Mission to Croatia,
Blatter said much effort had been invested in the return of minority
peoples to Bosnia-Herzegovina and the benefits of that effort were
now being reaped.
By October 1, 37,000 members of minority peoples returned to
Bosnia-Herzegovina, whereas the number of returnees in the entire
1999 was 41,000. People are returning to the areas where return
could not be dreamed of a year ago, Blatter told the reporters.
Minority returns to rural areas have met all expectations but there
is a lack of funds for the reconstruction of houses and at the moment
it is necessary to reconstruct as many as 18,000 houses, Blatter
said adding the number of houses to be reconstructed rises with
every new return.
For this reason, UNHCR in Bosnia-Herzegovina has redirected funds
from its own account and set aside one million US dollars for the
reconstruction of houses of persons who are in a so-called first
stage of return. Those are returnees who several months ago lived in
tents and have now returned to their destroyed houses and need the
basic necessities to face the coming winter.
UNHCR has also decided to change the policy of reconstruction by
allocating reconstruction funds to those returnees who have
expressed a clear wish to return, unlike in 1996 and 1997, when
houses were reconstructed in advance with hope that people would
return there in the end.
As regards urban settlements, the biggest problem is the
implementation of property laws, which is rather slow, especially
in the Bosnian Serb entity.
Blatter informed the reporters about 230,000 property restitution
claims, including private facilities and flats with tenancy
rights.
At the moment, about 4,000 returns of property happen every month,
and the number should be two or three times higher, said the head of
the UNHCR Mission.
Croatian reporters will also visit Bugojno, Croat returnees in
Tuzla Canton, and Sarajevo.
(hina) jn rml