AMBASSADOR CEK SPEAKS BEFORE UNHCR'S EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

( Editorial: --> 6594 ) ZAGREB, Oct 7 (Hina) - Croatia's Ambassador to the United Nations' Mission in Geneva, Spomenka Cek, on Wednesday informed the Executive Committee of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) about the progress of the two-way return process and the positive measures the Croatian Government is taking to speed up that process, the Croatian Mission at the UN in Geneva reported. The adoption of the Programme of Return has cleared legal obstacles for unhindered two-way return, Cek said at the 49th session of the Committee. She added that being a host to more than 100,000 refugees from Bosnia-Herzegovina was still posing a problem to Croatia, although this escaped notice of the international community. Cek also mentioned a potential problem of Kosovo refugees seeking shelter in the homes of their families who fled to Croatia at the beginning of the conflict in former Yugoslavia. The Croatian Ambassador emphasised the financial burden which the Republic of Croatia carried in resolving the refugee crisis, as well as the great expenses it had for the reconstruction and rebuilding of a normal life in the war-torn Croatian regions. She expressed her concern over the decreasing funds of international organisations, including the UNHCR, apportioned to Croatia. The topic of this year's session of the Executive Committee is international solidarity and the distribution of burdens and responsibilities in refugee crises. The Ambassador ended her report by drawing attention to the scheduled conference on reconstruction and development in Croatia, explaining the main objectives of the reconstruction programme. She also invited members of the conference to take part in its implementation, its goals being complete reconstruction of houses, infrastructure and public services, facilitating social and economic reintegration of refugees as well as providing help for the government's investment policy aimed at enabling long-term economic development in the war-torn regions. (hina) jfk/rml 072213 MET oct 98