INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS ESTABLISH RETURN FACILITATING GROUP

( Editorial: --> 1174 ) ZAGREB, Sept 17 (Hina) - International organisations have established a group for facilitating the implementation of the return programme in Croatia and other countries in the region, Croatian and international officials told a press conference in Zagreb on Thursday. Members of the Return Facilitating Group are key organisations and missions involved in return programmes. The Group aims to ensure cooperation between its members and with other members of the international community, to facilitate the implementation of the Return Programme by the Croatian Government and to support the return of refugees currently in Croatia who want to return to their homes in other countries. Croatian Assistant Reconstruction and Development Ministers Stjepan Sterc and Lovre Pejkovic, UNHCR Mission head Robert Robinson and Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Mission head Tim Guldimann told reporters that their intention was to show that there is a very good cooperation between the international community and the Croatian government in implementing the return programme. The international community wants full partnership with Croatia in the implementation of the return programme, Robinson said. The Return Facilitating Group is an informal body led by the head of the UNHCR Office, who is in charge of humanitarian and operational questions, and an OSCE Mission representative, who is in charge of the political dimension of the return process. Also established were a joint working group and a committee for cooperation between the Croatian Government and international community. The Return Facilitating Group includes the European Union, the European Community Monitoring Mission (ECMM), the International Organisation for Migration, the United Nations Liaison Office in Croatia, the OSCE Mission to Bosnia-Herzegovina, the UNHCR Missions to Yugoslavia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, the United States, the Office of the High Representative and SFOR. (hina) rml 171832 MET sep 98