Normal Lives for Bosnia-Herzegovina's Displaced Must Not be Delayed by Politics
UN PRESS RELEASE
GENEVA, 17 November 2009—“Bosnia’s internally displaced need durable solutions to rebuild their lives. However, the present political disputes endanger the progress needed to address their humanitarian needs and to remove an important obstacle to a lasting peace,” said Walter Kälin, Representative of the Secretary-General on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) on his return from a visit to Sarajevo. “The country’s IDPs have been living in displacement for more than a decade and, thus, continue to suffer from the consequences of atrocities committed during the war,” he added.
In talks with the Chair of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mr. Zeljko Komsic, the Minister for Human Rights and Refugees, Mr. Safet Halilovic and the State Commission for Refugees and Displaced Persons, Kälin advocated the speedy adoption of the revised Strategy for the Implementation of Annex VII of the Dayton Peace Agreement, which sets out a range of measures to assist the displaced. “The revised Strategy is a solid blueprint for action. It deals with all relevant elements that need to be in place to find durable solutions for the displaced, addressing housing and property issues as well as issues of security, livelihoods, health and education, non-discrimination and reconciliation. The document reaffirms that return is the preferred solution, while also providing space for local integration, especially of the most vulnerable.” In June 2009, certain political parties blocked the adoption of the Strategy in the upper house of the Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kälin said. The strategy is currently being reviewed by the Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees.
Until the revised Strategy is adopted, the authorities should continue to work on the basis of existing agreements and ongoing initiatives, Kälin said. “There are still more than 117,000 registered IDPs who are in need of durable solutions. Many returnees need to have their houses reconstructed and connected to infrastructure. It is just as important that they benefit from equal opportunities to find employment. It also needs to be ensured that their pensions and social welfare entitlements are transferred to their place of return.”
Kälin also recalled that 7,500 people still reside in often dreadful conditions in collective centres. “Most of these people are too vulnerable or traumatized to return. However, they should and can be integrated locally. For example, I met a woman who suffered unspeakable atrocities during the war and did not want to return to her home region. When she received a small apartment after spending more than a decade in limbo, she said that the war had finally come to an end for her.”
“Finding durable solutions requires money,” Kälin concluded. “Despite present problems facing this country, budget allocations for finding durable solutions for the displaced must not be reduced and donors should continue to provide the necessary funding.”
Walter Kälin, professor of law at the University of Bern (Switzerland), has been the Representative of the Secretary General on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons since 2004. The Representative carried out his first visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2005 and undertook a first follow-up visit in 2008.
During his latest visit to Sarajevo (11-13 November 2009) the Representative also participated in a public event on protracted displacement in the entire Balkans region: http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/JBRN-7XRHY2?OpenDocument&RSS20&RSS20=FS
Learn more about the mandate and work of the Representative of the U.N. Secretary-General on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/idp/index.htm
For further information on the situation of human rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina visit: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Countries/ENACARegion/Pages/BAIndex.aspx
For additional information and press inquiries, please contact Mr. Jan Hessbruegge (Tel. +41 22 917 9192, e-mail: jhessbruegge@ohchr.org).