Croatia signs plan to complete return of refugees by 2006

Representatives of the governments of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, and Serbia and Montenegro signed a declaration on the return of refugees at a regional conference held in Sarajevo on Jan. 31. The three countries have agreed to solve the status of the remaining 300,000 refugees and displaced persons by the end of 2006.

Croatia signs plan to complete return of refugees by 2006 Representatives of the governments of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, and Serbia and Montenegro signed a declaration on the return of refugees at a regional conference held in Sarajevo on Jan. 31. The three countries have agreed to solve the status of the remaining 300,000 refugees and displaced persons by the end of 2006. Croatia was represented by Minister of Maritime Affairs, Tourism, Transport and Development Bozidar Kalmeta, who told reporters after the signing ceremony that the declaration was in full conformity with the plans and programs of the Croatian government. Minister Kalmeta said that some 215,000 ethnic Croats and 115,000 ethnic Serbs had returned to their prewar homes in Croatia and that more than 131,000 apartments and family homes, as well as more than 200 schools have been rebuilt, costing approximately 2 billion euros. Representatives from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) attended the conference, and welcomed the declaration. The OSCE issued a press release that stated: “The document confirms the commitment of the three countries to create adequate conditions to enable refugee return in the region, and to support those refugees who would choose to stay in their host countries.” An intergovernmental task force should be set up within the next couple of months to begin drafting the “Road Map on Return”. The status of refugees is also expected to be discussed by the prime ministers of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, and Serbia and Montenegro at a regional summit due to take place in Sarajevo this autumn on the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Dayton peace agreement.

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