Return of War Displaced Stalled

What is affected

	Housing Social/public
	Housing private

Type of violation

Forced eviction
Demolition/destruction

Date

15 October 1999

Region

E [ Europe ]

Country

Kosovo

Location

across the country

Affected persons

	Total 227000
	Men 0
	Women 0
	Children 0

Proposed solution

Details

Serbia+-December+2007.pdf

Development

OCHA+-+Displaced+Populations+Report+Jan+-+Mar+09.pdf

Forced eviction

Costs

Demolition/destruction

Duty holder(s) /responsible party(ies)

State

Brief narrative

After ten years of international administration over Kosovo, the situation of the estimated 227,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) in Serbia and Kosovo depends on the resolution of Kosovo’s status.

The failure of the United Nations Security Council to adopt the Ahtisaari proposal on the final status of Kosovo has prolonged uncertainty which impedes progress towards durable solutions for IDPs and increases the risk of new displacement from Kosovo should independence be declared without effective provisions in place for international monitoring.

The current living conditions of minorities in Kosovo also discourage return; many IDPs are waiting to see how the security and living conditions change as the political situation evolves. Serbia’s assistance to IDPs focuses exclusively on return, to the detriment of measures supporting their integration in the place of displacement. This strategy leaves the displaced without adequate assistance, and with limited access to social and economic rights, but has the advantage of maintaining the visibility of the IDP population in support of Serbia’s negotiations over Kosovo.

Minority communities in Kosovo, whether domiciled, displaced or returnees, are largely segregated. Kosovo Serbs in particular rely on parallel structures for certain services, suffer from widespread discrimination and limited freedom of movement, access to property, justice, education, healthcare and employment. Specific protection needs such as access to personal documentation and civil registration should be addressed to prevent statelessness in the context of Kosovo’s political settlement.

Costs

€ 0

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