Croatia: Housing rights and employment still preventing durable solutions

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^{31 December 2008}

Between 1991 and 1995, 220,000 ethnic Croats and subsequently up to 300,000 ethnic Serbs were displaced by armed conflict in Croatia. Since then almost all the Croat IDPs have returned to their homes, while most of the Serbs displaced have resettled in Serbia or in the majority-Serb Danube region of Croatia. In March 2008, 2,600 people remained displaced in Croatia, over half of them ethnic Serbs in Danube region, and their numbers continued to fall slowly as a result of property restitution or reconstruction.

Since the end of the conflict, only one third of Croatian Serb IDPs and refugees have been able to return and it is estimated that only 50 per cent of returns have proved sustainable. The main obstacles to their return have been impunity for war crimes, lack of livelihood opportunities, non-restitution of former housing occupancy rights and difficulties accessing full pension entitlements. Progress has been made in terms of minority rights, since the arrival of a more moderate government in 2000, and under EU pressure. This includes the adoption of legislation on minority rights, restitution of private property and reconstruction of destroyed properties, and a review of cases involving Serbs arrested or convicted for war crimes. In 2008, Croatia adopted a procedure which should assist Serb IDPs and refugees in obtaining their full pension rights.

The main outstanding issue preventing durable solutions for Croatian Serb IDPs is the lack of remedy for former holders of occupancy rights. The arbitrary cancellation of these rights during and after the war affected mainly Croatian Serbs. Contrary to the practice in other Balkan countries, Croatia refused to allow restitution of flats held under occupancy rights, and former holders of such rights are only entitled to limited and delayed benefits from a housing care scheme.

The number of internally displaced people (IDPs) in Croatia has fallen significantly since the armed conflict between the Croat majority and the Serb minority ended in 1995. At the end of the war, around 250,000 people were displaced within Croatia, of whom 32,000 were Croatian Serbs. By June 2009, the number of IDPs had fallen to about 2,400, includ-ing over 1,600 ethnic Serbs.

The outcome for the two groups of IDPs has been quite different. In 1995, there were three times more Croat IDPs than Croatian Serb IDPs, but by 2009 the situation has been re-versed with twice as many Croatian Serbs as Croats still displaced. As of June 2009, over 220,000 Croat IDPs and some 23,000 Serb IDPs had returned. However almost half of Serb returns to and within Croatia are not sustainable, according to international organisations and NGOs. For the remaining Croat IDPs, the main obstacle to return is the poor economic situation in return areas, whereas ethnic Serb IDPs also face continuing discrimination in accessing housing, property and employment.

Although successive governments have made significant progress since 2000 in reforming and adopting laws to support the return of ethnic Serb IDPs, their implementation has been slow due to their complexity and the discriminatory attitude of administrative bodies. One continuing barrier has been the absence of a remedy for the arbitrary cancellation of ten-ancy rights for former occupiers of socially-owned apartments; this has mainly affected ethnic Serbs. Alternative housing options have been made available to those who wish to return, but others have been left without any durable housing solutions or compensation for the loss of their tenancy right.

Over the past three years the number of IDPs in Croatia has remained steady, indicating that the remaining few have been unable to resolve their status by returning to their place of origin or integrating locally. To enable them to find durable solutions it would be necessary to combine economic support to the most vulnerable, fair compensation for former holders of occupancy rights, and an effective monitoring system to ensure minority rights are up-held. (...)

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^{1st September 2009}