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Bosnia and Herzegovina
At least 7,000 internally displaced persons still live in collective centres (1995-2008)
- Statistics show a sharp decrease in the first years due to the first post-war returns
- In subsequent years the population only decreased gradually thanks to reconstruction or property repossession
- Several assistance projects have contributed to decrease the number of collective centre residents through reconstruction of their houses.
- Only the most vulnerable cases remain in the collective centres. Some of them unable to return (elderly, traumatized) require institutional care.
- Some figures indicate that some 7.000 IDPs still live in informal collective centres under dire conditions.
- Many of those IDPs do not correspond to strict criteria of reconstruction projects
Source: UNHCR, Statistical summary, 30 June 2006
CoE, 20 February 2008:
64. At least 7,000 displaced persons are still living in collective centres, although only a few hundred in officially recognised ones.
UNHCR, June 2006:
“DPs of particular concern to UNHCR are those accommodated in collective types of accommodation. It is difficult to determine the accurate number of these persons but according to information collected during the 2005 re-registration exercise, at least 7,000 persons are still living in collective centres. Although there are various projects for return, including reconstruction assistance, a significant number of persons accommodated in collective/alternative accommodation in BiH do not meet legal criteria stipulated by these projects. In practice, there is a discrepancy between legal regulations stipulating too formal and complicated eligibility criteria and the real situation of the persons concerned.”
UNHCR, CC report:
“At the end of the war in December 1995, some 45,000 displaced resided in such centres. The number of residents in these centres declined drastically to 18,500 at the end of 1996, after the majority returned to their pre-war residences. Since then, however, the number of persons still requiring assistance provided in these centres has only reduced gradually. (…)In April 2000, UNHCR discontinued most material assistance and focused its activities to the identification of durable solutions for the residents, leading to the eventual closure of the centres. At the same time, UNHCR has been encouraging the Entity authorities to take a more proactive approach in resolving the plight of this vulnerable population. Since 2001, the Federal Ministry for Social Affairs, Displaced Persons and Refugees made attempts to close some collective centres by accommodating the individuals concerned in reconstructed houses. The Ministry for Refugees and Displaced Persons in Republika Srpska continued its strategy of housing collective centres residents in newly constructed apartments for a one year tenancy period. UNHCR is strongly advocating proper institutional care, in close co-ordination with the respective Ministries of Health, to be offered where possible and necessary to the elderly among the centres’ residents.
Late in 1998, in partnership with the Government of Switzerland, UNHCR started with the implementation of projects to provide lasting solutions for Collective Centres residents. The Swiss Humanitarian Aid (SHA) programme ‘Durable Solutions for Collective Centres Residents’ (DuSoCC) was thus established. Project costs are covered by UNHCR and administration costs are borne by the Government of Switzerland (Project Manager and seven local staff). SHA’s staff has been based in UNHCR offices in BiH since February 1999 to enable them to work closely with UNHCR’s field colleagues.
From the beginning of 1999 to date, some KM 6, 5 million has been spent on this project, and some 1,520 beneficiaries found durable solutions returning to their reconstructed pre-war homes. As a consequence of diminishing financial resources and the rapidly deteriorating living conditions in the Collective Centres, the residents remain of primary concern to UNHCR in terms of providing protection and assistance to this vulnerable group. Although Swiss Humanitarian Aid (SHA) is striving to provide durable solutions wherever possible, no other donors are providing contributions to this project. UNHCR’s ultimate goal is to eliminate the need for collective centres altogether by end 2005. UNHCR and SHA will maintain and update the database of individual residents in all the Collective Centres. Efforts will have to be made to target the most vulnerable individuals, while reviewing changing circumstances in property repossession.
Donors funding reconstruction projects throughout BiH has been drastically diminishing since 2002, and at the same time it is focused predominantly on repairing and rebuilding houses for other beneficiary groups. UNHCR would like to see these efforts complemented with a contribution in aid of collective centre residents. Such resources could not only be used for constructing housing units, but also for economic assistance through income generation projects and agricultural initiatives to ensure sustainability of these returns. UNHCR urges donors to either fund already prepared projects in order that solutions for these most vulnerable displaced persons can be identified and implemented in a timely manner."
In 2004, a project financed through a grant of the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) was implemented in cooperation with UNHCR to support the most vulnerable residents of the remaining collective centres by supporting return or institutional care. In November 2004, the CeB approved a loan of USD 8.000.000 to rehabilitate houses of 1100 families living in collective centres or temporary accommodation.
For more information and statistics on collective centres see also:
"2006 UNHCR assistance programme in Bosnia and Herzegovina", UNHCR, June 2006,
"Durable solutions for the collective centre residents", UNHCR/CRS, 2005/2006, and
"Collective centres in Bosnia and Herzegovina", UNHCR, 31 May 2006
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