Representatives of the European Union, the United States, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Bosnia and Herzegovina welcome the launch of a public information campaign on refugee housing within the framework of the Regional Housing Programme (RHP).

Representatives of the governments of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, the Republic of Croatia and the Republic of Serbia held a joint press conference in Sarajevo today, introducing the modalities of the RHP. This is the third kick-off event of an information campaign, following similar press conferences in Belgrade on 6 March and Zagreb on 13 March, with the aim to provide comprehensive information to refugees, returnees and other displaced about possibilities related to voluntary repatriation, reintegration or local integration in the four countries through the Regional Housing Programme. This 5-year programme, which began in January 2013, has been made possible by generous donor support, in particular from the European Union.

Following the conflicts on the territory of the former Yugoslavia and forcible displacement of some two million persons in the region, the governments of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Croatia, Montenegro and the Republic of Serbia have initiated the so-called Sarajevo process, a regional cooperation initiative to end the protracted refugee situation in the region, with the support of the international community including the EU, the US, UNHCR and the OSCE.

One of the key results of this cooperation is the Regional Housing Programme which aims to ensure durable housing solutions for some 74,000 most vulnerable displaced in the four countries. The Programme builds on the joint efforts made so far by the partner countries and the international community to provide durable housing solutions and guarantees for protection of the rights of refugees and displaced persons from the 1991-1995 conflict, as well as those displaced in Montenegro following the 1999 Kosovo conflict

The European Union welcomes this public awareness campaign as a sign of the commitment of the partner countries in strengthening neighbourly relations and initiating in earnest the implementation of the Regional Housing Programme destined to help the remaining displaced populations to live a more dignified life nearly twenty years since the end of the Balkan conflicts. The EU has shown its clear commitment to help to solve the refugee situation by donating some 90% of the so far pledged funds allocated for the Regional Housing Programme”, emphasised Ambassador Peter Sorensen, Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Bosnia and Herzegovina and European Union Special Representative.

Part of the funds required for the implementation of this Regional Housing Programme were raised at the Sarajevo Donor Conference in April 2012, amounting to EUR 264 million. The biggest portion of the funds – EUR 234 million – was donated by the European Union. The Government of the United States donated USD 10 million and expressed an intention to continue allocating funds for this purpose over the next four years of the project implementation. Numerous bilateral donors included the governments of Norway, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Denmark, Turkey, Luxembourg, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia.

UNHCR and the OSCE will jointly monitor the process of beneficiary selection and the sustainability of the Programme implementation in the partner countries.

The Regional Housing Programme Fund, managed by the Council of Europe Development Bank, was established with the support of the EU, the U.S., UNHCR and the OSCE.

The regional information campaign is supported by the EU, UNHCR and the former UN High Commissioner for Refugees Ms Sadako Ogata. In parallel, country-specific, national information campaigns, funded by the EU, will be carried out in the four partner countries throughout the implementation of the Programme by respective responsible authorities.

For additional information please contact Edad Memić at 033/290-318 or by E-mail at MEMIC@unhcr.com