UNHCR SEEKS $353 MILLION FOR BOSNIA, NEIGHBOURING REPUBLICS
Press Release
REF/1134
UNHCR SEEKS $353 MILLION FOR BOSNIA, NEIGHBOURING REPUBLICS
19960304 GENEVA, 1 March (UNHCR) -- The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said today it needs $353 million for its 1996 programme in Bosnia and Herzegovina and neighbouring republics, where the agency's focus is now shifting from a four-year old relief operation to the return of millions of refugees and internally displaced people.The 1996 United Nations consolidated inter-agency appeal for the region launched today by 11 agencies seeking a combined total of $823 million, marks the first time that repatriation has been included in a United Nations appeal for the war-ravaged region.
Under the Dayton Agreement, the UNHCR is responsible for the return of some 2 million refugees and displaced in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a complicated and mammoth task that is expected to begin in earnest this spring.
In a foreword to today's appeal, High Commissioner Sadako Ogata and Yasushi Akashi, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, note that the various military and civilian components of the Dayton plan must continue to work in harmony because each element is crucial to overall success. "Success in one area will undoubtedly facilitate progress in other areas", they write.
Details of the UNHCR's operational plan for the return to Bosnia and Herzegovina will be discussed by governments, agencies and the parties to the Dayton accords at an 8 March meeting in Oslo, hosted by the Government of Norway.
An estimated 40,000 persons have already returned or relocated in Bosnia and Herzegovina -- with or without UNHCR help -- since the signing of the Dayton accords last December. The UNHCR's Sarajevo-based Special Envoy for the region, Soren Jessen-Petersen, said the organization places particular importance on efforts aimed at building confidence among the population. While there have been some successes -- pilot return projects in Travnik and Jajce, for example -- there have also been problems in places like Mostar, Bugojno and Sarajevo, where thousands of Serb residents have recently fled suburbs that are coming under Federation control. Mr. Jessen-Petersen noted that the UNHCR has established a presence in all Serb suburbs and has brought in additional staff and assistance to try to bolster confidence among those Serbs who remain.
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"We are extremely concerned about the departure of Serbs from three suburbs of Sarajevo", he said. "The UNHCR believes everything possible should be done to prevent a sudden exodus from the two remaining Serb suburbs."
The UNHCR also announced today that it has completed the first six in a series of reports aimed at providing prospective returnees with detailed information on conditions in various parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The "repatriation information reports" contain details on several issues of concern to those considering return, including security, housing, registration procedures, routes and means of transportation, infrastructure, schools and hospitals, economic conditions and assistance available from the UNHCR and others. The reports, compiled and to be regularly updated by the UNHCR staff, will be disseminated throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina and in asylum countries via electronic mail to UNHCR offices, governments and non-governmental agencies which deal directly with refugees and the displaced. The UNHCR is also exploring the possibility of posting the information reports on its upcoming World Wide Web page on the Internet. The first six repatriation information reports cover the municipalities of Bosanski Petrovac, Glamoc, Gracanica, Kakanj, Kupres and Prnjavor. By the end of June, the UNHCR expects to have similar reports completed on at least half of Bosnia and Herzegovina's 75 municipalities.
Programmes in Bosnia and Herzegovina will account for nearly $197 million of the UNHCR's total 1996 budget of $353 million for the region. The appeal also seeks $56 million for programmes in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, with 330,000 beneficiaries; nearly $35 million for Croatia, with 410,000 beneficiaries; $2.1 million for Slovenia, with 19,000 beneficiaries; and nearly $2 million for The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, with 6,300 beneficiaries.
The UNHCR regional budget includes $109 million for shelter, water and sanitation; $92 million for the provision of domestic items for returnees and war-affected people; $51 million for programme delivery costs; $21 million for logistics and transport; $15 million for the in-country transport of returning refugees; $13 million for community services; $11 million for food and nutrition; and $11 million for health.
The UNHCR currently provides assistance to 2.4 million beneficiaries within Bosnia and Herzegovina, including an estimated 1 million internally displaced persons. For planning purposes, the UNHCR is assuming that 830,000 refugees and displaced persons could return or relocate in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1996. These returnees could include up to half of the estimated 1 million internally displaced; 170,000 Bosnian refugees from neighbouring republics; and 200,000 from among the estimated 700,000 Bosnian refugees in some 25 other countries outside the region, mainly in Europe. The UNHCR cautions, however, that these are maximum planning figures and are contingent on securing funding and on immediate, large-scale reconstruction
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and demining operations by other agencies and actors keeping pace with the actual rhythm of return and repatriation.
Many of these people will want to return to villages lacking adequate infrastructure, shelter and employment opportunities, making it necessary to continue some relief assistance during the settling-in and reconstruction period. But the appeal also notes that with the return of peace, the 2.4 million beneficiaries currently in Bosnia and Herzegovina will become less dependent on humanitarian relief. Emergency assistance will gradually be phased out and repatriation and return movements will increase as part of the overall rehabilitation process.
In an annex to the appeal covering the protection and monitoring of returnees, the UNHCR acknowledges that "a large number of persons will never return voluntarily to their areas of original residence, especially where they would be among a small and vulnerable minority population". It says the UNHCR's protection activities will thus focus primarily upon four groups of returnees: internally displaced persons relocating to areas where they did not previously reside; internally displaced persons returning to their original places of residence; refugees settling in areas where they did not previously reside; and refugees returning to their original areas of residence.
The annex stresses that return must be carried out in an orderly fashion to prevent chaos and ensure a smooth reintegration process.
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