Cooperation to Improve the Return and Reintegration of Refugees and IDPs

Banja Luka, December 12 -- The Danish Refugee Council, the Asylum Department (www.flygtning.dk presented the project for cooperation between municipal governments and the civil society organizations. The project is titled "Capacity Building of Local Democratic Governance for Return and Integration of Refugees and IDPs," and its goal is to create lasting conditions for return and reintegration of refugees and IDPs in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The project is financed by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and will be implemented by the Danish Refugee Council, communes in Danmark with larger communities of Bosnian refugees and four cities in B&H: Banja Luka, Trebinje, Prijedor and Gradiska/Bosanska Gradiska. The presentation was held at the Banski Dvori Palace in Banja Luka. According to the DRC, the development of Bosnia and Herzegovina is conditioned with the cooperation of the government and the citizens, so that they could solve the problems of the country through a joint effort. One of the biggest challenges that stands in front of the Bosnian society is the problem of creation of lasting conditions for return and integration of refugees and IDPs. Political parties, municipal governments, the associations and NGOs from the four cities, with the assistance provided by Danish organizations, created the strategy for improvement of the returnees’ conditions. The strategy includes four fields that were marked as the greatest obstacles to the return and reintegration: the lack of prospects for the youth and lack of employment possibilities, the lack of care for the elderly, as well as the bad communication between the municipal authorities and the refugees. The strategy offers solutions through the establishment of business centers, youth education centers, geriatric care facilities and creation of municipal web-pages, and other activities directed at improvement of civil society and development of democracy. DRC It was noted at the presentation that this project is a part of a greater project named "Project Neighborhood", which should provide over 800 million EUR for projects in Russia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. As the Danish Ambassador to B&H, Johanes Dahl Hansen, said in his address: "After the integration of the ten candidates into EU at the end of the year, Denmark will share a border with the region," which is a reason why they would want "to stabilize the region." In addition to Ambassador Hansen, the representatives of the Danish communes and the mayors of Banja Luka, Trebinje, Prijedor and Gradiska/Bosanska Gradiska also participated in the presentation. The event was closed with the presentations of the representatives of the four municipalities, who presented their projects and visions for better integration of refugees and IDPs. For more information, you may contact Meho Mujan at DRC, at asylum@drc.ba, or visit the web-site of DRC.