« Back to Provision

Internally Displaced Persons – 2001

The head of the OSCE mission to Croatia, Bernard Poncet, said one of Croatia’s main failures in meeting its international obligations was a “lack of progress … in the areas of refugee return, repossession of property and reconstruction.”¹ A few months later, the OSCE argued that “Without question the most pressing issue to be addressed and resolved is the sustainable return to Croatia of its refugee Serb population.” The OSCE called for the adoption of a legal framework for expeditious repossession of occupied property by their legitimate owners.² Later that year, the head of the Helsinki Human Rights Watch in the Bosnian Serb Republic estimated that between 40,000 and 50,000 Serbs had been denied their right to ownership of their property in Croatia.³

1. “Europeans tell Croatia to facilitate return of Serb refugees,” Agence France Presse, March 14, 2001.
2. “Return of ethnic Serb refugees Croatia’s most pressing commitment: OSCE,” Agence France Presse, June 5, 2001.
3. “Head of Bosnian Serb Human Rights Watch says Croatia’s human rights record poor,” BBC Monitoring Europe, October 31, 2001.