OSCE calls for sustainable solutions for displaced Serbs in Strpce

The report warns of poor living conditions, as well as economic and social challenges, faced by the some 700 displaced Serbs from within Kosovo and Croatia who live in the five collective centres.

While welcoming a recent pledge by the authorities to fund a social housing complex accommodating more vulnerable families, including displaced families in the collective centres who want to integrate, the report urges the Kosovo institutions to prepare a long-term strategy to help those displaced to integrate locally, return to their place of origin, or settle elsewhere.

Moreover, the report asserts that in order for displaced persons to be fully informed of their options, they need a functioning forum where they can voice their concerns and seek solutions to their individual requests.

"Displaced persons need a common platform to promote their interests, while the authorities need to begin improving their living conditions. Until a permanent solution is found, those living in displacement should be offered more dignified conditions and the choice to better integrate, wherever they are," said Ambassador Werner Almhofer, the Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo.

The report offers recommendations to the authorities, the international community and return-focused organizations on prioritizing the needs of the displaced in order to improve their living conditions and assist those who wish to locally integrate.

Meannwile, The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) called on Serbia and Kosovo to do more to resolve the fate of over 1,800 people still missing over 10 years after their conflict.

"Much more has to be done to help the families of missing persons still suffering the anguish of not knowing what has happened to their relatives," said Lina Milner, the ICRC official chairing a working group charged to shed light on the fate of persons unaccounted for in the 1998-1999 war in Kosovo.

"The main problem is that there is no new information on potential grave sites. The parties need to resolve this fundamental issue as a matter of priority," Milner said in an ICRC statement.

"Official delegations from Pristina and Belgrade committed themselves to increase efforts to provide the families with relevant information this year," Milner said.