5 ethnic cleansing. Many have resettled in Serbia and other countries in the region, especially Macedonia and Montenegro, and also in West European countries.131 According to data of the International Organization for Migration, among the overall number of returnees, 63.3 percent were Roma, 19 percent were Bosniaks, and the rest were Serbs, Albanians and others. Currently, the return of IDPs is regulated by agreements signed by 15 European countries in 1996 and the 2007 Readmission Agreement. Reports indicate that the number of returnees to Serbia each month is about 100; they settle mostly in the municipalities of Novi Pazar, Sjenica, Tutin and VladiÄ?in Han. Their reintegration is assisted by Western European governments (notably Luxemburg and Germany), but without clear national or local plans regarding their inclusion in social and economic life. There is a need for cooperation across the region with respect to the status of these predominantly Roma returnees, both to provide for their smooth return and exchange experiences, as during the process of accession the EU and other states have faced difficulties in this respect. There is a further need for cooperation on citizenship and personal documents. Many Roma do not have citizenship and are de facto persons without statehood in Serbia (many of them never left the country, meaning they were not displaced or refugees). The European Union, OSCE and Council of Europe do not provide sufficient support to programmes and initiatives for regional cooperation between candidate countries and countries that have embarked upon the accession process in the area of improving the position of the Roma. Except for support extended to implement the Roma Decade, the Western Balkans are receiving no special assistance for joint political and specific cross-border or regional measures, except for addressing the displacement of the Roma from Kosovo and from the territory of the former Yugoslavia. The Western Balkans should create necessary political and administrative conditions for greater cooperation, as soon as the EU provides mechanisms and funds for these purposes. The European Regional Development Fund helps projects related to the inclusion of the Roma in Central Europe, especially in northern Hungary, central and eastern Slovakia, and southern Poland. In order to provide access to this budget line, these countries have created adequate structures: Slovakia has established the Committee for the Development of the Roma Community within the Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development, and the Czech Republic has a separate body promoting social equity. Serbia, except for the Office for the Implementation of the National Strategy of Roma, does not have an equivalent body in terms of resources, organization or staff. Regional and cross-border cooperation can be developed along different lines, but should start by redefining the existing integration (inclusion) strategy, establishing institutional structures at national (intersectoral) and local levels, and carrying out a realistic stocktaking of the current situation. This approach could serve as the basis for cooperation covering population issues, life in settlements as the foundation for Roma integration, socioeconomic welfare, and measures prohibiting discrimination and promoting Roma culture.
Refugees and internally displaced persons The situation in Serbia The situation of the refugee and IDP populations in Serbia can be analysed through their access to social and economic rights—including status issues (regulating the legal framework and practices for acquiring citizenship); the right to adequate housing; the right to work, 131
Many articles dealing with this issue do not provide references on the number of displaced Roma, or the number of those that are to be returned on the basis of the Readmission Agreement. The draft strategy on reintegration of returnees (Ministry for Human and Minority Rights 2006), which has not yet been formally adopted, also does not provide such figures.
Human Development Report Serbia 2008 139