Situation of longstanding refugees and displaced persons in South East Europe

Plenary debate 27 June 2007

 doc 11289

The big humanitarian tragedy of longstanding refugees, displaced persons and missing persons as a sad results of conflicts on our continent  rightfully has a big attention of our Assemblee.

In the Southern Caucasus and the western Balkan these afterglow is still  burning and it's very good that with this report we focus on the situation of refugees and displaced persons in the former Yugoslavia.

This report does make good proposals to a speed up of the implementation of the mechanisms and instruments that aleady exist but are denied by the countries involved. Crucial is the shaping of conditions under which a succesfull return of refugees and IDP's is possible. Local resettlement can only succesful be achieved if there is adequate housing, return of properties, a fair compensation and a common sense that living peaceful together is the only sustainable solution.

The draft recommendation hand out the tools for this mission, but the political will to use them is in head and hearts of the politicians of het coutries involved. The parliaments of these countries are represented in this assemblee and a very positive reaction from their side should be the first necessary step. The next step should be that their parliaments discuss this report and control their governments in the way they make concrete steps upon the proposals that are made to them in the recommendation. Of course, according the procedure the Assemblee recommends the committee of ministers to urge the governements of these states to take measures, but it would be a good thing if the parliaments do the same.