First Donors' Conference for Kosovo
Brussels, July 28, 1999

Statement by the International Organization for Migration (IOM)
Delivered by Mr. Peter Schatzer, Director, External Relations and Information, IOM Headquarters, Geneva

Mr. Chairman

Distinguished delegates,

As for other major actors, the rehabilitation and reconstruction phase for Kosovo brings with it new tasks for the International Organization for Migration.

IOM has agreed with governments of the region and beyond to organize the safe and orderly return of Kosovar refugees overland from neighbouring states, and by air from countries of humanitarian evacuation, where more than 90 000 passengers had been air-lifted during the conflict. Overland transportation, coordinated with UNHCR, involves ensuring that refugees have transportation all the way back to their towns or villages of origin. While today air transportation is still via Skopje airport, with continuation by bus, we expect to make increasing use of Pristina airport as of early August

Although most of these operations are funded by host countries, we have to use donor money for the return of those refugee who have found safe haven in third countries without the financial means to pay for return.

Thanks to the cooperation by the authorities of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, simple and effective procedures for reception of transiting refugees, including documentation, have been worked out. The cost of services provided in this respect should also be taken into consideration.

The need for qualified indigenous personnel, in particular for the rehabilitation and reconstruction phase is evident. Working with UNMIK, the EU, OSCE and others, IOM is ready to search abroad for Kosovars with specialized talents and arrange for their return and reintegration into key positions in the administration and technical services. The successful Bosnia and Herzegovina program can serve as a model for the Kosovo RQN program.

In many host countries there is a growing understanding that simple return is inadequate if the incentives to remain permanently in Kosovo are not there. We would in this respect like to urge early linkage of returns with concrete reconstruction projects contemplated by a number of donors.

UNMIK is looking hard at the question of the creation of a civilian police force. Many qualified individual members of the UCK will be recruited and trained as policemen, and yet for many more alternative means of livelihood will be hard to find. These former UCK combatants will need other occupations.

UNMIK and KFOR have expressed a strong interest in IOM support for efforts to demobilize and help reintegrate into civilian life UCK fighters. We have already undertaken a survey in the 27 KFOR assembly areas to identify prior UCK work experience and aspirations. The approximately 8000 UCK military should be prime candidates for training and reintegration into the Kosovo economy and civil administration. A full registration and socio professional profiling are under way and some of the most urgent needs are being met. This effort needs to be supported by an outreach field capacity to promote opportunities for reintegration. IOM referral and training activities will make full use of NGO programmes and projects already operating in the territory.

The new civilian authorities of Kosovo, international and local, will need to issue identification documents and build up a database for use in planning the reconstruction and reordering of the political, social and economic life of the territory. Many Kosovars have lost what documentation they once may have had. The best approach might lie in the construction of a new civil registry for the territory, using both fresh surveys and existing documentation.

The most important partners in this effort are the UNMIK interim civil administration (including OSCE and Kosovar local authorities). IOM stands ready to assist with the computerized registration tools that worked well in compiling the database of the Macedonia refugee population, as well as with training and supervision of the Kosovar workforce that will accomplish the survey and sorting tasks.

Closely connected to the question of the civil registry, property records in Kosovo also require urgent attention. The recent history of Kosovo has produced a complicated and unclear situation in respect of ownership, lawful possession and occupancy rights. It will not be easy to rectify property documentation, but failure to do so will impede reconstruction and just settlement of housing questions.

KFOR is by now facing disputes over occupancy of abandoned houses. In towns and cities, socially owned apartments may quickly be divided among returnees whose own homes are gone .We have already conducted a preliminary survey of the property question and stand ready, on the basis of our experience in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in cooperation with relevant partners, to set up and supervise such a property panel.

Kosovo has certain specific needs in the medical field that emerge from its recent history of parallel medical systems. From the outset of the recent crisis, IOM has begun working on projects such as psycho-trauma surveying, temporary support for weak medical sectors, training, checking credentials, return of qualified medical personnel, and medical evacuation. An important task for the civil administrator will be to develop solutions to questions of health insurance, an integrated multi-ethnic health system, and a medical records system. We already enjoy good donor support for our traditional migration medical activities, though it will take more time to gauge the full needs in this area.

Mr. Chairman,

In partnership with a major donor government IOM is already assisting in the development of local governance through community improvement projects. Our offices outside Pristina, opened in connection with these projects, can serve as bases for supporting some of the work outlined in my brief intervention here today.

Capacity-building and public information will be important elements in all the activities described above. Kosovo has been a source of migration for decades, and remittances have played an important role for its economy. The financial needs for reconstruction are now likely to create new pressures for labour emigration, and adequate administrative structures need to be set up in this regard.

In the area of information, our radio programme and Kosovo web-site require not only funding but can also serve as useful tools to spread accurate information on the many aspects linked to return, reconstruction and rehabilitation of the Kosovo society. They are at your disposal to share unbiased and accurate information from a credible source.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.