The Dayton Peace Agreement, signed in December, 1995, says that the UNHCR should organize the repatriation of two million refugees from the territory of the former Yugoslavia.

This problem is dealt by the Council for the Implementation of Peace. At the suggestion of the Yugoslav delegation, the Working Group for the humanitarian questions determined on April 23, 1997, the Bases of the Program of Durable Solutions for the refugees. There are three possibilities envisaged:

1. REPATRIATION - return to the country of origin.

2. LOCAL INTEGRATION - citizenship of the country of asylum

3. EMIGRATION TO A THIRD COUNTRY

The priority for the refugees is repatriation, as the best long-term solution.

The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Republic of Croatia signed, on August 23, 1996, an Agreement on the Normalization of Relations. Article 7 of that Agreement obliges the Parties to the Agreement to assure, with the respect of the will expressed by the refugees, the conditions for their free and safe return to the former places of residence, the return of their property or a just compensation, full security, equal legal protection, conditions for normal life. The Parties to the Agreement took the obligation to proclaim a general amnesty for all acts committed in connection with the war conflicts, except for acts representing war crimes.

Still, a very small number of refugees decided to be repatriated. Only 51.800 refugees would like to return to their homes. Until mid-October 1997, the UNHCR returned to the territories of the former Bosnia and Hertzegovina and Croatia 2.036 refugees. The majority of persons who opted for such solution are elder people, retired people, unemployed and those who are accommodated in collective centers.

The main reason why the number of people who opted for repatriation is so small is the absence of guarantees for the safety of the people who return to their homes, occupied or destroyed property, complicated procedure for obtaining permits for return, the unsolved question of dual citizenship, the slowness of the solution of the payment of pensions and of other social welfare grants, permanent threats because of participation in the war...

The Republic of Croatia adopted, on August 31, 1995, the Regulation on the Temporary Seizure and Administration of the Property of the Refugees.

Out of 298.000 persons who escaped from Croatia, 12.000 got permits for return from the Croatian authorities, and only 1.017 returned to their homes.

For a great number of refugees, the local integration, i. e. staying in the FRY is the only acceptable solution, bearing in mind the Croatian policy in this field. At the present moment, some 60%, i. e. 341.839 refugees are forced to adopt that solution; these are mainly young persons, persons with high education, persons who found jobs, or those who already have their own accommodations in the FR of Yugoslavia.

In order to make integration possible, it is indispensable to assure current existence to the refugees.

In order to help the people who opted for local integration, the UNHCR implements the so called income projects, in order to make their economic independence possible, to allow them not to depend on humanitarian aid. Between June, 1996, and June 1997, only 5.380 out of a total of 341.839 refugees who opted for local integration benefited from such projects.

In the cases in which repatriation and local integration are not possible, the UNHCR helps the emigration of refugees to third countries. Almost 50.000 refugees expressed the wish to emigrate to third countries. Since 1992, by the intermediary of the UNHCR, 5.142 refugees emigrated to 24 countries. Almost 4.000 persons emigrated with the assistance of the International Organization for Migrations (IOM).