Serbia has no plans to strip refugees of status - official

Serbia has no plans to strip refugees of status - official

BELGRADE -- Refugees in Serbia will have the same status as before, despite an initiative to abolish it, says the director of the Fund for Aid to Refugees and IDPs.

According to Radomir Kukobat, this recently presented proposal is "unfounded in facts, and extremely unusual - especially since it is coming from the UNHCR." He noted that, in practice, such initiatives "almost exclusively come from host countries."

"Serbia as a receiving country has neither launched such an initiative, nor is thinking about it," Kukobat said and pointed out that, regardless of the proposal that came from the UNHCR, refugees will "still enjoy hospitality in Serbia and the same status as before."

In this regard, the provincial government of Vojvodina, "as part of the overall government structure that cares about refugees," will continue to carry out programs planned for this year, which have been funded with about half a million euros, said Kukobat.

He announced the continuation of the Fund's assistance to refugee families buying village households in Vojvodina, providing of building materials to those who have started building their new homes, and assistance in starting businesses in agriculture, crafts, and other sectors.

"These programs will this year include more than 200 refugee or IDP families in the province which is satisfactory, given the economic problems in our country," said Kukobat.

He also noted that the provincial fund he is heading helped house more than 900 refugee or displaced families since it was founded in 2007, and was engaged in a series of other important programs aimed at economic empowering and improving the lives of refugees...