Dacic, Guterres on problems of refugees

BELGRADE/GENEVA - Ivica Dacic, Serbian First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, has conferred with Antonio Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, in Geneva, and informed him about the position and problems of refugees from Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina in Serbia and of over 200,000 internally displaced persons from Kosovo-Metohija.

Guterres underlined the willingness of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to continue to offer necessary help to the Serbian government in this respect, and also help in addressing the problems of internally displaced persons from Kosovo-Metohija, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated on Tuesday evening.

Dacic met with Guterres at the 65th session of the UNHCR Executive Committee, and thanked on the efforts which the Office of the UNHCR and Guterres personally have invested to help a large number of refugees after the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia.

The Serbian minister underlined that the recommendation on the termination of the status of refugees from Croatia, which the UN High Commissioner announced in early April this year, has caused harm to the interests of the refugees and does not contribute to the stability in the region.

The Republic of Serbia is interested and ready to continue cooperation with UNHCR, to solve this important humanitarian issue for good, primarily in the interest of the most vulnerable, the statement reads.

Regarding the clause on the termination of the refugee status, Guterres noted that the application of clauses is a sovereign right of every country and that this is a recommendation whose application should start as of 2017.

Photo Tanjug Video

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