NORWEGIAN HOUSING AND RETURN PROJECTS IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA Report by Karin Lisa Kirkengen NORDEM Report 18/2006 Copyright: the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights/NORDEM and Karin Lisa Kirkengen. NORDEM, the Norwegian Resource Bank for Democracy and Human Rights, is a programme of the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights (NCHR), and has as its main objective to actively promote international human rights. NORDEM is jointly administered by NCHR and the Norwegian Refugee Council. NORDEM works mainly in relation to multilateral institutions. The operative mandate of the programme is realised primarily through the recruitment and deployment of qualified Norwegian personnel to international assignments that promote democratisation and respect for human rights. The programme is responsible for the training of personnel before deployment and reporting on completed assignments, and plays a role in research related to areas of active involvement. The vast majority of assignments are channelled through the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. NORDEM Report is a series of reports documenting NORDEM activities and is published jointly by NORDEM and the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights. Series editor: Hege Mørk Series consultants: Turid Wulff Knutsen, Christian Boe Astrup The opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher. ISSN: 1503–1330 ISBN 10: 82-8158-032-1 ISBN 13: 978-82-8158-032-9 NORDEM Report is available online at: http://www.humanrights.uio.no/forskning/publ/publikasjonsliste.html Preface The report was commissioned by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the beginning of 2005 and it was researched and written between February 2005 and February 2006. The author of the report, Karin Lisa Kirkengen, worked in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNCHR) and the European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM) between October 2000 and November 2004, mainly in the fields of refugee return, property law implementation and political monitoring. The main findings of the report were presented to the staff of the Norwegian Embassy in Sarajevo on 20 September 2006 and in an open session at the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights on 9 November 2006. The Norwegian Centre for Human Rights / NORDEM University of Oslo December 2006 Contents Preface Contents Table of figures................................................................................................................... 6 Introduction....................................................................................................................... 7 Scope and purpose of the study .......................................................................................... 7 Brief overview of return and reconstruction in BiH ........................................................... 7 History of return.............................................................................................................. 7 Aims and strategies for the international community’s involvement in return .............. 8 Methodology .................................................................................................................... 11 Archive study.................................................................................................................... 11 Sources of information.................................................................................................. 11 Categorisation of projects ............................................................................................. 12 IDP/refugee accommodation .................................................................................... 13 Majority housing....................................................................................................... 13 Minority housing....................................................................................................... 13 Field study......................................................................................................................... 14 Sample selection ........................................................................................................... 14 Data collection and analysis.......................................................................................... 14 Terms and definitions ................................................................................................... 15 Ethnicity.................................................................................................................... 15 Minority/majority...................................................................................................... 15 Urban/rural................................................................................................................ 16 Archive study................................................................................................................... 17 Overview of all Norwegian funded and/or implemented projects.................................... 17 Overview of Norwegian funded projects.......................................................................... 21 Number of projects and houses, implementing agencies and donors ........................... 21 Locations.......................................................................................................................22 Project types.................................................................................................................. 22 Funding .........................................................................................................................23 Developments over time ............................................................................................... 25 Occupancy and return rate ............................................................................................ 29 Reconstruction model ................................................................................................... 30 Beneficiary selection..................................................................................................... 32 Criteria for beneficiary selection .................................................................................. 33 Other project output ...................................................................................................... 35 Co-operation and co-ordination .................................................................................... 35 Project objectives and rationale .................................................................................... 36 Field Study....................................................................................................................... 38 Background of returnees and return locations .................................................................. 38 Return location profile .................................................................................................. 38 Sarajevo Stari Grad................................................................................................... 38 Mostar ....................................................................................................................... 39 Bosanski Petrovac..................................................................................................... 39 Kljuc.......................................................................................................................... 40 Brcko District............................................................................................................ 41 Brod........................................................................................................................... 42 Derventa.................................................................................................................... 42 Modrica..................................................................................................................... 43 Interviewee profile........................................................................................................ 44 Interviewees’ displacement history............................................................................... 44 Interviewees’ return history .......................................................................................... 45 Reconstruction assistance ......................................................................................... 46 Other return related assistance.................................................................................. 51 Sustainability of return...................................................................................................... 52 Current return/occupancy rate....................................................................................... 53 Future stability/growth of return population................................................................. 54 Likelihood of further return ...................................................................................... 54 Wish for re-migration ............................................................................................... 54 Presence of young people ......................................................................................... 55 Standard of life.............................................................................................................. 57 Physical