Migrants demand for the City UNESCO Chair, Università luav di Venezia, Venice , 19-20 March 2009

1. Migrants demand for the CityUNESCO Chair, Università luav di Venezia, Venice, 19-20 March 2009 Some experience related to forced migrants

2. 3-fold challenges regarding refugees/IDPs, the forced migrants • Temporary accommodation of refugees/IDPs in cities – a challenge for local authorities within a national/ international context. • Long-term integration of refugees, a shift toward sustainable settlement. • Facilitating returns after crisis often includes property claim mechanisms.

3. Temporary accommodation of refugees/IDPs in cities • Refugees and IDPs are mainly accommodated in cities or in urban fringes. • Projects should be implemented in close coordination with LA or under their leadership. • Empowering local authorities and communities to host forced migrants is a necessity. • Investment should be incorporated within longer term development plans. • Cities « in crisis » should gain some benefit for their involvment and flow of resources should also be used to improve local institutions and capacities. • Temporary housing solutions should be as sustainable as possible, regardless the duration of the stay of forced migrants.

4. Long-term integration of refugees • After some time, a significant part of forced migrants will look for integration and sustainable resettlement in host city. • It requires integrated programmes also benefiting local disadvantaged groups/ communities. • Local Authorities are the driving forces for such programmes requiring specific resources from national/international sources. • Rental housing or incremental ownership offer good transition solutions.

5. Facilitating returns after crisis • A significant part of rural returnees settle in cities despite rural support programmes. • Urban development programmes should be developed in parallel to reconstruction. • Property claim mechanisms are often necessary after human made crisis. • Local Authorities are again the key actors and should be empowered and supported.

6. Some lessons learnt from the Settlement and Integration of Refugees Programmes in Serbia Pre-SIRP situation • Poor refugees were accommodated in collective centers and other forms of sub-standard housing at high cost and for many years. • As in many countries, housing projects were developed within a humanitarian framework with no local capacity development. It was not benefiting local communities and created rejection patterns. • Projects were centrally managed with little impact on local development.

7. SIRP main principles • Sustainable housing solutions developed jointly with socioeconomic integration and municipal development activities. • Municipalities were in the driving seat and largely benefited from the project. • Integration of refugees is part of broader local development strategies. • Involvement of central institutions for replication and up-scaling. • Innovative approach and mechanisms disseminated to local and central partners, including academic.

8. SIRP main outputs • 670 new rental municipal housing units and other innovative solutions developed by 7 Municipalities for refugees and other disadvantaged groups. • Local and central institutions for social housing are being established and new programmes are designed with adequate resources and within the framework of a new law for social housing. • City Development and Housing Strategies are formulated through wide participatory approach. • Series of calls for socioeconomic development projects based on approved local strategies. • Local resources have been mobilized. • Wide socioeconomic information systems are established at local levels. • Municipal councilors and staff largely benefited from training activities and participatory local development is included in university curriculum.

9. Taking stock from SIRP lessons • Societies in crisis and transition cannot sustainably integrate refugees (even from same ethnicity) without parallel support to the reform and capacity development process. • Integration projects for forced migrants should devote resources to support the decentralization process and build adequate local capacities. It should benefit local communities. • Most hosting governments (both central and local) can mobilize significant resources if put in the driving seat. • Most above principles are relevant to support integration of minorities such as international migrants, Roma populations, etc. • Follow-up to SIRP includes various projects throughout the Balkan Region to support institutional modernization and development in the areas of housing, municipal and regional development, helping in EU integration process.

15. Training in the City of Nis Treninzi u Nišu

16. MUNICIPALITY KRALJEVO

21. Development of the tourism potentials of the mountain Golija Razvoj turističkih potencijala Golije

22. Development of the tourism potentials of the mountain Golija Razvoj turističkih potencijala Golije

23. Archeological spot Medijana provided jobs for 32 project beneficiaries Arheološko nalazište Medijana je zaposlilo 32 korisnika projekta