VZCZCXRO1712
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHBW #0428/01 1210924
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 300924Z APR 08
FM AMEMBASSY BELGRADE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0231
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHBW/AMEMBASSY BELGRADE 0336

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BELGRADE 000428 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PBTS PHUM PREL SR KV PREF
SUBJECT: SERBIA: REFUGEE COORDINATOR WEEKLY ACTIVITY REPORT APRIL 
21-24, 2008 
 
 
BELGRADE 00000428  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
UNHCR HARD HIT by FALLING DOLLAR 
 
-------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Budget woes were a principal concern of United Nations 
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Deputy Director for 
Europe Udo Janz in a April 23 meeting with refcoord to discuss 
UNHCR next steps in the Balkans.  Janz said that the falling 
dollar had resulted in a $14-million loss for UNHCR's Europe 
Bureau in 2008.  Enumerating other changes in the UNHCR budget 
and accounting process, Udo said that local staff salaries now 
must come out of country office budgets, further reducing 
operating and program resources.  Janz said it would be 
challenging to aim for durable solutions for refugees and 
internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Balkans in 2009 and 
2010 under these budget constraints, particularly when "the time 
to push hardest is now and we need to transition out."  He said 
it would be disastrous to close country offices now, with 
far-reaching initiatives like the Common European Asylum Policy 
expected to be resolved in 2012.  Udo said that the most 
effective mechanism to counter these budget challenges was 
extra-budgetary USG and European Commission contributions 
targeting specific programs such as legal assistance, prevention 
of statelessness, and local integration.  Such targeted 
assistance, he said, allows country offices to program staffing 
and account for staff expenses against specific programs. 
 
 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Janz told refcoord that he planned to spotlight Serbia 
as a case study for protracted refugee situations at the June 
UNHCR Executive Committee meeting.  He said he would also appeal 
to UN Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees Craig Johnstone for 
help on the exchange rate loss.  Janz asked PRM to consider 
leveraging other sources of USG funding, including DRL and USAID 
for maximum impact. 
 
 
 
Kosovo Ministry: Discreet Integration of IDPS OKAY 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Janz told refcoord he had had a constructive meeting, 
April 22, with Serbia's Kosovo Ministry State Secretary Dusan 
Prorokovic.  According to Janz, Prorokovic described Serb 
returns to Kosovo as nearly nonexistent, citing high costs of 
returns programs, lack of employment opportunities in Kosovo for 
returnees, and politics as the primary obstacles to return. 
Janz said Prorokovic expected a maximum of an additional 2,000 
Kosovo Serbs to return, mainly to North Mitrovica.  According to 
Janz, Prorokovic said the Ministry would seek quietly to 
integrate in Serbia the majority of internally displaced persons 
(IDPs) from Kosovo.  He told Janz that the Serbian Commissioner 
for Refugees' official figure of 206,071 IDPs residing in Serbia 
was too high, guessing the real number was closer to 160,000. 
Nonetheless, he said, it would be political suicide to conduct a 
re-registration of IDPs at this point and prove the number to be 
lower.  (Note: The Government of Serbia has for years refused to 
conduct a re-registration of IDPs, independent of a formal 
census in Kosovo.)  According to Janz, Prorokovic agreed that 
UNHCR should focus on integrating IDPs in Serbia, discreetly and 
out of the political spotlight. 
 
 
 
DIVAC ORGANIZATION ANNOUNCES REFUGEE, IDP PROGRAMS 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
 
 
¶3.  (U) Snezana Divac, President of the Humanitarian 
Organization Divac (HOD), announced at a press conference on 
April 21 that the organization had collected over one million 
euros in contributions from the GOS and private sector donations 
in what she described as the "the largest humanitarian 
initiative ever organized by Serbs in Serbia."  Divac said that 
the HOD had already provided shelter to 100 displaced families 
and planned to build homes for approximately 6,000 refugees and 
IDPs currently living in collective centers in Serbia. 
 
 
 
¶4.  (U) The organization has joined forces with the Ministry of 
Labor and Social Welfare, the Serbian Commissariat for Refugees, 
and select municipalities, and, Divac announced, would work with 
 
BELGRADE 00000428  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
UNHCR to implement the project.  She expected the HOD-built 
homes would cost 8,000 euros, each.  Beneficiaries could own 
their homes as long as they held the property for at least five 
years.  All major media outlets covered the press conference. 
Vlade Divac (former NBA basketball player), representatives of 
UNHCR, the Ministry for Labor and Social Welfare and the Serbian 
Commissariat for Refugees attended. 
BRUSH