A group of about 250 refugees, internally displaced people (IDPs)
and socially vulnerable people, currently living in collective
centres or inadequate private accommodation, will be provided homes
by IOM as part of ongoing efforts to resolve a housing problem
among Serbia's refugee and displaced population.

The construction of about 36 homes and the purchase and
installation of a further 12 pre-fabricated houses will help to get
the group of refugees, IDPs and particularly vulnerable people
living in the municipality of Sremska Mitrovica to re-start their
lives after more than 10 years of displacement from the Kosovo
conflict and the Balkans war.

With renewed funding of nearly 1.1 million Euros from the
European Commission, and in cooperation with government and local
partners, the programme will also provide financial and technical
support to 60 of the IDPs and vulnerable locals to set up small and
medium enterprises, vocational or financial training or help in
getting jobs.

A total of 933 IDPs and refugees will have been provided new
homes since the IOM programme began. Approximately 6,000 displaced
people are, nevertheless, still living in collective centres in
Serbia. Most of them are poor, elderly, single parents and other
vulnerable individuals. For the most part unemployed or
under-employed, they rely on social assistance and seasonal
employment to get by.

A far greater but undetermined number is living in private
accommodations with very poor living conditions.

Years after the end of the conflicts in the region, Serbia still
has 97,000 registered refugees and 200,000 internally displaced
people.

For further information, please contact:

Jovana Gusic

IOM Serbia

Tel: +381 63 214 254

E-mail: "mailto:jgusic@iom.int">jgusic@iom.int