Serbia Handbook for Legal Aid Providers Final

Specific statements have been made at the international level with respect to internally displaced
persons and their access to adequate housing. For example, the Executive Committee of UNHCR in
Conclusion No. 101 on Legal Safety Issues in the Context of Voluntary Repatriation of Refugees,
encourages countries of origin to provide homeless returning refugees with access to land and/or
adequate housing, comparable to local standards.
The right to voluntary return in safety and dignity 35
The duty to enable internally displaced persons (IDPs) to return to their homes ‘in safety and with
dignity’ is included in the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement. 36
“Principle 28
1. Competent authorities have the primary duty and responsibility to establish conditions, as well as
provide the means, which allow internally displaced persons to return voluntarily, in safety and with
dignity, to their homes or places of habitual residence, or to resettle voluntarily in another part of the
country. Such authorities shall endeavor to facilitate the reintegration of returned or resettled
internally displaced persons.”
The term dignity is difficult to define in the restitution and return context. A good definition within the
Kosovo and Metohija context comes from the UNHCR; “In practice, elements must include that
refugees are not manhandled; that they can return unconditionally and that if they are returning
spontaneously they can do so at their own pace; that they are not arbitrarily separated from family
members; and that they are treated with respect and full acceptance by their national authorities,
including the full restoration of their rights.’ 37 Obstruction or government inaction which negatively
affects the process return is a violation of these rights.
The right to choose not to return to place of origin
“Refugees and displaced persons shall not be forced, or otherwise coerced, either directly or
indirectly, to return to their former homes, lands or places of habitual residence. Refugees and
displaced persons should be able to effectively pursue durable solutions to displacement other than
return, if they so wish, without prejudicing their right to the restitution of their housing, land and
property.” 38
Incomplete Secondary Return Site in Novi Badovac
35
Pinheiro Principles, Section 4(10)
36
Principle 28.1
37
The 1996 UNHCR Handbook on Voluntary Repatriation: International Protection and the 2004 Handbook for Repatriation
and Reintegration Activities
38
Principles on Housing and Property Restitution for Refugees and Displaced Persons, Section 10(3)