Government Guarantees Returnees in RS All Rights in FBiH

The Government of the Federation of BiH, at today's emergency and telephonically held session, determined and sent to parliamentary procedure on an urgent basis the Bill on the Rights of Returnees to their pre-war place of residence in the entity of Republika Srpska and Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As confirmed for the Patria News Agency by Izudin Livadić, head of the cabinet of Adil Osmanović, Minister for Refugees in the Government of FBiH, this law will be before the MPs of the FBiH Parliament as early as tomorrow.

This law regulates the conditions, manner, and procedure for the realization and use of rights acquired based on federal laws and other regulations by returnees to RS and Brčko District of BiH, in the areas of social protection and protection of families with children, veteran-disability and health protection, and rights in the area of income tax.

- This is a systemic and legal solution that should lead to a completely different situation regarding the registration of residence in RS. This is a response to the situation where a considerable number of people do not return to their pre-war residences due to not realizing rights in the entity related to healthcare, etc. By adopting this law, they could, in a way, continue to use those rights while registering their residence in RS and thus become full citizens of RS – said Livadić.

The Federal Government determined the text of the Law at its 90th session on December 4, 2013, and today it reconsidered it and accepted the request of the Federal Ministry for Displaced Persons and Refugees to send it to parliamentary procedure on an urgent basis, instead of the previously shortened procedure.

- This law considers a returnee to be a person who has realized or will realize the right to return from the Federation of BiH to RS and Brčko District of BiH, with mandatory registration of residence in the place of return, without limitations regarding the date of residence registration in the place of pre-war residence. This law will contribute to preserving the dignity of victims, promote the survival of the Bosniak and Croat communities in the areas of RS, and especially in places where they were the majority population before the war – explained Livadić for NAP.

The rights under this law can be exercised by persons who have voluntarily returned and registered their residence in their pre-war place of residence in RS or Brčko District of BiH, and who had residence or stayed in FBiH, based on the status of a displaced person. These persons retain the use of acquired rights and realize rights in accordance with this law if they had residence or stayed in FBiH before this law came into force, provided that they do not exercise these rights under the regulations of RS or Brčko District of BiH.