The European Union continues to provide free legal assistance to internally displaced persons and returnees under the readmission agreement.
At the conference held on March 5th, 2024, in Belgrade, the continuation of cooperation between the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the European Union (EU) in the field of protecting the basic human rights of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and returnees under the readmission agreement through the project “Better Access to Justice for IDPs and Returnees” was presented. This project in Serbia is financed by the European Union.
“Providing legal aid to the most vulnerable population is a priority for the EU, as well as protecting and ensuring basic human rights, with a focus on property rights of internally displaced persons and returnees according to the Readmission Agreement,” said Elvira Angulo Rodriguez, Head of the First Operations Department of the EU Delegation to Serbia.
Over the next two years, IDPs and returnees will have adequate access to information and efficient free legal aid to help them realize their rights guaranteed to them as equal citizens. Free legal aid will also include representation in courts in places of origin of IDPs, who, with the help of the project, will have the opportunity to recover unlawfully occupied or damaged and destroyed property, as well as to realize other deprived property rights.
Representatives of beneficiary institutions, the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, and the Commissariat for Refugees and Migration, expressed satisfaction that the provision of free legal aid to internally displaced persons and returnees continued uninterrupted, with the same project team and offices at multi-year locations as this is of great importance for the adequate protection of the rights of the beneficiaries themselves.
The project team presented project activities and results that the project will seek to achieve over the next two years at the conference, emphasizing the key legal services it will provide to vulnerable groups. During the meeting, in the presence of representatives of the EU Delegation in Serbia, the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, the Commissariat for Refugees and Migration, citizen associations working with the project’s target groups, and project legal advisors, discussions were held on the main challenges and approaches to providing legal aid to the vulnerable.
In the upcoming period, the project will work on over 5,000 cases of IDPs and returnees, representing them in proceedings related to unlawfully occupied property, privatization of social enterprises in places of origin, obtaining documentation, and providing legal advice for resolution.
Lawyers and legal advisors with years of experience in protecting the rights of IDPs and returnees are available to citizens with the status of internally displaced persons or returnees under the readmission agreement to support them in realizing their basic human rights. The toll-free number 0800 108 208 is active on weekdays to provide information on legal aid and schedule appointments with legal advisors.
The EU finances the project with 1.9 million euros, and it started operating in January of this year as a continuation of a series of projects that have achieved prominent results. In the previous phases of the project, over 5,000 cases were closed, and 6,610 beneficiaries managed to achieve justice and protect their rights.