In Sombor, contracts for moving into 13 apartments purchased for refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia within the Regional Housing Program were solemnly handed over
19.02.2021.Today, February 19, 2021, contracts for moving into 13 apartments purchased for refugee families from Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Croatia who have a residence in the territory of this City were solemnly handed over in Sombor. The apartments were purchased under Subproject Seven of the Regional Housing Program (RSP), which in Serbiais implemented by the Commissariat for Refugees and Migration, as the leading institution.
Financial resources for the purchase of apartments were provided from the donor fund of the Regional Housing Program, the largest donor of which is the European Union. The total value of 13 purchased apartments is 356,700 euros.
The event was attended by Antonio Ratković, Mayor of Sombor, Svetlana Velimirović, Deputy Commissioner for Refugees and Migration, Francesca Bonelli, Head of the UNHCR Office in Serbia, Stefan Standstad, Second Secretary of the Norwegian Embassy, Jovan Lazarov, Head of the Public Sector Project Management Unit as well as the representatives of other international and local organizations and institutions.
Deputy Commissioner Svetlana Velimirović emphasized that the City of Sombor, in cooperation with the Commissariat and donors, has invested great efforts to solve the existential problems of refugees from the 1990s wars, and she reminded the attendees that in 1996, more than 14,000 refugees came to this city. "I thank the donors of this program, with whose support we are able to solve the existential issues of the most endangered people who were left without everything they had in the 1990s wars. We will continue to work and engage efforts, so that help reaches everyone who needs it, "said Velimirović.
The Regional Housing Program is a joint multi-year program of the Republic of Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and the Republic of Croatia, which aims to provide permanent housing solutions for the most vulnerable refugee families in the region. It is implemented with the support of the OSCE, UNHCR and the Council of Europe Development Bank, and is funded by the European Union, which is also the largest donor, the United States, Germany, Norway, Switzerland, Italy, Denmark, Turkey, Luxembourg, Spain, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia.