The Regional Housing Programme (RHP) is a multi-year joint initiative Partner Countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia) supported by the international community towards closing the chapter of the protracted displacement in the region. It was developed in partnership between the Partner Countries and the OSCE, the UNHCR and the European Commission. The aim of the RHP is to contribute to the resolution of the protracted displacement situation of the most vulnerable refugees and displaced persons following the 1991-1995 conflicts on the territory of former Yugoslavia, including internally displaced persons in Montenegro from 1999. It is an integral part of the “Sarajevo Process on Refugees and Displaced Persons” initiated in 2005 at the Regional Ministerial Conference on Refugee Returns. The process was re-launched in March 2010 at the Belgrade Conference, and the Partner Countries re-committed themselves under the November 2011 Belgrade Declaration (the so-called “Joint Declaration”) to contribute towards resolving the protracted displacement situation of the most vulnerable beneficiaries – refugees and displaced persons – following the 1991-1995 conflict on the territory of former Yugoslavia, including internally displaced persons in Montenegro from 1999.
The Programme is be implemented in parallel in the four Partner Countries. The housing solutions to be provided include:
• Provision of housing units and houses through building, reconstruction, renovation or purchase;
• Provision of construction materials;
• Accommodation in social welfare institutions.
The Programme officially ended in December 2023. The Republic of Serbia continues to provide housing solutions. Until the end of February 2024, the total number of provided housing solutions is 7495.
The largest donor to the RHP is the EU, with notable contributions by the governments of the USA, Germany, Italy, Norway, Switzerland, Denmark, Türkiye, Luxembourg, Cyprus, Romania, the Slovak Republic, the Czech Republic, and Hungary.
For more information about the Regional Housing Programme in the Republic of Serbia, see here.