OSCE Mission in Kosovo trains municipal officials on assistance available to repatriated persons

On 25 September 2012 the OSCE Mission and the Kosovo Employment Promotion Agency concluded a series of two-day workshops on accessing income generation assistance from the central-level reintegration fund for municipal officers for communities and returns (MOCRs) from 25 municipalities.

The MOCRs are the focal points for repatriated persons within the municipalities and provide a key link to central-level institutions. The workshops focused on training them to assist repatriated persons to develop business plans that meet the requirements of the reintegration fund.

“In our previous reports we highlighted that, despite tangible developments in the legal and policy framework since 2010 and the establishment of a 3.4 million euro support fund, repatriated persons are often unable to access support for sustainable business development opportunities,” said Katherine Nobbs, the OSCE Mission’s Senior Communities Adviser.

“These workshops are part of the Mission’s efforts to help municipalities better serve repatriated persons by easing their access to much needed financial assistance.”

In October and November, the Mission and the Kosovo Employment Promotion Agency will provide MOCRs with further technical support in drafting and submitting business start-up and support requests.

The OSCE Mission in Kosovo is mandated with human and community rights protection and promotion, democratization and public safety sector development. It will continue to monitor the rate of successful requests for income generation assistance and to work with all relevant actors to enhance the sustainable reintegration of repatriated persons.